Ethics and Professional Standards Flashcards
Privilege
in communications
Privilege is a legal concept that protects a client’s confidentiality in the context of legal proceedings. Most jurisdictions have laws that establish privilege for communications between licensed mental health practitioners and their clients. The client is ordinarily the “holder of the privilege,” but a psychologist can claim the privilege on behalf of a client, and there are legally defined exceptions to privilege.
Standard 1.08 - ethics complaint revenge
“psychologists do not deny persons employment, advancement, admissions to academic or other programs, tenure, or promotion, based solely upon their having made or their being the subject of an ethics complaint”
Standard 10.10 - termination
requires psychologists to “terminate therapy when it becomes reasonably clear that the client/patient no longer needs the service, is not likely to benefit, or is being harmed by continued service” and, when doing so, to “provide pretermination counseling and suggest alternative service providers as appropriate.”
Standard 10.10(b) -termination + threat
pretermination counseling or referral is not necessary when a psychologist is terminating therapy with a client because the client or a person the client has a relationship with poses a threat to the psychologist.
Standards 7.01-7.06 - supervision
address education and supervision and require psychologists to act competently and responsibly when teaching, supervising, and designing education and training programs and to avoid misrepresenting themselves or their work when performing these functions.
Standard 5.05
Testimonials
states that “psychologists do not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence.”
Guidelines For Child Custody Evaluations
It states that determining the “psychological best interests” of the child is the primary purpose of a child custody evaluation and that the child’s welfare is always of paramount importance.
Standard 9.04 - providing test data
“pursuant to a client/patient release, psychologists provide test data to the client/patient or other persons identified in the release. (this includes responses to questions, notes, and recordings)
Standard 7.07 - sexual relationships with supervisees or students
do not engage in sexual relationships with students or supervisees who are in their department, agency, or training center or over whom psychologists have or are likely to have evaluative authority.
Standard 9.08 - outdated tests
do not base their assessment or intervention decisions or recommendations on data or test results that are outdated for the current purpose
Standard 3.10 - informed consent
“when psychologists conduct research or provide assessment, therapy, counseling, or consulting services in person or via electronic transmission or other forms of communication, they obtain the informed consent of the individual or individuals using language that is reasonably understandable to that person or persons.”
(1) provide an appropriate explanation, (2) seek the individual’s assent, (3) consider such persons’ preferences and best interests, and (4) obtain appropriate permission from a legally authorized person.”
Standard 5.06 - solicitation
psychologists do not engage, directly or through agents, in uninvited in-person solicitation of business from actual or potential therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence
Standard 2.01 - competence
provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience.”
Standard 3.05 - multiple relationships
“a psychologist refrains from entering into a multiple relationship if it could reasonably be expected to impair the psychologist’s objectivity, competence, or effectiveness in performing his or her functions as a psychologist, or otherwise risks exploitation or harm to the person with whom the professional relationship exists.”
Malpractice
1) must have actually worked with the person “duty of care”
2) demonstrable standard of care that the therapist breached
3) person has to have suffered harm or injury
4) psychologist’s breach was the proximal cause of the injury
Fact Witness
“who testifies as to what he/she has seen, heard, or otherwise observed regarding a circumstance, event or occurrence as it actually took place…. Fact witnesses are generally not allowed to offer an opinion, address issues that they do not have personal knowledge of or respond to hypothetical situations”
