Legal Aspects

Legal Aspects of Professional Psychology Name Class Date Professor

Legal Aspects

Legal Aspects of Professional Psychology In professional psychology along with any other field that deals with human participants ethics plays a very important role. Psychologists must be properly trained in order to provide a positive influence on the lives of their clients and to ensure there are no legal or ethical boundaries crossed. Psychologists must be competent professionals that understand their legal and ethical obligations to their clients and take active steps to ensure these obligations are not violated. The professional psychologist understands the importance of understanding and following the ethical guidelines established by the American Psychologist Association. Informed consent is an important aspect of the ethical obligations of the psychologists. Informed consent is when a client is provided a complete explanation of any research that may be conducted or to explain any risks involved in a procedure or a treatment (Plous, 2013). Once the client receives the information they will agree or disagree with the treatment or procedure. When a client is unaware of the potential risks associated with a psychological treatment it makes them more vulnerable to being coerced or subject to inhumane treatment. It is an important ethical step to inform patients of every steps of the treatment process. The Tuskegee syphilis study is a perfect example of the failure to inform patients. In this research, the researchers failed to inform research participants that they would be injecting them with syphilis. The research participants, African American males, suffered horribly due to the actions of the researchers but what is worse is they were never informed that they were being injected with the deadly disease. Informed consent ensures the client has an opportunity to refuse or accept the terms of the research or the treatment being offered. The right to informed consent reflects is an essential aspect of the ethical rights of the client a swell as it supports respect for

Legal Aspects

individual freedom, autonomy, and dignity (Plous, 2013). Informed consent is fundamental to the ethics of therapy and counseling. Informed consent is vital to ensuring no human subjects are treated ethically and a requirement of the APA. When a psychologist is assessing clients and has developed a treatment approach thy will need to explain this approach to the client and provide them with a document that explains in detail what will happen and what will be expected of the client. The client will read and sign the document if they agree to the treatment or procedure. The informed consent document will include a statement of what the research or treatment details, duration of subject participation, description of the risks, and description of the benefits. The informed consent form will provide a statement describing the extent, if any, to which confidentiality of records identifying the subject will be maintained and provide an explanation on any potential risk. The informed consent form will provide an explanation of the rights of the patient and contact information as well as a statement showing the client gave their consent voluntarily. The client will sign the form agreeing they understand what has been explained as well as understand that if at anytime they want to withdraw from treatment it is well within the clients rights. Legal issues emerge that are associated with the assessment, testing, and diagnosis involves potential civil liability if the patient becomes harmed or feels the psychologist has transgressed against them. Psychologists must act professionally at all times and have the proper credential to give a client a psychological assessment or test. Clinically oriented psychological assessments are also invasive instruments and could open the threat of an invasion of privacy lawsuit (Dean,

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2010). When a client take a psychological test or they are subject to a psychological test hey have a legal right to the test results and to have the information be held in confidence. Psychological tests must be applied fairly and equally in society and cannot discriminate against one client or another. A psychologist must ensure that there are no discriminatory practices and that all clients are treated equally. By law, psychologists cannot apply tests or any other type of selection procedure that may result in unfair discrimination or adversely impacts a favorable ratio of the sexes, races, or ethnic groups (Stone, 2011). Patients must understand the potential implications of a diagnosis made by a psychologist and the client should always receive sufficient feedback. A psychologist is bound by ethical guidelines and standards when protecting the confidentiality of the client. Confidentiality refers to the privacy of the patient and taking steps to ensure this right to privacy is not broken. Psychologists have an obligation to protect the confidentiality of the client not only because it is ethical but because the client is guaranteed this right in the client-psychologists relationship. Clients of psychologists admit some of the most personal and sensitive information to their mental health provider. Due to this fact they are guaranteed confidentiality. Privilege is the protection legally afforded to the client that discloses private information to the psychologist. Psychologists are ethically and legally bound to protect the confidentiality of the client. When a psychologist breaks this confidentiality they risk losing their license as well as face civil liability if the client sues. There are exceptions to privilege or keeping the clients private information confidential. For example if a client discloses information that could lead to another person being harmed they have a legal obligation to disclose this information to the police. If the

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psychologist discloses this information they will not face repercussions due to the legal obligation attached. Confidentiality is taking active steps to protect the private information of the client. This includes being responsible for protecting the private information disclosed to the psychologists. Private information includes the files kept on the client. These files must be stored in locked cabinets or placed into a computer system that is properly secured. In professional psychology the psychologist has an ethical obligation to uphold the ethical standards established in the APA but they also must abide by the last of the state or federal government concerning the treatment of the client. The rights of the patient are defined by state law. The psychologist must base their decisions on state law and applicable ethical standards. For example whether or not a parent or guardian has the right to the private records of the child patient is dependent on state law. When a child receives treatment the parent has certain rights but so does the child client. The psychologist must also take into consideration state law and the federal HIPPA act. Competence is another important concept in professional psychology. Competence is having the necessary knowledge to effectively treat a client. Psychologists are responsible for treating human clients they are suffering some form of mental anguish. If they do not have the necessary skills and training to treat the client the result could be further harm coming to the client. Psychologists must have ample training in their area of expertise before treating their client. Psychologists will specialize in a specific area in the psychological field and must only treat clients based on his expertise or competence. Psychologist cannot be competent in every psychological field and must only treat clients based on their area of expertise. For example if a psychologist is only trained to work with adult

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clients they should not treat children without the proper training needed to work with child clients. The APA ethical code requires competence in the psychologist and is an enforceable standard (Dean, 2010).Many of these enforceable standards address the area of competence. Professional psychology involves licensed mental healthcare professionals that have the skill and knowledge to treat patients suffering from mental health issues. It is essential for the professional psychologist to understand their ethical and legal obligation to the client. Psychologists treat, supervise, and teach and are licensed to provide mental health services to the client. Through professional psychologists the client can overcome their mental health issues in order to lead a more productive and health lifestyle. When a psychologist fails to apply the necessary ethical standards the result is harm to the client. The professional psychologist has an ethical duty to get informed consent from their clients and to ensure they are not harmed. Clients must always be made aware of all aspects of any treatment they will receive and give consent before the psychologist proceeds. The psychologist must protect the confidentiality of the client and adhere to the laws of their state. The professional psychologist must be competent and educated and provide a positive influence in the lives of their clients. The professional psychologist is guided by the ethical standards established in the APA ethical guidelines and their duty to their client.

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References Dean, D. (2010). Clinical Competency and Ethics in Psychology. Student Pulse, 2(10): p. 1/3 Plous, S. (2013).Tips on Informed Consent. Retrieved June 14, 2013 from http://www.socialpsychology.org/consent.htm Stone, D. (2011). Issues in Psychological Testing. Retrieved June 14, 2013 from http://psychological-musings.blogspot.com/2011/08/issues-in-psychological-testing.html