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Summary - EPPP- ethics (volume 1)
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A summary of the Ethics and Professional Issues in Volume 1 of the AATBS textbooks for the Ethics in Professional Practice in Psychology Exam.
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EPPP: ETHICS SECTION APA Ethics Code has 4 provisions:
o Introduction and Applicability
If Code prescribes a higher standard of conduct that prescribed by law,
psychologists must uphold higher standard
Goal of Code: protect psychologists’ client welfare, educate members and public
about ethical standards of discipline
o Preamble – aspirational, non-enforceable
o General Principles – aspirational, non-enforceable
o Ethical Standards – mandatory, enforceable
But not intended to be a basis of civil liability (unethical does not necessarily mean
illegal/subject to civil action)
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Principal A: Beneficence and Non-maleficence
Beneficence = act of charity/kindness
Non-maleficence = not harming
o Benefit those with whom they work and take care to do no harm
o Safeguard the welfare and rights of those whom we interact with
o Avoid or minimize harm
o Be mindful of how your own physical and mental health may impact those with whom you
work
Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility
Established relationships of trust with whom you work
Uphold professional standards of conduct
Clarify professional roles and obligations
Accept responsibility for behavior
Seek to manage conflicts of interest that could lead to exploitation or harm
Consult with others
Act responsibly, concerned about colleagues’ ethical conduct
Strive to provide pro bono/low cost services
Principle C: Integrity
Promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology
Do not steal, cheat, or engage in fraud, deception, or intentional misrepresentation of fact
Responsible for correcting any resulting mistrust or harmful effects
Principle D: Justice
Ensure that potential biases, the boundaries of your competence, and limitations of your expertise
do not lead to or condone unjust practices
Fairness and justice mean that everyone should have equal access to services
Principle E: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity
Respect the dignity and worth of all people
Respect the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination
Be aware of and respect cultural, individual, and role differences (e.g., age, gender, gender
identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language,
SES)
, Do not knowingly participate in or condone activities based upon such prejudices
ETHICAL STANDARD 1: RESOLVING ETHICAL ISSUES
Misuse of psychologist’s work
o If someone misuses or misrepresents your work, you must take reasonable steps to correct
it
o Appropriate action is often to 1) contact the involved party, 2) request that a corrective
measure be taken, 3) document the action they took to correct this
Conflicts between ethics and law, regulations, or other governing legal authority OR with
organizational demands
o If ethical responsibilities conflict with legislation or with your organization’s requirements,
you must make known commitment to the Code and take steps to resolve conflict
consistent with the Code (you can’t hide behind “it was the law” or “I was following orders” –
e.g., Nuremburg, US psychologists becoming involved with torture of detainees)
o Clarify the nature of the conflict and make known your commitment to the ethics code and
take reasonable steps to resolve the conflict consistent with the ethics code
Reporting Ethical Violations by Colleagues
o If you feel another psychologist has committed an ethical violation, you try to talk to them
about it first if it seems appropriate
o If that doesn’t work (i.e., involves “substantial harm” and is not appropriate for an informal
resolution or has not been resolved satisfactorily) or “informal resolution is inappropriate”
(e.g., sexual misconduct, insurance fraud, plagiarism), you take further action (e.g., formal
report to licensing board or ethics committee)
UNLESS doing this would violate client confidentiality (e.g., your client tells you their
former therapist came to session drunk – can’t make claim without their consent; can
determine if the client would want to file a complaint themselves)
Client confidentiality always takes precedence over the need to punish an
offending psychologist
Cooperation with the Ethics Committee
o Failure to cooperate with Ethics committees is a violation
o Must consider client confidentiality (e.g., must confirm that the client has signed a release
before providing information)
o If someone involved in an ethics complaint asks for the complaint process to be delayed
(deferred; Deferment of Adjudication) while a related court case or legal proceeding
(litigation) is resolved, this action alone cannot be considered as failing to cooperate with
the ethics process
Improper Complaints
o Do not file complaint with willful ignorance of facts that would disprove the allegation
Unfair discrimination against complainants and respondents
o Can’t discriminate against people who are either complainants or respondents to a charge
of ethical misconduct…but once the verdict comes back guilty, discriminate away!
ETHICAL STANDARD 2: COMPETENCE
Boundaries of Competence
o Don’t practice outside of your scope (areas of competence, populations, new techniques)
o If understanding cultural/individual differences (e.g., gender, disability, SES) affects
competent provision of services, you must get educated or refer
o HOWEVER: if there are no other services available and you have closely related training or
experience, you can do so if you make a reasonable effort to obtain competence by using
relevant research, study, etc.
If using a new technique, client must be made aware of this
, Providing Services in Emergencies
o HOWEVER: in an emergency can provide services to someone if not doing so would mean
no service (e.g., me providing services to a child)
o Services are discontinued as soon as the emergency has ended or appropriate services
become available
Maintaining competence
o Ongoing efforts to develop and maintain competence
o Consult with other professionals to help determine what additional training is required
o When changing or adding a specialty (e.g., clinical psychology -> school psychology) you
don’t need to go back for another PhD but complete relevant coursework
Scientific and professional judgments
o Work is based on established scientific and professional knowledge
Delegation of work to others
If delegating work to others (e.g., supervising trainee, RAs), have to ensure:
o Can’t delegate to people who have a multiple relationship with those being served (e.g.,
hiring as translator the aunt of your client)
o Person doing delegated work has to be sufficiently trained to perform competently
independently or with level of supervision required
No official criteria for this
o You have to make sure the person you delegated the work to performs services
competently through regular performance feedback
Lack of timely feedback (including inadequate performance evaluation, and
monitoring of activities) has been identified as the source of many ethical
complaints related to supervision
Supervisor has vicarious liability (respondent superior) for the supervisee’s
actions (term is used in situations where supervisor has legal responsibility - e.g.,
supervisee engages in sexual relationship with client, but supervisor is not
appropriately supervising so doesn’t know – is still responsible)
Personal problems and conflicts
o Refrain from initiating activities where personal problems will prevent you from performing
in a competent manner
E.g., seek therapy, refer to other professionals, consult
ETHICAL STANDARD 3: HUMAN RELATIONS
Unfair discrimination
o No discrimination allowed
However, this doesn’t preclude psychologists from refusing to provide services to
those they don’t feel competent to serve or “difficult” clients
Can terminate therapy when threatened or otherwise endangered by the client or a
person with whom the client has a relationship
Sexual harassment + other harassment
o Defined as: behaviours that are sexual in nature and are unwelcome, offensive, create a
hostile work environment or recognized by a reasonable person as abusive
e.g., single intense or severe act, or multiple persistent acts
o The terms quid pro quo, “this for that,” (i.e. explicit or implicit requirements to trade sexual
favors for a promotion, raise, or benefit) and “hostile environment” (i.e., sexually offensive
behaviours that make it difficult to perform their job, such as sexual gestures, jokes,
remarks, pictures) are used by the courts to decide if its sexual harassment
Avoiding harm
o Take reasonable steps to avoid harming clients/others, or to minimize harm where it is
unavoidable
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