Reporting unethical behaviour psychotherapy how to resolve dilemma
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Talk to the ethics experts, and they'll tell you the best defense against an ethical problems is a good offense. By looking out for foreseeable conflicts and discussing them frankly with colleagues and clients, practitioners can evade the misunderstandings, hurt feelings and sticky situations that lead to hearings before ethics boards, lawsuits, loss of license or professional membership, or even more dire consequences.
However, being vigilant doesn't mean psychologists should spend their days worrying about where the next pitfall could be, says Robert Kinscherff, JD, PhD, former chair of APA's Ethics Committee, which adjudicates ethics complaints. "Instead of worrying about the ways [they] can get in trouble, psychologists should think about ethics as a way of asking 'How can I be even better in my practice?'" he explains. "Good ethical practice is good professional practice, which is good risk management practice."
When psychologists do end up in ethical quandaries, it's often because they unwittingly slid too far down a slippery slope--a result of ignorance about their ethical obligations or thinking they could handle a situation that spiraled out of control.
Many problems are what Ethics Committee member Anne Hess, PhD, calls "stealth" dilemmas: situations that develop gradually, moving step by small step beyond once-firm professional boundaries. Although each step seemed harmless at the time, many practitioners later realize that they have landed themselves in deep trouble.
The Monitor interviewed some of psychology's leading ethics experts to talk about how practitioners can avert common ethical dilemmas, from multiple relationships to whether to breach confidentiality, to terminating treatment.