1,720,977 research outputs found
Overview of ethics in Australian psychology
No full textThe Psychology Board of Australia expects all registered psychologists to be familiar with how legal, ethical, and professional conduct ideals are applied to psychological practice. Psychologists must be familiar with the adopted code of ethics for the profession and conversant with general professional conduct. Ethics are basic rules that govern professional behaviour. Psychologists respect clients’ legal and moral rights and their dignity. Psychologists need to be aware of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as well as the standards and policies of the Board. Psychologists also need to know about other relevant national, state, and territory legislation as well as principles of best practice. The Board notes that psychologists have an obligation to be familiar with and adhere to the Board’s registration standards. The Board has developed a number of policies and guidelines to direct the profession. Board guidelines are designed to provide guidance to the profession and clarify expectations held for psychologists
When being tidy requires follow-up in a university setting
No full textA psychologist working as a lecturer at a large metropolitan university finds a note with reference to death, self-harm, with the word ‘KILL’ in reference to self/the writer on same. A psychologist is working as a lecturer for an undergraduate psychology class at a local university. The psychologist will also be impacted, possibly worrying about the welfare of a student at the university and/or the time and effort it will take to follow up on the note. The lecturer is a psychologist employed at a metropolitan university. A couple of the scraps of paper were simply spare scribbles, easily placed in the rubbish bin, but one piece of paper contained writing that caught the psychologist’s eye. The lecturer is likely to feel concern for the individual noting self-harm in the note and would likely be impacted negatively if they were to subsequently hear of a student’s death by suicide
General ethical principles
No full textThe helping professions consist of psychology, counselling, social work, nursing, mediation, and others. Most helping professions in Australia, including those that are voluntarily regulated, have their own ethical code or code of conduct. There are differences in detail and presentation for each of the ethical codes available to professionals in Australia. Ethical codes tend to be organised, or grouped, into common principles. Groupings, however, differ from ethical code to ethical code. Regardless of the grouping used, there tends to be five common principles across almost all ethical codes. The five common ethical principles are: autonomy; non-maleficence; beneficence; justice; and fidelity. These five common ethical principles guide professional work and as a result safeguard client wellbeing. These five ethical principles, along with the ethical code for psychologists in Australia published by the Australian Psychological Society, are used in the Elements book in the examination of psychological ethical dilemmas
Maintaining professional boundaries when both client and psychologist belong to a common sub-culture
No full textThis chapter provides the case study of Dr Mostert. Dr Mostert is a self-identified gay female psychologist. She has been providing a therapeutic service to a female client, Melissa, who has disclosed that she is gay. During a social gathering at a local event for sexual minority rights, Dr Mostert notices that her friend has entered the event with Melissa, and appears to be her partner. Sexual minority groups in relatively moderate size cities can act as a sub-culture, which experiences similar issues to that of rural and remote communities. The Australian Psychological Society guidelines for managing professional boundaries and multiple relationships will be necessary for the ethical dilemma. This ethical dilemma raises a variety of concerns for confidentiality, conflicts of interest, and informed consent issues. All are threatened in this ethical dilemma, which makes the ethical principle of fidelity important
Confidentiality in the psychological treatment of self-harming adolescents
No full textEthical challenges concerning confidentiality can be complex in the psychological treatment of adolescent clients. Confidentiality becomes particularly complex when adolescents pose a risk to themselves and parents specifically enquire about their child’s wellbeing. This chapter presents the case study of Amelia. Amelia and her mother have been arguing because she has broken curfew many times while she was with her boyfriend. She is part of the school netball team and is well liked by her peers. Amelia discloses to the psychologist that she has self-harmed a few times in the past and has been having suicidal thoughts lately. According to the principle of autonomy, the psychologist should respect Amelia’s freedom to make her own choices, after having been apprised of the choices’ potential costs and benefits. The psychologist must maintain awareness of Amelia’s current relationship difficulties with her mother and her beliefs about self-harm being a helpful coping strategy
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