What If
What If
What If
Richard Alexander
Muskegon Community College
Based on:
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
American Psychological Association
Latest revision: June 1, 2010
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
General Principles
Principle C: Integrity
Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and
truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of
psychology.
Principle D: Justice
Psychologists recognize that fairness and justice entitle all
persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of
psychology and to equal quality in the processes, procedures,
and services being conducted by psychologists.
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code
of Conduct Section 5.06 says,
“Psychologists do not engage, either
directly or through agents, in
uninvited in-person solicitation of
business from actual or potential
clients/patients, or other persons who
because of their particular
circumstances are vulnerable to undue
influence.”
A person made an appointment to see me in my
private practice about an anxiety problem she had
been struggling with for several years. She said
she might not be able to afford my fee, but I was
highly recommended to her and so she’d like to
at least discuss the financial issue before starting
therapy. Through some mutual friends I’ve had a
passing acquaintance with this person, a local
artist, although we’ve never socialized together.
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code
of Conduct Section 6.05 says,
“Psychologists may barter only if it is
not clinically contraindicated and the
resulting arrangement is not
exploitative.”
In my capacity as a psychologist, I’m asked to
appear on a local TV news show in a feature
about mental health awareness, especially bipolar
disorder. I had limited clinical experience with
this disorder but had studied it extensively, and I
believed that such awareness was important, so I
agreed.
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
Section 5.02 says, “When psychologists provide public
advice or comment via print, Internet, or other electronic
transmission, they take precautions to ensure that
statements…are based on their professional knowledge,
training, or experience in accord with appropriate
psychological literature and practice…”
However…
“When, despite reasonable efforts, such an
examination is not practical, psychologists
document the efforts they made and the result of
those efforts, clarify the probable impact of their
limited information on the reliability and validity
of their opinions, and appropriately limit the
nature and extent of their conclusions or
recommendations.”
I’d been working in therapy with a 23-year-old
polysubstance dependent man for several months.
He attended faithfully but made minimal progress.
One day, I got a phone call from his 38-year-old
sister, who said she would like to meet with me to
discuss some concerns she had about her brother and
about their family in general. This was welcome
news, as both her brother and I were feeling stuck.
To maintain confidentiality and good clinical
practice, I mentioned the call to her brother. He
agreed to the discussion and signed a release-of-
information form.
To be continued…
Two days later she called me again, said she enjoyed
our conversation, and asked if I’d like to get together
for coffee. I also enjoyed the conversation, and she
was not my client, so I said yes. Long story short,
over the next few weeks we discovered a mutual
attraction that appeared likely to develop into an
intimate emotional and sexual relationship.
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code
of Conduct Section 10.06 says,
“Psychologists do not engage in sexual
intimacies with individuals they know
to be close relatives, guardians, or
significant others of current
clients/patients. Psychologists do not
terminate therapy to circumvent this
standard.”
Three years ago, I saw a 38-year-old woman for
therapy related to some grieving and life adjustment
issues. We met for eight sessions over three months
and concluded the therapy with productive results.
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
Section 10.08 says, “Psychologists do not engage
in sexual intimacies with former clients/patients
for at least two years after cessation of
termination of therapy.
Relevant factors are: “(1) the amount of time that has passed
since therapy terminated; (2) the nature, duration, and intensity
of the therapy; (3) the circumstances of termination; (4) the
client's/patient's personal history; (5) the client's/patient's
current mental status; (6) the likelihood of adverse impact on
the client/patient; and (7) any statements or actions made by
the therapist during the course of therapy suggesting or
inviting the possibility of a posttermination sexual or romantic
relationship with the client/patient.”
Part one: I started seeing a 18-year-old high school senior for
therapy related to academic underperformance, conflict with
his parents, and marijuana use. He was mildly depressed and
perceived his 17-year-old girlfriend as the only positive thing in
his life. He said they were sexually active, often got high
together, and went for high-speed drives in his car just for fun.
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical or unethical?
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct
Section 3.05 says, “A psychologist refrains from
entering into a multiple relationship if the
multiple relationship 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.