Violations of Psychological Code of Conduct

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Summary

The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code includes ten enforceable standards guiding psychologists in their ethical decisions. Ethical standards are produced to benefit psychologists, their students, and their clients. If the code is violated in practice or research, the APA may act depending on the violation type.

Concerns in Couple Therapy

A father and a child engaged in therapy. However, a mother also showed her interest. The couple was not married and had joint healthcare decision-making authority (Benjamin, 2019). During the treatment, the child said that when the father picked him up from school, his father’s breath smelled of beer. After the case, the mother’s attorney called, saying that the therapist was mandated to report possible abuse or neglect. According to the APA Code regarding multiple relationships,¹ psychologists can carry out the role they agreed to serve by clarifying the boundaries from the beginning of the treatment.

“Special” Interest in The Client

After the session, a client said that her psychologist showed his sexual interest by complimenting her appearance and touching her hands and waist. This behavior could be regarded as sexual harassment.² Such behavior is offensive and creates strained relations.

Microaggressions towards Transgender Clients

Transgender clients often suffer negative mental health outcomes of stigmatization. The studies show that psychological services often fail to meet the needs of these individuals (Morris et al., 2020). Many of them report bias in therapists’ words and actions. However, specialists must not engage in any form of unfair discrimination and harassment.³

Student as a Therapist

A therapist delegated his work to a student, saying that he was overloaded. This is an ethical violation of the APA Code⁴ because a student without a necessary degree and training is not competent enough to substitute for an experienced therapist.

A Therapist with Personal Problems

A specialist had severe depression and suicidal thoughts that interfered with his work-related activities. His problems led to a lack of attention and depressive remarks during treatment. Still, it was the case when the therapist should have refrained from performing his work and resorted to professional consultation.⁵

Unethical Experiments

A psychologist was interested in sense-deprivation studies and conducted experiments that consequently led to mental problems in subjects. The APA Code states that psychologists must avoid harming their research participants and never engage in torture.⁶

Disclosure of Personal Information

A successful therapist wanted to be a prominent writer. He believed that the best books are based on actual events. In his writings, he included the names of his clients or changed them slightly so they were easily recognizable. This is a case of violation of confidentiality.⁷ He should have obtained the clients’ consent before any disclosure of confidential information.⁸

The Case of Animals

A psychologist used chimpanzees in his study and paid the staff who cared for the animals. However, the psychologist went on a business trip and forgot to pay his workers. After their arrival, he saw that some chimpanzees died because of dehydration. As a responsible person, he violated the rule to care for these animals.⁹

Plagiarism

Every researcher must avoid plagiarism and, in case of using other researchers’ data, cite the sources.¹⁰

Assessment Issues

A specialist tested if the children were ready to go to a primary school. One child failed the tests, and the specialist reported that it was because of mental issues. However, other ways of assessment were not applied, and such interpretation of results could be treated as ethical violence.¹¹ In addition, this case questions the specialist’s boundaries of competence¹² and needs further investigation if there was a bias.¹³

References

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct.

Benjamin, G. A. H. (2019). Avoiding the morass of multiple relationship ethics violations. Society for Couple and Family Psychology.

Morris, E. R., Lindley, L., & Galupo, M. P. (2020). “Better issues to focus on”: Transgender microaggressions as ethical violations in therapy.The Counseling Psychologist, 48(6), 883-915.

Footnotes

American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 3.05
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 3.02
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 3.01, 3.03
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 2.05
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 2.06
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 3.04
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 4.01, 4.07
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 4.05, 4.07
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 8.09
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 8.11
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 9.06
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 2.01
American Psychological Association, 2017, Standard 3.01

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