Ethics Flashcards
Dereliction
Failure to proivide reasonable care. aka negligence.
Duty
Legal relationship with a patient gives rise to a duty.
Directly causing damages
Negligence causing harm.
Beneficence and nonmaleficence
Benefit those whom we work with; take care to do no harm.
Fidelity and responsibility
Establish trust w/ people who we work with. Be aware of responsibilities to these people and uphold professional standards.
Clarification of roles, manage conflicts of interest, consult with other professionals.
Integrity
Promoting accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness; avoid all fraudulent activities.
Justice
All people should benefit from psychology and treated with equal quality in all activities.
Not letting own biases/limitations of competence result in unjust practices.
Respect for people’s rights and dignity
Respect for rights of privacy, confidentiality, self-determination. Involves consideration of differences among persons when providing psychological services.
Referring out
Appropriate when: therapist’s beliefs interfere with therapy, client feels uncomfortable with therapist, or therapist lacks competence in treating presenting problem.
Subpoenas
Can’t be ignored. When you get one:
- Inform client of it
- Seek permission to release information.
Court orders
Can request modification, but ultimately psychologist must comply with any court order.
Court-ordered therapy
Psychologist who agrees to this must clarify the nature of Tx that is ordered, and info court needs. Then discuss with client to get informed consent. Client is the COURT.
Can you withold records at any time?
Nope!
Payment issues
Need to be agreed upon from the outset. Don’t need to give heads up about a collection agency, but need to let them know if they’re coming.
Barter
Okay as long as it is not exploitative. E.g., one therapy session does not equate to building a deck.
How long to keep records
7 years after last date of service delivery.
Written informed consent does not __
Guarantee informed consent
Is it ethical for psychologists to make parole recommendations?
Yup.
Is it illegal/legal ethical/unethical to waive a copayment fee?
Unethical and illegal
In a public forum, how should you address someone asking you for your advice?
Refer to the research/don’t address her specifically.
Psychologists report that what is the most frequently occurring ethical concern they experience?
Limits of confidentiality.
When someone is not legally capable of giving informed consent, and gov’t regulations prohibit securing consent from a legally authorized person, what do you do?
Take reasonable steps to protect the individuals’ rights and welfare
If an employee is referred to you through an EAP program, what info can you share?
Attendance, not content.
With forensic testimony predicting behavior, what does the current literature suggest?
Widespread disagreement about psychologists’ ability to make predictions about future violent behavior.
Larry P. v. Riles dealt with:
Racial/cultural biases in IQ testing for school children.
In the absence of superseding requirements, psychologist can keep records for:
Adults: 7 years after the last date of service delivery, and for minors either 7 years after last service or 3 years after minor reaches age of majority, whichever is later.
If a client’s husband threatens your life and you terminate, why is it ethical?
Because you are endangered by someone in a close relationship with the client.
When should fees be established in treatment?
ASAP
M’Naghten rule
Criminal defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity if, at the ponit of the crime, they were deranged.
If someone is suicidal and can’t afford therapy, what is the ethical course of action
Continue therapy until an appropriate referral can be made.
If a 9 y.o. client has a major illness that her pediatrician doesn’t know about, what’s the ethical course of action?
Obtain R.O.I. and inform the pediatrician.
You find out you go to the same gym your client does, what is the ethical course of action?
Stop going.
The patient’s right to keep therapy information from being disclosed during a court proceeding is termed:
Legal privilege
How long do you have to keep HIPAA documents?
6 yrs
Buckley Amendment
Protected privacy of student records
Student trainee is working under the supervision of a licensed psychologist. What info must the trainee share?
she must tell patients that she is being supervised and must give them her supervisor’s name.
Psychologists who want to practice in a forensic setting must:
Become reasonably familiar with the judicial rules governing their roles; accredited forensic training not required.
Sexual harassment requires?
Involves continued comments/actions/statements even if the victim asks to stop.
What malparctice claim accounts for most money paid out?
Sexual relationships with former or current therapy clients.
What happens to privilege in a court-ordered evaluation
There is no privilege
Probono Services are
recommended
Psychologist takes into treatment wife of her own therapist. Ethical or unethical and why?
Unethical, because of the high likelihood that the psychologist’s objectivity and competence will be impaired.
In order to successfully sue a psychologist, a patient must prove what?
Psychologist provided negligent Tx.
Psychologist’s treatment caused harm to the patient.
Psychologist had an obligation to provider care for the patient.
Fee splitting b/w psychologist and other professionals – ethical?
Permissable if it is based on services provided.
SCENARIO: You’re in a small town and you’re the only psychologist. Your ex-partner wants treatment, and you broke up 10 years ago. If you treat them, ethical or no?
UNETHICALLY. No way to avoid multiple relationship that will impact treatment.
Difference between ethical standards and general principles?
Standards are ENFORCEABLE; principles are ASPIRATIONAL
Testimonials - can you solicit them?
They can be solicited as long as they are not from CURRENT PATIENTS or those vulnerable to undue influence
Who holds privilege in court-ordered treatment?
The client NOT THE COURT DUMMY
SCENARIO: A doctoral student gets business cards and includes on his cards that he is a Ph.D. candidate and that he accepts patients on a sliding scale. According to the APA Ethics Code, is this ok?
He can advertise fee schedule, but listing candidate status is unethical.
Summary of the attitude of APA toward multiple relationships
Multiple relationships that don’t impair the psychologist’s functioning or risk harm or exploitation are not unethical.
Is waiving the first session fee ethical?
Ethical as long as there is no coercion or undue influence.
