Ethics & Legal
114 articles found
The Illusion of Competence: How AI Tools Can Mask the Erosion of Clinical Judgment
Providing psychotherapy and conducting psychological assessments are among the most cognitively and emotionally demanding activities in professional practice. A psychologist must hold a client’s history, attend to what is said and what is not, monitor the relational moment, integrate theoretical frameworks, and make real-time clinical judgments, often under conditions of genuine uncertainty. This work is […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP
July 16, 2026
Living with Mental Illness as a Therapist: Ethical Challenges in Psychotherapeutic Practice
Introduction Psychotherapy centres on the healing relationship between the patient and the therapist, with the goals of every interaction remaining identifying, working through, and ultimately alleviating the patient’s distress (Flückiger et al., 2018). However, the focus of the professional relationship and therapeutic process extends beyond the patient, as it also encompasses the therapist’s mental health […]
Sanyukta Golaya, M.A.
July 16, 2026
Practice Committee Office Hours Update: Do You Have to Sacrifice Your Values to Maintain Financial Stability in Private Practice?
The Practice Committee has been hosting “Office Hours” to debunk some of the most common myths about private practice. Our most recent talk was centered around the dichotomy between the financial piece of private practice and concerns of sacrificing values as practitioners in order to make a living in private practice. Private practice can be […]
Wilson T. Trusty, Ph.D + 3 more
June 24, 2026
Practical Tips for Using Social Media to Promote Your Professional Practice
Creating professional social media accounts across multiple platforms can increase both business traction and community outreach and contact. By using your professional knowledge to inform the public about your mental health expertise and areas of specialty, you can help strengthen the relationship between mental health care and the communities it serves; destigmatizing various facets of […]
Amanda Conway, MS
May 6, 2026
Considerations for Adolescent Mothers: Trauma-Informed and Integrated Care
Adolescent pregnancies and teen birth rates are shown to be correlated with significant physical, emotional, and social risks in the United States (Mickler & Tellestrup, 2025) and in many countries across the world. In 2019, 21 million pregnancies were reported in women aged 15 to 19 years worldwide with approximately 50% of the pregnancies reported […]
Emma N. Jalili, MA + 2 more
May 6, 2026
Childhood Adversity and Suicide
What Childhood Events Are Especially Problematic? Suicidal patients often report adverse childhood events (O’Connor, 2021; Thompson & Kingree, 2022). Consequently, psychotherapists working with suicidal patients need to consider how these experiences impact their current functioning and how they contribute to their suicidality. Adverse childhood events could involve a wide range of serious and upsetting stressors […]
Samuel Knapp, Ed.D., ABPP
May 6, 2026
Psychology at a Crossroads: The Role of Town Halls in Building Bridges
Introduction to Town Halls and the Town Hall Speaker Attendees of the Presidential Town Hall from across the US and around the globe were excited to hear from the speaker, Lynn Bufka, PhD, ABPP. She was introduced to prospective attendees in advance, and registrants were encouraged to submit their questions during registration or prepare to […]
Charles Clark, MS + 1 more
May 5, 2026
No Psychologist is an Island: Building Ethical Strength Through Community
Professions exist as shared communities with each profession defined by its specialized tasks and standards to uphold, including ethical codes, shared values, and professional norms. Psychology, like other professions, is grounded in a shared ethical code, specialized expertise, and a commitment to public service. These core elements are dynamic and continuously refined through ongoing professional […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP + 1 more
March 19, 2026
Why Artificial Intelligence Will Not Replace Human Psychologists: Legal, Ethical, and Clinical Limitations
This article builds on previous arguments (Gavazzi, 2025a; Gavazzi, 2025b) stating that although AI technologies are rapidly advancing, they cannot replace human psychologists performing psychotherapy; this is simply the result of evolutionary advantages in humans across social, emotional, and cognitive domains that are essential for therapeutic interactions. In addition, these systems are unlikely to replace […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP
December 29, 2025
Pitfalls in Ethical Decision-Making: Settling, Fading, and Drift in Psychological Practice
The American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2017) provides the foundations and standards for addressing ethical practice. However, these standards cannot provide direction for psychologists in every situation (Cicero, 2021). Therefore, psychologists need a decision-making model when ethics codes or laws do not provide adequate direction. Nonetheless, practitioners frequently encounter subtle processes […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP + 1 more
September 8, 2025
From Clinical Judgment to Machine Learning: Rethinking Psychotherapeutic Decision-Making with Artificial Intelligence
According to the World Health Organization (WHO; n.d.) mental health disorders, such as anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are some of the most significant public health challenges in the WHO European Region. Within this region (which includes 53 countries across Europe and parts of Central Asia), mental health disorders are […]
Caleb Onah, MS + 1 more
August 10, 2025
“AT FIRST I WAS AFRAID, I WAS PETRIFIED”
Intriguing APA Initiatives: Katherine McGuire, APA Chief Advocacy Officer, recently reported: “This year, thanks to the dedication of psychologists, researchers, and students the Psychology PAC reached a historical milestone, achieving a record-breaking membership of 738 and raising $93,000.” This allows the PAC to strengthen their strategic advocacy efforts and thereby empowering it to champion initiatives that […]
Pat DeLeon, Ph.D.
July 9, 2025