Essential Ethics for Psychologists: A Primer for Understanding and Mastering Core Issues

✍ Scribed by Thomas F. Nagy

• Publisher: American Psychological Association
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 262
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

"Regardless of what role psychologists may choose to play--that of researcher, practitioner, or teacher--they must understand and adhere to ethical principles. In general, their professional conduct is governed by the American Psychological Association's (APA's) "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct" (Ethics Code; APA, 2010) and/or ethics codes of state psychological associations to which they belong, the regulations of state licensing boards, institutional policies, and state and federal law. However, there are certain underlying concepts that, once mastered, can help psychologists gain an understanding of their ethical obligations. This book presents those concepts, taken from the APA Ethics Code, and helps the reader learn how to apply them in a variety of settings. Although the book is based on the APA Ethics Code, it will be useful to APA members and nonmembers alike because it provides an overall understanding of ethics in psychology. The reader will learn of common ethical issues in both fictional vignettes and true accounts of actual transgressions. Four ethical concepts applicable to all psychologists are explored: (a) competence, (b) informed consent, (c) privacy and confidentiality, and (d) avoiding harm and exploitation. In addition, the book shows how the key ethical concepts apply to four broad areas of psychological work: (a) psychological assessment and test construction; (b) therapy (individual, marital, family, and group); (c) research and publication; and (d) teaching, training, and supervision. This book is intended for students who have had minimal preparation in ethics, codes of professional conduct, or practice guidelines in health care as well as for psychologists who wish to review how fundamental ethical concepts apply to psychological practice, research, and teaching"--Introduction.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter
Copyright
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Thinking critically about ethics
2. A brief history and overview of the APA Ethics Code
3. The general ethical principles of psychologists
4. Competence
5. Informed consent
6. Privacy and confidentiality
7. Avoiding harm and exploitation
8. Approaches to ethical decision making
9. Ethics in psychological assessment
10. Ethics in psychotherapy
11. Ethics in research and publication
12. Ethics in teaching, training, and supervision
References