APA Ethical Standards
In Professional Standards in Human Service and Research, it was explained that ethical standards provide a mechanism for professional accountability. The necessity of ethical behavior in clinical and research practice was covered in detail. I also learned how important it was for a professional to keep their own values from influencing clients.
In this class I completed a number of essays showing that I was able to effectively identify ethical dilemmas, identify the potential issues involved, while listing all of the specific APA ethics codes that applied. I came to realize that the professional has significant responsibility and power. Keeping this in mind helped me to come up with the best course of action for the individual who had
the lesser power in the situation. This always consisted of doing what was in their best interest. In one essay I had to identify the ethical implications of a hypothetical case whereby a psychology professor tells his abnormal psychology class that he is a psychotherapist in private practice and then offers his services as their therapist. I gave a comprehensive evaluation, analyzing how dual or multiple relationships could be harmful to his students.
In this class, I also learned of the importance of respecting client’s values that may differ from my own. I also learned about the importance of maintaining confidentiality, and how legal obligations usually supersede professional ethics. I recognized how sometimes this conflict could lead to ambiguity. Ethics class also covered how the loss of objectivity by the practitioner could result in harm to the client. This led me to examine my own weakness of being able to put aside my feelings in certain situations. For instance, such as counseling a client who came in for treatment for pedophilia. Because I would find it hard to maintain enough objectivity to help them, I would probably end up referring them to someone else.
In this class I completed a number of essays showing that I was able to effectively identify ethical dilemmas, identify the potential issues involved, while listing all of the specific APA ethics codes that applied. I came to realize that the professional has significant responsibility and power. Keeping this in mind helped me to come up with the best course of action for the individual who had
the lesser power in the situation. This always consisted of doing what was in their best interest. In one essay I had to identify the ethical implications of a hypothetical case whereby a psychology professor tells his abnormal psychology class that he is a psychotherapist in private practice and then offers his services as their therapist. I gave a comprehensive evaluation, analyzing how dual or multiple relationships could be harmful to his students.
In this class, I also learned of the importance of respecting client’s values that may differ from my own. I also learned about the importance of maintaining confidentiality, and how legal obligations usually supersede professional ethics. I recognized how sometimes this conflict could lead to ambiguity. Ethics class also covered how the loss of objectivity by the practitioner could result in harm to the client. This led me to examine my own weakness of being able to put aside my feelings in certain situations. For instance, such as counseling a client who came in for treatment for pedophilia. Because I would find it hard to maintain enough objectivity to help them, I would probably end up referring them to someone else.