Preview

What Are At Least Two Legal Issues Associated With Clinical Psychology?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1221 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Are At Least Two Legal Issues Associated With Clinical Psychology?
University of Phoenix Material

The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet

Answer the following questions. Your response to each question must be at least 150 words in length.

.1 What are at least two legal issues associated with clinical psychology? Provide an example of a situation that could be legal but unethical. Explain your response. The first legal issue associated with clinical psychology is confidentiality. Whenever a patient seeks help, everything that is said in the sessions must be held confidential and the patient is encouraged to speak freely. There are times when confidentiality becomes unethical and that is if and when the patient talks about issues that may cause harm or being a serious threat to themselves or someone else. An example of this would be if a patient talks about committing suicide or mentions for example child abuse.

The second legal
…show more content…
Psychologists are expected to be professional and honest at all times with their patients and others around them. When a patient is with the psychologist, the psychologist has to honestly tell the patient of all tests that will be done or what will happen in a session. When a psychologist or any other professional for that matter is not honest, it can result in complications which include legal problems. An example for integrity issues that result in legal matters is if a psychologist tells his or her patient that by telling the truth about anything, it will not be reported. A psychologist has an obligation to report any activities that may result in harm to the patient or someone else such as with child abuse. If the patient admits to child abuse because they assumed they would not get into trouble legally, then the integrity of the psychologist is then compromised. If the psychologist did not report what was said during the session, the psychologist and/or patient can end up getting into legal

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Insanity Defense

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Clinical psychologists play an important role in legal proceedings. The clinicians are able to submit any records that reports medical history, child abuse history, or substance abuse. Clinicians may provide services to either the court or defendant; can either testify on the behalf of or against a client in the court of law. Clinical psychologists are also helpful when determining sentence; expert may suggest treatment plans, hospitalization, or outpatient programs that will allow the individual to adjust to…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tarasoft Case Summary

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It helped the patient to not be careful about what they were telling the doctor. Once the Tarasoft case was opened up to the courts the Confidentiality between patient and psychologist was over depending on the conversation. If a patient like Poddar comes in with psychological issues a psychotherapist should always take action. The Tarasoft decision is a California decision that imposes a duty on a therapist to warn the appropriate people or person when he/she becomes aware their patient may present a risk of harm to a person or persons. The decision made by the psychologist was not a good one at all because the women were in danger. The psychologist alerted campus police because he took what his patient said serious but did not inform her or the family. The Psychologist suggested Poddar should be hospitalized due to his mental state of mind. The psychologist should have breached the patient confidentiality once he knew third party was unaware of the patient conversation with him. Poddar was let go because he seemed to be mentally stable. The patient was released back in the public even though the police knew he made a death threat about Tarasoft. The psychologist was told by the director of…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The authors describe the case of Thapar v. Zezulka is what the state of Texas established their precedent for mental health professional not obligated to warn and protect third parties when a client reveals an intent to harm. The arthurs discuss the ACA code of ethics as being more permissive than Texas statues in reporting results of HIV testing Barbee et al. (2007). Mental health professional has a duty to protect the client and breaching of confidentiality is an issue when dealing with a client threating harm to a third…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    BUS 311 Week 5 Quiz

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages

    4. Psychiatrists who learn from a patient that he or she intends to do harm to another has the legal responsibility to the patient to maintain confidentiality and cannot disclose such information to authorities.…

    • 401 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. What are at least two ethical issues associated with psychological testing? What impact do these issues have on the field of psychological testing?…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    n order to minimize professional liability and ensure treatments of clients so that they remain soundly and within the boundaries of professional standards it is up to the counselor to inform and educate his/her clients about the code of ethics (the clients may not know there boundaries) as well as determine if the client needs to be transferred to another professional. For example if the client attempts to cross the boundaries it’s the consoler responsibility to be an authority figure in these cases, as mentioned in the ACA it’s part the counselors job to determine if the client needs to see a different professional. Decisions and treatment options for the client are always made with the best interest in mind for the client. As mentioned in the code of ethics section A.2.e Mandated client’s counselors discuss the required limitations to confidentiality when working with clients who have been mandated for counseling services.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confidentiality and informed consent are a crucial factor in the field of psychology. Clients expect that they will be able to speak freely, without the fear of being judged, or their information being breached. In 1969, on behalf of the Tarasoff case, the California Supreme Court ruled that therapists be required to protect third parties from harm. Before consenting to treatment, clients are aware of this requirement. They then are allowed to accept or refuse treatment, however, consent is not valid unless it is volunteered.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The psychologist faces many issues in the presented vignette. The first is the breach in confidentiality between the clinician and patients. Acknowledging the issue could potentially identify the patient. The psychologist also has the responsibility of providing an informal resolution to the ethical issue. The issue potentially harms the profession by instilling distrust of the public. The psychologist could provide discuss the violation with the offending psychologist to confirm if the misconduct has occurred and recommend ways to end it.…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Apa Ethical Dilemmas

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The ethical issues involved in the case study for school psychology or ABA, are pertaining to patient confidentiality. In the case study, the patient trusted the psychologist to not tell anyone that she had started to cut herself in order to make friends with a group of girls. The patient is excited to finally be making friends as she has difficulty in socializing with others. According to the psychologist, she or he has not discussed patient confidentiality or its terms with the client. In reference to the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2010) #3.04, psychologist must make sure that no one is harmed under their care, most importantly the client. Since in this situation the client is harming themselves, the psychologist…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Jacob and Hartshorne suits are filed against school psychologist under the state law if the psychologist/practitioner harms their client by acceptable professional standards of care. School psychologist can also be liable for malpractice in the courts, if the school psychologist violates the code of conduct from NASP or APA. These codes can include, Protecting the welfare of their clients and whomever they interact with professionally, except responsibility for their own actions, maintain integrity, honor and trustfulness, respect their client’s rights and privacy, and keeping information confidential. School psychologist can not reveal or disclose any information that has to do with their client, without their clients consent first. NASP and APA also have guidelines that school psychologist must go by. For example, professional competence means all school psychologists have to receive a degree from accredited program, maintain additional training, and remain current. Advocacy of rights and welfare of the student and client: as said before all professional have to remain trustworthy and keep information confident unless the client is harmful to themselves or others. Professional responsibilities in assessment and intervention means School psychologists have to keep in mind individual differences for each client. All school psychologists have to report data and share results in a language that everyone can understand, but remain professional. Courts will look at these codes of ethics and standards that have been given to the school psychologist at the beginning of their career, as evidence in the court.…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Psychological Association’s work towards establishing the ethical code of conduct is to assist psychologists with maintaining integrity and building trust with their clients. The guidelines that have been set forth come from years of experience by members of the APA dating back decades. They have earned their respect and acknowledgement with their efforts to train, educate and implement the code of ethics for psychologists to utilize daily. The ethical code of conduct is a vital part of a psychologists work. The APA created the informed consent to prepare the patient to understand the professional and legal aspects of counseling with the intention to engage the client with their own treatment while setting boundaries and limitations for the psychologists and patients. The APA takes pride in understanding the importance of conflicts with legislation and provides steps to address those situations. The American Psychological Association continues to strive towards assessing and revising any ethical codes that may need adjustment and will remain a foundation in the world of psychology.…

    • 1894 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In section B.2.a code of ethics, it states that counselor is required to disclose information about a client, who disclose about harming themselves or others (ACA, 2014). In the state of Florida, Florida Statues Section 394.4615 (3)(a) (2016), states that if a patient states they want to harm a person, a counselor is able to release information to warn that individual who is being threatened of harm by the patient. If i determine if the client is a high risk and is a harm to herself, under the Florida Mental Health Act, as a Mental Health Counselor I would be able to Baker Act my client. Under the Florida Statue Section 394.463 (2)(f)(2014), when a client receives involuntary examination, a client is held up to 72 hours, and the only way the Baker Act can be released is by a physician or…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As the nineteenth century rolled in, members of psychological study started to have a more accurate understanding of the connection between the body and mind. Sigmund Freud was one such forward thinker and he promoted theories that unconscious thoughts of the mind can hold a strong influence on one’s health drawing on the original beliefs of the Greeks (Parsons, 1958).…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Dual

    • 2360 Words
    • 10 Pages

    There are many difficult ethical decisions professionals in the field of psychology especially when in a therapist and or counseling position without crossing boundaries while avoiding dual relationships from forming. For example, a close friend of yours is having difficulty with her teenage daughter. She knows you are a psychologist who specializes in adolescents. She asks if you would be willing to see her daughter for a few sessions to straighten her out. Pope asks "What would each person consider the most ethical response?"The first problem given this scenario, there is already a dual relationship that is beginning because the therapist is a "close" friend of the client 's mother. In this way you can try to compensate for some of the distortion that may occur from seeing things only from your own perspective" (Pope & Vasquez, 2007). Everyone has their own personal beliefs regarding professional ethics and boundaries they draw. It is very important to assess each situation differently especially when in the field of psychology regarding patient 's confidentiality as well as following ethical codes as well as incorporating your personal ethics to ensure the most beneficial treatment.…

    • 2360 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The three main ethical issues in psychology using human participants are: Privacy, physical and psychological harm and deception.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays