According to the United States Census Bureau, 60.4% of the United States population consists of White persons not of Hispanic or Latino ethnicities, and 41.8% of the population consists of racial/ethnic groups identified as Black or African American, American Indian and Native Alaskan, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, or those […]
As of May 2018, approximately 50 million Americans are using online and mobile app dating services (hereafter referred to as “online dating”; Seetharaman & Wells, 2018). With one out of five relationships now starting online (Cacioppo et al., 2013; Hamilton, 2016), mental health professionals and graduate students are likely using these services. Indeed, a recent […]
While all psychotherapists aspire to practice ethically, this can at times prove challenging. It may seem at first glance that practicing ethically means simply following the ethics code of one’s profession. While this is a good place to start, unfortunately this is not sufficient for ensuring ethical practice. There are several reasons for this: 1. […]
Abstract This introductory article to the special section on ethics in psychotherapy highlights the challenges and ethical dilemmas psychotherapists regularly face throughout their careers, and the limits of the American Psychological Association Ethics Code in offering clear guidance for how specifically to respond to each of these situations. Reasons for the Ethics Code’s naturally occurring […]
In graduate school, I had an ethics class (actually, three 1-credit classes) which repeatedly discussed how to avoid boundary crossings and violations. During my pre-doctoral internship orientation, I was handed a pamphlet entitled “Therapy Never Includes Sex,” and expected to read the pamphlet and sign a statement indicating I read the pamphlet. In my current […]
In late 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui revealed that twin girls had been born from embryos he had created using genome editing (referred to as the “CRISPR babies” after the molecular tool used that may render them immune to HIV). Internationally, legal and ethical debates quickly began. There is a fear that other scientists will […]
Primary care physicians and pediatricians are often the first ones to provide a mental health diagnoses and prescribe psychotropic medications. In fact, one study found the proportion of primary care visits at which antidepressants were prescribed, but no psychiatric diagnosis was noted in the record, increased from 59.5% to 72.7% from 1996 to 2007 (Mojtabai […]
The practice of psychotherapy is typically, by its very nature, a solitary activity for the psychotherapist. Even for those psychotherapists who work in group practices, hospitals, clinics, and other similar settings, the individual nature of the practice of psychotherapy can be isolating. The one-on-one nature of most psychotherapy and the demands placed on the psychotherapist […]
1. Get out of the office, attend continuing education events and professional association conferences, and interact with colleagues. Don’t isolate yourself. Those who are more isolated professionally are at greater risk of poor decision-making and unethical practice over time (Knapp & VandeCreek, 2012). 2. Create a constellation of colleagues (Johnson, Barnett, Elman, Forrest, & Kaslow, […]
Scandals involving psychological research have been making the headlines since World War II (see Adair, 2001, for review). These public critiques make individuals skeptical of the veracity of psychological science. Recently, participants from Phillip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment (Haney, Banks, & Zimbardo, 1973) were interviewed and revealed potential ethical violations, including feeling they were obligated […]