Informed Consent
This core principle requires participants or clients to be given enough information to voluntarily decide whether to participate in research or treatment. What is it?
What is Informed Consent.
What ethical concept requires psychologists to discuss the limits of confidentiality with clients at the outset of the professional relationship?
What is informed consent (specifically discussing the limits of confidentiality)?
Set up informed consents for your private patients at the start of treatment. Not just verbal.
A psychologist is treating a client who expresses vague suicidal ideations but does not present an immediate plan or intent. What is the psychologist's primary ethical consideration/what should the psychologist do next?
Goals are: assessing the level of risk, developing a safety plan with the client, documenting the assessment thoroughly, and considering a duty to warn/protect if the risk escalates to immediate and foreseeable harm
How many years must a psychologist maintain records for an adult?
7 YEARS post termination.
True or false. It can be ethical to have a sexual relationship with a former patient.
True.
In research with children, who typically provides informed consent?
Who are the parents or legal guardians.
While confidentiality is crucial, what specific legal term allows psychologists to refuse to disclose confidential information in a legal proceeding?
What is privilege (or psychotherapist-client privilege)?
A school psychologist is asked by a parent for detailed notes from their child's therapy sessions, but the child (a teenager) has explicitly asked for their sessions to remain private. What ethical principles are in conflict here?
What are confidentiality/privacy (of the minor client) versus parental rights/access to information; and the principle of beneficence (what is in the best interest of the child)?
What precautions must psychologists take to ensure the physical and electronic security of client records?
Ensuring locked cabinets for physical records, using encrypted systems and strong passwords for electronic records, backing up data, and limiting access to authorized personnel. Double locked!
This term describes a situation where a psychologist is in both a professional role and another role (e.g., social, business, sexual) with the same person. What is it?
What is a multiple or dual relationship.
When a researcher intends to use deception in a study, what ethical step is required after data collection to ensure participants understand the true nature of the research?
What is debriefing?
What does HIPAA stand for?
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
A researcher discovers during data analysis that some of the collected data might have been compromised due to an unforeseen technical error. What is the ethical obligation regarding this finding?
Immediately investigate the extent of the compromise, assess its impact on the validity of the findings, and potentially discard the compromised data, re-collect data, or disclose the limitations and compromised data in any publications (Integrity and accuracy of research).
How should you prepare documents if you will be moving/traveling/accident?
Have another provider available in advance. Have this discussion before anticipated travel/leave/move.
True or false. You may terminate treatment with a current cline in order to have a sexual relationship with them or their significant other.
FALSE! Please don't do this. And if you must, you have to wait 2 years.
For individuals who are legally minors, what term describes their agreement to participate in research, even though their parents provide the official consent?
What is the key difference between confidentiality and privacy in a psychological context?
Confidentiality refers to the ethical duty of the psychologist to protect client information, while privacy refers to the individual's right to control access to their personal information.
In a small, rural community, a psychologist is the only mental health professional available. A new client seeks treatment who is also the psychologist's neighbor and child's teacher. What is the ethical challenge, and what steps should the psychologist consider?
What is a multiple relationship (due to unavoidable social/community ties) and the potential for impaired objectivity or client exploitation? The psychologist should discuss the potential implications with the client, establish clear boundaries, document the discussion, and potentially seek consultation or explore referral options if the multiple relationship becomes too complex or problematic.
How many years must a psychologist maintain records for a minor?
3 YEARS AFTER they turn 18 OR 7 years, whichever is LONGER. So if your patient was 5 when you saw them, you must maintain those records for 13 YEARS.
True or False: All multiple relationships are inherently unethical.
False. Some multiple relationships, especially in unavoidable situations like small communities, are not inherently unethical if they do not impair judgment or risk exploitation, and are managed appropriately.
Which 5 conditions must be met in order for a researcher to use deception in a study?
1) Value of research must justify deception
2) No other procedure is possible to test the h(x)
3) No deception about risky situations
4) Undo deception ASAP (debriefing)
5) Withdraw data if requested
What is the Tarasoff rule?
The Tarasoff rule, arising from the 1976 landmark case Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, establishes a duty for mental health professionals to warn potential victims of their patients' threats of violence. Specifically, if a therapist reasonably believes a patient poses a serious danger of violence to a reasonably identifiable victim, they have a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to protect that victim, which may include warning the victim, notifying law enforcement, or taking other actions.
A forensic psychologist is asked by a court to provide an evaluation of a parent in a child custody case. The parent previously sought individual therapy from the same psychologist for a brief period years ago. What specific ethical concern arises, and what is the best course of action?
What is the ethical concern of a conflict of interest and the prohibition against providing forensic evaluations for individuals with whom a prior therapeutic relationship existed? The best course of action is to decline the forensic evaluation and refer the court to another qualified forensic psychologist, as the therapeutic role (advocating for the client) and the forensic role (impartial evaluation) are fundamentally different and create an irreconcilable ethical conflict.
What specific ethical challenge arises regarding record keeping when a psychologist plans to retire or terminate their practice?
Ensuring the secure and confidential transfer or storage of client records to another qualified professional or entity, and informing clients of the plan for their records.
If a multiple relationship is unavoidable, what steps must a psychologist take to manage the ethical risks?
Documenting the rationale, discussing it with the client (informed consent), seeking supervision or consultation, and monitoring for any potential harm or impairment.