Treating people and animals humanely
Ethics final paper assignment
Though the school assures her that postponing her appointments is completely understandable, he feels too guilty turning away students. Unbeknown to the school, she occasionally meets with them outside of work on the weekends. Since she lives in the neighborhood directly behind school, she feels her home is the most convenient place for them to meet. Dry. Teen considers her work outside of school to be even more beneficial to students, as it is not in the formal setting, thus, she does not set a time limit on appointments. Plus, Dry.
Teen benefits from meetings outside of school, as the students who come to her house often bring her coffee, food, gift certificates, and tokens of appreciation for the additional availability she offers on weekends. Recently, however, Dry. Teen has become very overwhelmed with her counseling duties. In order to foster the most effective therapy for students, she has decided to restrict the students she meets with to the students in which she feels she is able to connect with the most. Coincidentally, many of these select students are young females.
A core code Dry. Teen violates is 3. 04: Avoiding Harm. The code states, “ Psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervises, research participants, organizational clients, and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable” (Fisher, 2013). Dry. Teen defies this code in various aspects of her practice. For example, she shares personal and revocation stories about herself, invites clients to her home, and offers her cell phone number for additional therapy benefits.
In doing so, Dry. Teen is transforming what is supposed to be a professional relationship into a more personal connection. For the students who are seeking mental health care, this can prove more harmful than helpful to their overall well-being. In line with code 3. 04, Avoiding Harm, is Principle A: Beneficence and Malefaction of the General Principles of Psychology. This principle reflects “ a psychologist’s dual obligation to strive to do good and avoid doing arm… Y promoting the welfare of others, treating people and animals humanely, increasing scientific and professional knowledge of behavior an people’s understanding of themselves, and improving the condition of individuals… ” (Fisher, 2013). By forming an unprofessional relationship with her students, Dry. Teen is neither striving to do good nor avoiding harm. Her closeness with these young and impressionable teens is not promoting their welfare. Instead, Dry. Teen appears to be too focused on bonding with students and forming a reciprocal relationship, when her true responsibility would be solely dedicated to the client.
According to professional ethics, research indicates that certain stressful life events can hinder a psychologist’s ability to use their skills competently and effectively. In addition to the violations of the various codes listed above, Dry. Ten’s relationship with Anna further violates standard 2. 06, as she is required to refrain from activities in which her personal problems may impair her ability to perform. As a psychologist, it is Dry. Ten’s responsibility to respect the dignity and worth of all individuals appropriately.
This includes offering equal services and availability to all students that seek her treatment. Code 3. 01: Unfair Discrimination elucidates on this topic, stating, “ In their work-related activities, psychologists do not engage in unfair scarification based on age, gender, gender identity’, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic Status, or any basis proscribed by law’ (Fisher, 2013). Although standard 3. 01 does not require psychologists to offer therapeutic assistance to all individuals requesting mental health services, Dry.
Specifically, FREER provides certain rights to parents of students that are ultimately transferred to students when they reach 18 years. Such rights include the inability to disclose a student’s educational record without written permission from the parent or the eligible student (Fisher, 2013). In addition to the diverse guidelines Dry. Teen must adhere to under the ethics code, it is crucial that Dry. Teen is additionally aware of implications such as FREER that impact her job and professional susceptibilities.
Celia Fisher’s, Decoding the Ethics Code, offers a quote by Nicholas Hobbs that captures the tough balance between being an effective psychologist, and adhering to the ethics that surround this task. Hobbs refers to psychology as, “ a complex field where individual and social values are yet but ill defined… ” (Fisher, 2013). He compares the field to a game, in which must be “ played fairly” and “ must be given direction and consistency by the rules of the game. ” Though an individual’s values may be ill defined, it is a psychologist’s responsibility to use these ethical standards as a tool to vegetative through the “ game” of psychology.