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Ethical issues in the criminal justice professional
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Mental health ethical issues
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The warden’s request, as mentioned in the scenario given, for an evaluation is no difference from other requests posted by judges to forensic psychologists and psychiatrists for probation and sentencing purposes (Weinberger & Sreenivasan, 1994). The answer to the given question is yes, the evaluation should be completed and conducted by Dr. R to evaluate the inmate’s long history of violent behavior. A psychological test or evaluation as stated in the APA Understanding psychological testing and assessment, mentioned that “Psychologists use tests and other assessment tools to measure and observe a client’s behavior to arrive at a diagnosis and guide treatment,” (American Psychological Association, 2015). The inmate as mentioned in the vignette, …show more content…
The issue arises within the warden’s second request to perform the evaluation without the inmate being informed, is a violation of the APA code of ethics which it is required for a member of the mental health professionals to follow. The APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2015), under Standard 3: Human Relations, subheading 3.07 entitled Third-Party Requests for Service, it explains what expectations that a professional need to follow. These expectation are for professionals to inform the third-party such as the prison warden, of the professional’s requirements and responsibilities regarding ethical obligations (Code of Ethics, APA, 2015). It is reasonably necessary for Dr. R to inform the warden with reasons why it is important to follow protocols such as ethical guidelines and codes regarding informed consent. The same Standard 3: Human Relations, subheading 3.10, which states the requirements for informed consent. a) When psychologists conduct research or …show more content…
It is essential to understand that mental health professionals should be able to uphold with the same Code of Ethics and Standards from one professional to other. Professional should have responsibility or liability for the practice that they perform and the services that they carry out to the people. If one professional does not follow the standards and ethics that they practice, other professionals will take advantage of their obligations and the Code of Ethics and Standards will not be of good use to the people that they
There are a lot of ethical standard that can be apply to this scenario, the most and most important one avoiding harm (Standard 3.04). The psychologist should take a reasonable step to avoid harming the patient especially when it is foreseeable. Before referral, the psychologist has known that the patient was abusing Xanax, she had taken 17 mg in the 30 hours when she should have only taken 2.5 mg, her behavior is very unreliable and she was not overtly suicidal or homicidal but the tendancies were there. Practicing within the boundaries of competent (Standard 2.01), the psychologist was knowledgeable enough to know that the client was in danger of harming herself or others. The psychologist took the necessary precautions to avoid harm by referring her to an inpatient facility. The psychologist cooperated with another professional (Standard 3.09) when it was needed which was in the best interest of the client. The psychologist should be aware of HIPPA rules when cooperating with the other professional. The patients written authorization on release of PHI should be communicated to the other professional. This brings us to the pressing issue for the psychologist right now; the psychologist wants to check on the status of the client, but the facility will neither confirm nor deny her stay there. The psychologist can fax the release form but, with the condition that it should be communicated to the inpatient clinic as confidential on the fax cover. The mistake the psychologist made was not getting a full release from the client, this should have been discussed during informed consent (Standard 3.10). This should also have been done as early as feasible before services and the psychologist had ample time since the client has been coming for several weeks. Even though this patient might be in a heightened emotional state due to her unreliable state before
Practitioners are likely to concentrate on the mental health issues rather than the overall issues that prevent the well-being of an individual. For instance, an individual could have other medical issues that need attention but the need could be ignored because a psychiatrist specialises in mental health needs. The previous negative experience of a service user and lack of insight could result in the service user not requesting the support they
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) Code of Ethics (2002) is the foundation for psychology’s professional practice and ethical responsibility. Although it is important to know the ethical standards, professionals must also apply them into practice. The current case example examines the importance of professional consultation, when faced to identify ethical dilemmas in clinical practice, make ethical decisions, and gain insight into self-awareness. This case also highlights the importance of implementing self-care in clinical practice, especially when treating patients who present with severe symptomatology.
In the mental health profession of counseling, therapy, psychology, psychiatric and social services ethical dilemmas are faced primarily on a daily basis. Being that mental health professionals are working with clients who are often fragile and vulnerable, they must develop an intense awareness of ethical issues. On the other hand, mental health professionals would never intentionally harm their clients, students or colleagues and others whom they work with. Unfortunately, good intentions are not enough to ensure that wrong doings will not occur and mental health professionals have no choice but to make ethically determined decisions. Depending upon the experience and expertise of the professional determines the outcome of the ethical circumstance. For example, if you were practicing mental health professional and had a friend who’s a licensed psychologist, who is invited to attend the wedding of a patient that she has been seeing in court-ordered therapy for a year; what advice would you give your friend?
The text defines ethical dilemma as situations that have two or more values in conflict (Woodside & McClam, 2015). As a human service professional, there may be times when situations may emerge and an individual might be uncertain of the proper action to take. A human service professional must look at all points of view. In addition, they must establish a list of problems and examine the multiple viewpoints. Furthermore, they must develop potential outcomes and analyze the impact each decision may have. This will assist the profession to have the ability to have an understanding of critical thinking, professional code of ethics, and to form rapport (p. 270). Ethical behavior has six principles that is shared among members of the human
Ethics is the judgement and the moral actions used in interactions with cultures and society and its focus is on the client well-being. Ethics is defined by Remley and Herlihy (2010) in the counseling field as “professional behavioral and interactions” (p.4). Counselors do rely and are guide by Codes of Ethics. The role and relevance of the ethical principals, the ACA and AMHCA Code of Ethics are the base of the counseling profession. Without them this career would not have a guide on how the professionals should act and react professionally in all the different situations that are faced in this field.
Since 1976, The American Mental Health Counselors Association has been committed to establishing and promoting vigorous standards for education and training, professional practice, and professional ethics for Clinical Mental Health Counselors. So far, this association have 7,000 clinical mental health counselors but its organization is continuously growing (AMHCA).” “The American Mental Health Counselors Association have licensures laws in all 50 states, and the association seeks to enhance the practice of clinical mental health counseling and to promote standards for clinical education and clinical practice that anticipate the future roles of Clinical Mental Health Counselors within the broader health care system. This association was ultimately put together to define and promote professional identity of mental health counselors (AMHCA).”
In psychology, ethics are important because they set boundaries and control the way psychology is used by a set of laws. Ethic codes mainly protect clients from misuse of psychology. Ethics are important because they refrain the psychologist from lying to a patient. They also give protection to the public, clients, and psychologist. Overall, ethics are used to protect the psychologist and client from harm, as well as give control to the behavior in order to ensure safe and effective treatment. http://www.efpa.be/ethics.htm
Mental health service managers or quality improvement officers should keep themselves well informed about developments in quality assurance, quality improvement and quality management. Knowledge from the quality improvement procedure in service delivery and management should be assimilated into the succeeding revision of policy, standards and qualification processes. By improving the quality of care, other countries should be able to increase the probability that the consequences of care will imitate the requirements and ambitions of the inhabitants served. The definitive goals of quality improvement are to reverence the rights of people with mental disorders, to guarantee that they are provided with the best obtainable evidence-based care, to upsurge self-assurance and to improve the quality of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015; World Health Organization, 2003).
When it comes to mental health and diagnosing there is many challenges that a therapist or clinician could encounter. In any professional occupation one has to consider all of the ethical principles put in place as well as the legal laws; if one is incompliant to these ethical guidelines in a mental health field, in varying circumstances, failure to comply with these codes could involve legal issues which could even result in lose of licensure. Common ethical issues involved in the mental health field could include: misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis, legal incompetence, and health care fraud (misdiagnosis for insurance reimbursement).
My experience in mental health clinical was very different from any other clinical I had before. In a mental health clinical setting, I am not only treating client’s mental illnesses, I am also treating their medical problems such as COPD, diabetes, chronic renal failure, etc. Therefore, it is important to prepare for the unexpected events. In this mental health clinical, I learned that the importance of checking on my clients and making sure that they are doing fine by performing a quick head-to toes assessment at the beginning of my shift. I had also learned that client’s mental health illness had a huge impact on their current medical illness.
Working with clients can present a diverse collection of ethical issues. However when you are a rehabilitation counselor working with clients the ethical issues could be immensely challenging when you are trying your best to assist the client. In this specific can based on a client named Bill there are several ethical issues are prominent throughout, however it is clear that several of ethical issues do conflict with each other. In addition, in knowing that that is several of ethical issues do conflict with each other the way to handle the situation with Bill can be extremely daunting nonetheless it can be handled in a simplistic manner. Furthermore handling this client will from time to time need use life experiences instead of using the CRCC
Professional ethical conduct is essential to the success of any client, whether it is in individual counseling or in a group setting. Professional psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers or others in the field of human service or help have the duly responsibility to continuously become aware of their professional responsibilities, and manage their practice based on areas of ability. This paper will research ethics within groups and individual counseling, and compare their similarities and their differences.
In this case, the psychologist is presented with several ethical issues which could cause harm to the client. The first ethical issue that arose in this case is the potential for a role conflict. The psychologist and Mr. Hartwig had contact prior to the development of a therapeutic relationship when the psychologist bought a car from Mr. Hartwig. It may not be enough that the brief, informal relationship ended. The psychologist must assess the dimensions of the previous relationship from the viewpoint of the client as well as his/her own personal feelings (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008). For example, the client could feel that he gave the psychologist a good deal and that the psychologist was indebted to him. This could leave the psychologist vulnerable to being manipulated by the client. Or, what if the car broke down? This could leave the psychologist feeling cheated and resulted in hostile feelings toward the client. The psychologist has an ethical responsibility to examine both relationships for role incompatibility prior to forming a therapeutic relationship. The psychologist seemed to be aware that there was the potential role conflict resulting from their initial meeting, and he acted ethically by attempting to refer Mr. Hartwig to a Psychology Registry.