Codes of Ethics Psychology Responses

An Ethical issue is a problem or situation that requires a person or organisation to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical) or wrong (unethical). (Business dictionary).

In any profession, especially medical practices and counselling we want to ensure the best form of care and therefore rules and principles are put in place by the law that must be followed to ensure that clients are protected.

There are five codes of ethics which are Beneficence and Non-maleficence, Fidelity and Responsibility, Integrity, justice, and Respect for people’s rights and dignity. A situation that may be an Ethical dilemma would be if a counsellor of a group in, let’s say a suicidal meeting decided to use one of his clients as an example and named that client.

This would be covering most all the principles however the main focus would be on Fidelity and responsibility and also Respect for people’s rights and dignity. The counsellor would have violated the code of privacy and confidentiality for the client by using the name and talking about personal matters which also violated the trust that should be established between psychologist and their clients.

No matter if the psychologist believed that this client’s story might help others it was a violation of rights and the code. The ethic codes apply to psychologist activities that are part of their scientific, educational, or professional roles as psychologist. (APA, 2017)

2. Scenario: George has many friends including Carlos and Derrick. Carlos says he has met someone and begins dating this woman Carla whom he says is perfect for him. He believes she is the one and that this is his person for life. Unknown to Carlos, George saw Carla at the movies with her husband who happens to be George’s friend Derrick.

George is debating whether or not he should tell his friend Carlos that his friend Derrick is Carla’s husband when he receives a phone call from Derrick. Derrick suspects that his wife Carla is having an affair and calls his friend George since George is very popular and knows many people, in case he may have heard something.

No matter which route George takes whether it be that he tells Derrick the truth, tell Carlos the truth or stay quiet he will be hurting one of them.

This ethic principle is one of personal friendships or values and applications. If I were to approach the situation as a professional, I think the best advice I could give my client (George) is that if he truly has a deep meaningful relationship with either of these two men that he should just try and stay out of it, not put his two senses into the situation and try to disconnect as much as possible.

If by chance this is something George cannot do then he should ultimately come clean with the information he knows to both parties and ask to have no more part in it. Approaching the dilemma from an ethical standpoint I would first recognise the situation, then figure out all the components of the dilemma and separate them into parts.

I would also ask for my patient to give me their standpoint on the situation, and finally critically analyse the scenario and come to a solution that’s favourable.

3. Ethical dilemmas can be defined when there are three concepts considered, the first situation occurs when the individual has the power to take strategic decision which should be considered one of the best. Secondly, there must be different course of action to choose from and the third one is, whatever course of action is taken some of the ethical principle is compromised.

A scenario could be a difference in personal values. Social work for instance is a great field as there can be many ethical dilemmas that arise. For instance, a social worker could have a pregnant client that has exhausted all her options and has decided to end her pregnancy prematurely.

The client is putting her trust into the social worker to help and guide her with her decision. The social worker, on the other hand is against that and feels torn between providing a type of service requested and finds it hard to maintain a positive relationship with the client.

She has feelings of wanting to encourage the client to choose a different route such as adoption. However, as a social worker, one is obligated to follow the NASW policy statement, Family Planning and Reproductive Health, which states support for clients to make their own decisions about sexuality and reproduction.

The desire to help is a driving force for social workers, and occasionally, it can be tempting to jump into solving a situation. But to truly provide effective care, stepping back and analysing the situation is important.

This allows social workers to understand the implications of any actions taken and to gather any resources that may be needed. Staying within the boundaries of local, state and federal law is a priority for social workers. Asking for feedback from peers, mentors and the NASW allows social workers to remain accountable to both each other and their clients.

The APA Ethics Principle that I feel plays a role in my scenario is Fidelity & Responsibility, which states, “psychologists establish relationships of trust with those with whom they work. they are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities to society and to the specific communities in which they work”

4. A scenario that would present an ethical dilemma would be, for example, a physician wants to know the effects, positive and negative, of a new medication. He gives the medication to his patients by telling them that it is a vitamin to be used daily.

He observes the effects of the medication by asking his patients if they are experiencing anything abnormal or different at current visits compared to the last visits. He documents anything new they may say, as well as if everything stays neutral.

This behaviour goes against quite a few ethics principles. The physician gave his patients a medication not knowing what the effects of the medication could do to them. He placed those individuals in harm’s way because they could possibly have a reaction to it, an allergy, etc. This violates principal A: non-maleficence.

He broke the trust established between his patients and himself because he lied about what it was, he was giving them and didn’t make them aware of what his actual reasons were for giving them the medication. This violates principal B: fidelity.

If I had been made aware of this situation and had to address it, I would immediately contact the state or national committee, state licensing boards, or another authority that can handle the situation because the physician placed his patients in a predicament where they could potentially be harmed by, he has given them.

Under section 3 of human relations, the physician does not behave in a way that avoids harm to his patients. As mentioned earlier, he is unknowing of the effects of the medication he has given to them so he puts them in harm’s way if they have a reaction to it.

He also conducts this “experiment” with them without them knowing which means he doesn’t have their informed consent nor their informed consent for an assessment to participate in what he is doing and be assessed for results.

5. Scenario: You are currently working for a primary care physician for the front desk.  The doctor seems to have a close relationship to your coworker. The office is closed for lunch from 1 pm to 2 pm Monday through Friday and all workers share the same break room.  You overhear the doctor talking badly about her patience with your coworker.

She mentions their names and diagnoses, how one of them smelled and “she couldn’t wait to get out the room fast enough,” they’re all crazy, the medication she sent for one of her regular patients that isn’t going to work anyways because “she’ll die soon either way” etc.  In this one sitting I believe the primary doctor violated multiple principles.

The Ethics are seen as a code or a guide for a professional.   The principles that were violated in this scenario are: fidelity and responsibility, respect for people’s rights and dignity, justice.  As a professional you must be confidential; that rule applies not only to the outside world but your office as well.

Not only were the patient’s rights and confidentiality violated by whom they trust with their health, the primary care is beyond the point of professionalism.

In addition, the doctor picks and choose who to treat, how to treat them.  As a health professional, everyone should be treated under the same respect and treatment. If I was a professional sent there to address this scenario, the primary care physician would not still be practising.

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