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The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet
Answer the following questions. Your response to each question must be at least 150 words in length.
1. What are at least two legal issues associated with clinical psychology? Provide an example of a situation that could be legal but unethical. Explain your response.
There are many legal issues that exist in clinical psychology. Two of these legal issues are maintaining confidentiality and getting written consent to treat. A clinical psychologist is required by law to obtain the patients written consent before treating them or before any
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It is also unethical for the psychologist to discontinue therapy in order to have such relations nor should such relations occur for two years after services are discontinued (Alexander, 2010). Another ethical issue is competence. A clinical psychologist must provide services for the area that he or she is specialized in. The psychologist must also maintain competence in whichever area they specialize. This means that the psychologist must stay up to date in their field and have appropriate training, skills, and continuing education (Plante, 2011). A clinical psychologist can face an ethical but illegal situation if they refuse to disclose information to authorities about a minor patient they suspect or that has revealed they have been abused in any way. Not reporting child abuse would be illegal, however the psychologist may believe it is ethical not to breach confidentiality.
3. Define professional boundaries, boundary crossings, and boundary violations. What effects do boundaries have on the therapeutic relationship? Boundaries are something that indicates limits (“Dictionary.com”, 2015). Professional boundaries are boundaries that are set up between co-workers or between a professional and a client. A professional boundary is a guideline that tells the professional how to act appropriately (Plante, 2011). Boundary crossing is when classical therapy activity is deviated
The EAI indicates that ethical guidelines have changed from individual character to organizational ethics (Ethics Awareness Inventory, 2011). The prime focus of this change are client-patient relationships in psychological counseling and clinical practice (Fisher, (2013). Psychological counseling and clinical practice are both constructed on ethical guidelines with the possibility for misuse of power and negligence to discretion (Fisher,
In this scenario, as a psychologist I face several ethical issues. According to the American Psychological Association, Ethical Principles of Psychologist and Code of Conduct there are at least six standards I have to
In today’s psychology profession, a therapist and even the client can cross many boundaries if immediate boundaries are not put into place during the initial visit. Some boundaries that are crossed are not a problem at first and then the problem progresses. Leonard L. Glass called these, “the gray areas of boundary crossing and violation” (429). However, there is further description, “Boundary issues mostly refer to the therapist's self-disclosure, touch, an exchange of gifts, bartering and fees, length and location of sessions and contact outside the office” (Guthiel & Gabbard). This statement by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D. & Glen O. Gabbard, M.D explains the meaning of boundary
Mental Health Clinicians are aware that judicial systems examine professional codes of ethics to assess the customary standard of care (Moline et al., 1998). The judicial system will also evaluate best practices of how the conventional clinicians may possibly respond under similar situations and conclude whether a legal obligation by a clinician has been breached (Moline et al., 1998). This standard of conduct is customarily
According to Texas State and Health Code, §611.002, a mental health professional mental health professional must break confidentiality and disclosure when a client is believed to be a danger to themselves or someone else, if child abuse or neglect is suspected the mental health professional must report within 48 hours of first suspicion. According to the Texas Family Code, abuse is defined very broadly in order to include the following; mental, emotional, sexual, physical, failure to provide adequate shelter, food, or necessities.
After viewing episodes of " Criminal Minds" and "Special Victims Unit" I found it hard to decide which episode to discuss as the episodes in both shows are actors, actresses, victims, and the criminals are just portraying a scene that they are being paid to "act" without knowledge, experience, or any qualifications on psychology. They are all character's in a TV show used for entertainment, not for learning. My guess would be that they have no idea what the ethical or unethical codes are since they are not neccessary for their profession in acting. In my opinion these TV shows are not realistic. Psychologists, and therapists take their job seriousely and adhere to their boundaries and code of ethics which they have knowledge and training to help others in a professional manner.
Knowing how to fulfill the duties and obligations of their role is also very imperative in any case since the professional’s opinion is highly accepted if he or she has professional training in certain legal areas (Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, 2015). Furthermore, there is a possibility that a forensic psychologist will have to break confidentiality. The forensic psychologists are required to break confidentiality and report or even testify when clients pose a danger to themselves or others, and when a counselor believes that a minor (a person under the age of 16) is a victim of rape, incest, or abuse (Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology, 2015). They are also required to release their records to a third party upon request of the client. Finally, therapists must release certain information if it becomes an issue in court action (Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology,
Because of the doctors’ profession, a psychiatrist must abide by the ethic of nonmaleficence when it comes to their patients. This article is true, “When conflicts occur among psychologists’ obligations or concerns, they attempt to resolve these conflicts in a responsible fashion that avoids or minimizes harm” (Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, n.d.). For this profession, this is very important because their judgment can have a serious effect on a person mind. If there were no ethics to guide them not to do no harm, psychology could become an unethical profession within the health care system. This ethic could also be the reason for the raise of concern that Dr. McHale has for the detainee.
During the reading of Greyner and Lewis’s article pertaining “Prevalence, Prediction, and Prevention of Psychologist Misconduct written in 2012, the two complaints that I chose were poor communication and confidentiality breaches (incompetence).Poor communication by an psychologist is considered one of the most fatal, unprofessional concept of an pitfall that affects the doctor and patient relationship rules in medicine because when this the patient will not be able to understand their prognosis or the kind of treatment that they need to receive.
This case that I’ve just placed you in is possibly one of professional negligence. Negligence, defined in legal terms, is “conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm” (qtd. in Everstine 252). When put in a professional setting, this is called malpractice, which is “negligence in the execution of professional duties” (Everstine 252). And as described in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Code of Ethics, the primary professional duty of the psychologist is to protect both the individual and society by aiming to “improve the condition” of both (Gorlin 360). If a psychologist fails to uphold his duty by specifically violating any laws or codes expected and commanded of him professionally, then he may be subject to a number of controls by a number of regulating bodies. In the situation presented above, you must first determine, given the specifics of the case, whether or not your case is
Are There Any Ethical Obligations of the Psychologist? This situation is a unique ethical dilemma, as there is no code specifically geared towards dealing with this situation. However, it is clear that there has been unethical and illegal behavior on the part of another therapist, which means that the psychologist in this scenario does have an ethical obligation to report the situation. As discussed in class last week, psychologists need to be ethical in everything they do, meaning that they do not do anything illegal, harmful to others, or harmful to the reputation of the profession.
As as Psychologist, you put yourself in position to help individuals, who may be going through a difficult time in there life. As an Professional they may have an unhappy client at any given time.There are several issues that may come up , there are several listed in the Grenyer & Lewis article in table one. I have picked two I would like to discuss Poor business practices, Boundary Violation.
Psychologists have a moral responsibility when conducting research to protect their participants from harm. It is important to conduct research in order to make advancements in the field of psychology, however psychologists must be able to respect their subject and keep them out of harm's way. Protecting from both physical and mental harm.
Psychology is an extraordinarily diverse field with hundreds of career paths. Some specialties, like treating the mentally ill, are familiar to most. Others, like helping with the design of advanced computer systems or studying memory, are less well-known. What psychologists have in common is a shared interest in mind and behavior. In their work they draw on an ever-expanding body of scientific knowledge about how humans think, act, and feel, and apply the information to their special areas of expertise. The profession of clinical psychology encompasses both research and statistics, through which is learned fundamental data about behavior; and practice, through which that knowledge is applied in helping to solve
Exact and accurate results accumulated from mental examination and analysis helps the clinical psychologist in creating effective intervention and therapies that clinical psychologist use to enhance lives, repair damaged relations, oversee addictions, and oversee and treat a variety of other psychological mental issues. Clinical psychology research by definition marries science with practical information, integrates the two, and produces a field that supports a powerful, procedure that is bent on doing exploration and clinical