Code of Ethics (510-4-…) Flashcards
How to resolve ethical issues re: misrepresentation
Take reasonable steps to correct the misuse or misrepresentation of your work
When ethics code conflicts with law
Make your commitment to the ethics code known, and work to resolve the situation in a manner consistent with the ethics code
All else fails, resort to what the law dictates
Ethics complaints and employment
You cannot deny someone a job or advancement for being involved in a current ethics investigation
General guidelines for “competence”
Don’t practice outside your areas of expertise and training
Read up, complete training, and seek supervision/consultation on new areas or populations
Take ongoing efforts to maintain competence
Make judgements based on scientific principles
Don’t initiate work if there’s a good chance that it will result in personal conflict or issues
Delegation of work to others
Delegate work that subordinates can do ethically and competently
Supervise them!
Practicing in an unknown area in emergency situations
Can provide services if in an emergency
Stop once the emergency is over or if better resources become available
Definition of “sexual harassment”
Sexual advances that are unwelcome, offensive, or which create a hostile work environment
Which is sufficiently severe or intense to be abusive to a reasonable person
Can be a single intense act, or multiple pervasive acts
Multiple relationships
Don’t form into relationships with those where it could be reasonably expected to cause impairment or risk exploitation or harm
Third party services
Clarify your role and relationship to them at the outset
Provision of informed consent (research and therapy)
Understandable language
If unable to give consent, explain it appropriately anyway, get assent, informed consent from the legally authorized person, document everything
Informed consent and court-orders
Inform the person of the limits of confidentiality
Nature and purpose of the evaluation
Where the data gathered would reasonably be expected to end up
Continuity of care
Make reasonable attempts to have continuity of care if therapy is interrupted by retirement, death, illness, relocation, vacation, etc.
Confidentiality
Take appropriate steps to protect client information to ensure confidentiality, recognizing that it may be impacted by the law
Discuss limits of confidentiality early and throughout services as needed
Confidentiality and recording
Get permission beforehand
Confidentiality and electronic services
Same ethics as in-person services
Make sure clients understand risks to using the technology
Must have an intake where you assess appropriateness for VC
When can you disclose client information without consent
Mandated by law
When needed to provide professional services, obtain consultation
Obtain payment
Protect the client and others from harm
Disclosure for didactic purposes
Need client permission or legal authorization
Advertising and compensation
Do not compensate media for publicity
Paid ads must be clearly marked as such
Advertising and giving trainings
Take precautions to ensure workshops and media presentations are based on training and experience, and are accurate and consistent with the ethics code
Make clear there is NO therapeutic relationship with participants
Testimonials
Don’t solicit testimonials from current patients or from those who could be exploited
Solicitation of services
Do not engage in uninvited in-person solicitation of clients, unless providing disaster or outreach services
Withholding records for nonpayment
Do not withhold records solely by reason of nonpayment during emergencies
Billing and honest communication
Discuss billing and fees asap, and continue the discussion throughout if need be
Use of collection agencies
Give the patient a chance to lay before turning over to an agency
Bartering
Allowed UNLESS it is clinically contraindicated and/or the arrangement is exploitative
Payment and referrals
Payment to and fro each professional should be based only on the services provided
Student disclosure of confidential information
Cannot compel students to discuss things like sexuality, abuse history, and other confidential issues
Requiring students to seek therapy
If therapy is a required component of your training program, you must make this known ahead of time
Give students the opportunity to seek services from an outside provider
Faculty in the program (supervisor or those expected to supervise) should not provide the therapy to students
Disclosure to research participants
What should your informed consent include?
Risks and benefits Compensation Right to withdraw and any time Limits of confidentiality Who to go to with questions (and their contact info)
Consent with experimental treatments
For treatment studies
Clarify experimental nature of the treatment
How people are assigned to the treatment group
How they will be compensated
Which services will be provided to the controlled group
When do you NOT need consent in research
Naturalistic observation in public places
When recording is not expected to cause harm
When otherwise permitted by law
When in a work environment and research is not a threat to employment
Requiring research participation for students
Students should be given equitable alternatives to research participation
Deception in research
Don’t use unless justified by scientific value of the study
- If you use it, explain to participants as soon as it is feasible
- Provided adequate debriefing and minimize harm
Don’t use if research is expected to cause pain or severe emotional distress
Use of animals in research
Train team to make reasonable efforts to minimize animals pain, distress, infection, illness, and discomfort
Use anesthesia in surgery
If you have to euthanize, do as quickly and painlessly as possible
Authorship in research
Assign according to contribution
Dissertation publications typically authored first by the student
Data in research
Don’t publish info as original if you’ve already published it elsewhere
Don’t withhold data if someone requests it for verification
If you review data for a study, keep it confidential and do not share it or use it for your own purposes
Informed consent and testing
Get it unless consent is implied (e.g., routine job procedure), mandated by law, or when the test is to evaluate decisional capacity
Ethics and assessment issues
Only provide opinions after properly evaluating someone
Clarify limitations of data, including if you cannot meet the person
Use tests appropriately based on test purpose and your own training and experience
Test should be matched to the persons language
Use of interpreters in assessment
Get consent to use the interpreter
Maintain confidentiality
Definition of “test data”
Raw and scaled scores, client responses to test stimuli, psych notes and recording
Release of test data
If a client signs a release, you can refuse it, but not if it’s release would cause client harm
Can also refuse to prevent misuse or misinterpretation of the test data
Release of test results
Give clients results unless it’s precluded (forensic evaluation, pre-employment, etc.)
Provision of therapy under supervision
Inform client you are being supervised
Give name of supervisor
Allow contact with supervisor, supervisor be there for intake
When giving therapy to families
Clarify who is the patient is and the relationship you’ll have to each person
(Avoid multiple roles)
Provision of therapy to someone already in therapy
Discuss with them, consult with other therapist, proceed with caution and sensitivity
Sex with clients
Don’t have sex with current clients or their loved ones
Only have sex with former clients after two years from last contact (but consider all factors beforehand…mental health/stability, nature of termination, risk for exploitation…)
Termination of therapy
Only do when it’s reasonably clear the patient is no longer in need of services, is not likely to benefit, or is being harmed by continued services
Can also terminate when threatened by the patient or someone with whom the patient has a relationship
When possible, provide pre-termination counseling, and refer out as needed
