Professional Affairs and Ethics Psychology 364 Spring 2004

Professional Affairs and Ethics
Psychology 364
Spring 2004
Marc Kessler, Ph.D.
210 B. Dewey Hall
[email protected]
656-2670
The purpose of this course is to familiarize you with issues of psychology as a profession and
with professional ethics . We will examine the process of ethical decision making as well as the outcome.
I would hope that by the end of the course your thinking about ethics will be more informed and more
critical. In addition we will examine some of the social/political/doctrinal issues facing psychology as a
profession.
In studying both of these areas, professional affairs and ethics, we are chasing ephemera. The
issues that we are looking at change as we examine them, they do not remain static for any time.
Therefore we need to constantly keep our eyes open for new information on these matters and how things
are evolving. Some examples;
The recent revision of the APA Code of Ethics.
The Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners has recently published new rules
There is a new Canadian Ethics code on conducting human subject research
(http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/code/) promulgated by their research council (somewhat like our NIMH),
which will among other things, require researchers to debrief their subjects after each study, to allow
participants to review research results, comment on findings, and to delete their data if participants did not
like what they heard, and more. This code will likely have some effect on ethics codes in this country.
There is a case before the California Supreme Court that might extend the Tarasoff rules to
warnings made by patient relatives.
Similarly, as psychologists move into the drug world, as researchers and prescribers, new ethical
issues arise. There have been a hue and cry raised about drug companies (and other corporate bodies)
sponsoring research and the effect that it has had on academic freedom, protection of the public etc. (For
example http://www.caut.ca/en/issues/academicfreedom/OlivieriInquiryReport.pdf for a Canadian case
that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.) ( A good Web site for research ethics is
http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/resources/research/).
Other examples; major issues on professional psychology's agenda include health care reform,
and psychology's place in any health care program; the likely changes in research funding with the current
Congress and its impact on Behavioral/Social Science funding. More parochial issues are managed care,
prescription privileges for psychologists, the whole issue of the unity of psychology in the face of the
ongoing splits in the APA and the development of APS. Globalization effects us too. Cross border
licensing is being studied. Another ongoing issue is the use of animals in research programs, and the
impact of animal rights organizations on future research efforts. As recently as 1996 a couple of states
again tried to limit psychotherapy (calling it Medical Psychotherapy) to physicians, and there has been a
recent report by the Pew Commission suggesting required lifelong evaluation of practitioners, which
would completely revamp existing licensing laws.
We will be keeping up with current issues, but we can't completely predict what they will be, so
a little flexibility is in order.
Finally. Most of you know that I can=t keep to a schedule .. I digress and develop logorhea. So keep up
with the readings according to the schedule.
Class Design
I. Goals of Course.
The student should:
A. become knowledgeable about current ethical and legal standards, standards for practice and
for professional behavior.
1. Be familiar with various ethical theories and ethical decision making, and know how
they inform the development of ethical codes
2. Be able to use these principles, standards and practices to analyze cases, to formulate
choices and to evaluate appropriate courses of action.
B. become familiar with current issues in organizational and professional psychology.
C. become familiar with the history and structure of the psychology as an institution.
D. become familiar with the social and political context in which psychology operates
1. psychology and other professions
2. multi-cultural and ethnic issues
3. professionalism and anti-professionalism
E. develop personal standards of professional behavior and methods for maintaining an ongoing
awareness of ethical standards/issues.
1. achieving and maintaining competence
2. developing plans for ongoing training
II. Course Structure/Process
A. The course has been structured to promote students' active involvement in thinking about
ethical and professional issues. Thus, the course emphasizes the use of the following:
1. Active participation in course discussions of current articles and issues in the
psychological field.
2. Ongoing review of APA Monitor, American Psychologist and other psychological
periodicals. Selected articles from current issues will be discussed.
3. Topics of interest will be drawn directly from the readings, ongoing cases in the news,
personal experiences and these will be discussed within the context of the current
ethics code and elaborated on with class debates, and discussions.
B. Ongoing reading and course Materials:
1. Read Monthly: APA Monitor and American Psychologist, and issues of the National
Psychologist
2. TEXT: Bersoff, D.N. (1999) Ethical Conflicts in Psychology.(2nd Ed.) Washington,
D.C. American Psychological Association
3. Other readings are by the copier
III. General Assignment
A. Ongoing Review of APA Monitor, American Psychologist, National Psychologist
Monthly Assignment. Each month choose one article from the current issue of one of
these publications. Preferably the article should address a professional issue, rather than
a report of research. Submit a 1-2 paragraph write-up on the article. Your write-up
might address some or all of the following:
- why topic/article is of interest to you
- main points of article
- whether you agree or disagree with the position taken
- questions the article raises for you
- experiences you have had that reflect or are related to this topic
- what other issues are related to this topic
- why should we discuss this article in class
- why is this topic being raised now
- current context
- historical influences
- significance to the field, society
Your write-up should reflect your thoughts, musings, contemplations of the issues raised
by the article. Spend your time thinking/reflecting -- do not spend time being concerned
about careful wording, perfect format, etc. Thus, the write-up can be presented loosely -outline form, incomplete sentences, etc. Feel free to do as a free-write, stream of
consciousness. You might even contradict yourself. Or write as a letter to the editor.
(Please type the write up).
B. Keep a journal or a set of notes to yourself about issues that you think are important. At the
end of the semester I am going to ask you to reflect back on the issues that we read about and discussed,
and to choose at least 4 of those that you think are most important to you and/or to the profession. The
reflection will be written and handed in, so having notes will help.
IV. Final Debates:
In lieu of individual papers, you will be preparing and taking part in debates about a number of
controversial issues in psychology. Since there are 12 people signed up for the course, we will probably
set up 4 teams of 3 people (or 3 of 4 people, depending on the topics chosen) to participate in the debate.
Each team will select, or be given one side of an issue to debate with one of the other teams.
Some of the topics that I have in mind are:
Prescription Privileges for Clinical Psychologists
Masters level psychologists (I.E. The Masters degree should be the entry level degree for
practice of clinical psychology)
Subjects in clinical research should be paid.
Therapists should have absolute confidentiality, like the clergy.
The ban on therapist-patient sexual relations following therapy should be absolute.
Psychologists should be restricted to practicing empirically validated interventions
Personal Relationships between faculty and students should not be regulated by the
Administration of Universities
The Scientist-Practitioner model should be abolished
Psychologists should not take part in physician assisted suicide
Industry participation in research (drugs e.g.)
IRB=s should be abolished
The Ph.D. should be the basis for licensing.
Other topics are possible, and we can discuss them during the first class meeting.
Syllabus
Week 1 - 3
Introduction to the course and
The history and the organization of professional psychology
A. The nature of a profession.
B. The History of the Profession: Putting Psychology and Ethics in a Context.
Questions to ponder. What is a profession? What are the rights and responsibilities of a
profession in society.
Is psychology a profession? If so what kind of profession is it? Is it one or two professions (or
maybe more.).
What is the current structure of organized psychology? How did it get to be that way? What is
the likely future (more fragmentation or reunited and reorganized?
Readings:
A. The nature of professions, Psychology as a Profession
Koehn, D. (1994) Introduction. Chapter 1 in The Ground of Professional Ethics. London,
Routledge.
Koehn, D. (1994) The public pledge as the ground of professional authority. Chapter 4 in The
Ground of Professional Ethics. London, Routledge.
Greenwood, E.(1957) Attributes of a Profession. Social Work.2,(July),45-55.
Haskell, T.L.(1984) Introduction to The Authority of Experts. (pp ix-xxxix). Bloomington,
Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Collins,R (1979) The politics of professions.(Pgs 131-159 of Chapter 6) in R. Collins The
Credential Society. New York: Academic Press.
Sales, B.D. (1983) The context of professional psychology. In B.D. Sales (Ed.) The Professional
Psychologists Handbook. New York: Plenum Press., 3-15.
B. The History and Structure of APA (Also see American Psychologist, February, 1992)
Cattell, J. M. (1937) Retrospect: Psychology as a Profession. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology,1,1-3. (Reprinted in Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology,1992,60,7-8.
Garfield, S.L. (1992) Comments on ARetrospect: Psychology as a Profession@ by J. McKeen
Cattell (1937). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 9-15.
Woodworth,R.S. (1937) The Future of Clinical Psychology.Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology,1,4-5. (Reprinted in Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology,1992,60,16-17.
Sechrest, L.(1992) The Past Future of Clinical Psychology: A Reflection on Woodworth (1937).
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,60,18-23.
Boneau, C.A. (1992) Observations on Psychology's Past and Future. American
Psychologist,47,1586-1596.
Policy and Planning Board, APA (1991) Five-Year Report of the Policy and Planning Board,
1990. American Psychologist,46,678-688.
Rice, C. E. (1997) Scenarios: The Scientist-Practioner split and the future of psychology.
American Psychologist,52, 1173-1181..
Sokal,M.M. (1992) Origins and Early Years of the American Psychological Association, 18901906.American Psychologist,47,111-122.
Kilburg, R.R. & Pallak, M.S. (1983) A Professional's Guide to the American Psychological
Association. Chapter 6 in B.D. Sales (Ed) The professional Psychologist's
Handbook.New York: Plenum.
VandenBos, G.R.(1989) Loosely Organized _Organized Psychology_: 1988 Executive Officer's
Report. American Psychologist,44,979-986.
Cummings, N. (?) An open letter to Doctoral Students in Psychology. Graduate Student
Newsletter. APA
Week 4 Introduction to Ethics - Codes of Ethics
A. Ethical Theory
General theories of Ethics
Ethical decision making
B. Codes of Ethics
APA code of ethics BPreamble
Entire code also at (http://www.apa.org/ethics/code2002.html)
ABA code of conduct
Behavior of Ethics Committees
Questions to think about:
a. What is a code of ethics? Where does it come from?
b. What purpose does an ethical code serve? What is the purpose of understanding professional
affairs?
c. Who does it apply to and when?
e. How is a code enforced?
f. How best to teach ethics B principles, cases or both?
G Where do the principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice and paternalism
come from?
Readings:
Jordon, A.E. & Meara, (2003) Ethics and the Professional Practice of Psychologists: The role of
Virtures and Principles. In Chapter 3 In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical conflicts in
Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.
Bersoff, D. N. (2003) The Virtue of Principle Ethics. In Chapter 3 In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical
conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.
Carroll, M.A., Schneider, H.G. & Wesley, G.R. (1985) Ethical Problems and Ethical Theories.
Chapter 1 in M.A., H.G. Schneider & G.R. Wesley, Ethics in the Practice of Psychology.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Carroll, M.A., Schneider, H.G. & Wesley, G.R. (1985) Ethical Decision Making in the
Psychologist's Profession. Chapter 2 in M.A., H.G. Schneider & G.R. Wesley, Ethics in
the Practice of Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
American Psychological Association (2002) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of
Conduct. http://www.apa.org/ethics/homepage.html
Ethics Committee of the American Psychological Association (2001) Rules and Procedures,
American Psychologist, 57,626-645. And http://www.apa.org/ethics/homepage.html
American Bar Association (1969), Code of Professional Responsibility and (1972) Code of
Judicial Conduct. in Blacks Law Dictionary. St. Paul: West.
Knapp, S & VandeCreek, L. (2003) An overview of the major changes in the 2002 APA
Ethics Code. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 301-308.
Week 5
Ethics II
General Standards
Relationship between Law and Ethics
Competence
Readings:
Pope, K.S. & Vetter, V.A., Ethical Dilemmas Encountered by Members of the American
Psychological Association: A National Survey
http://www.kspope.com/ethics/ethics2.php
The Vermont Laws and Rules can be found at: http://www.vtprofessionals.org/
There is a drop down list to each profession.
Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners: Laws and Rules
State of Vermont Rules for Clinical Social Workers
State of Vermont Rules for Certified Mental Health Counselors
Vermont Laws for Psychoanalysts, Marriage and Family Therapists
Vermont Law for Roster of Non-Licensed Non-Certified Therapists
Olvey, C. DeV. & Counts, W (2002) Licensure: Have we raised the bar to far. Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice.33,(3),323-329.
Schoenfeld, L.S., Hatch, J.P, & Gonzalez, J.M.,(2001) Responses of psychologists to complaints
filed against them with a state licensing board. Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice. 32,(5),491-495.
VanHorne, B.A. (2004) Psychology licensing board disciplinary actions: The realities.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.35,(2),170-178.
Week 6
Ethics III (Section 1.1 -1.2)
Treatment of others
Boundaries
Relationships with others
Readings:
Campbell, C.D. and Gordon, M.C. (2003) Acknowledging the inevitable: Understanding multiple
relationships in rural practice. Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice.34,(4),430-434.
Keith-Spiegel, P. (1994) Ethically risky situations between students and professors outside the
classroom. APS Observer, September.
Sonne, Janet L. (1994) Multiple relationships: Does the new ethics code answer the right
questions? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.25,(4),336-343.
Gabbard,G.O. (1994) Reconsidering the American Psychological Association's policy on sex with
former patients: Is it justifiable? Professional Psychology: Research and
Practice.25,(4),329-335.
Pope, K. & Bouhoutsos, J.C.(1986) Therapists'/Patients' Checklists. from Sexual intimacy
between therapists and patients. New York: Praeger.
Harpers Forum (1993) New Rules About Sex on Campus. Harpers,September 1993, p 33.
Lamb, D.H., Catanzaro, S.J. & Morrman, A.S.(2003) Psychologists reflect on their sexual
relationships with clients, supervisees, and students: Occurrence, impact, rationales, and
collegial intervention. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.34,(1),102-107.
Lamb, D.H., Catanzaro, S.J. & Morrman, A.S.(2004) A preliminary look at how psychologist
identify, evaluate and proceed when faced with possible multiple relationship dilemmas.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.35,(3),248-254
Younggren, J.N & Gottlieb, M.C. Managing risk when contemplating multiple
relationships.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.34,(1),255-260.
Anderson, S. K. & Kitchener, K.S. (2003) Nonromantic, nonsexual posttherapy relationships
between psychologists and former clients; An exploratory study of critical incidents. In
Chapter 5 In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington,
D.C., American Psychological Association.
Lazarus, A.A. How certain boundaries and ethics diminish therapeutic effectiveness.In Chapter 3
In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington, D.C.,
American Psychological Association.
Knapp, S. & Slattery, J.M (2004) Professional boundaries in nontraditional settings. Professional
Psychology: Research and Practice.35,(5),553-558.
Week 7 Ethics IV
Testing - Evaluation
Advertising
Readings:
Turner, S.M., DeMers, S.T., Fox, H.R. & Reed, G.M (2003)APA=s guidelines for test user
qualifications: An executive summary. In Chapter 6 In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical
conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.
Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment, APA (2003) Statement on the disclosure of
test data.In Chapter 6 In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.)
Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.
Committee on Legal Issues, APA (2003) Strategies for private practitioners coping with
subpoenas or compelled testimony for client records or test data. In Chapter 6 In Donald
N. Bersoff, Ethical conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington, D.C., American
Psychological Association.
Rupert, P.A., Kozlowski, N.F. Hoffman, L.A., Daniels, D.D. & Piette, J.M. (2003) Practical and
ethical issues in teaching psychological testing.In Chapter 6 In Donald N. Bersoff, Ethical
conflicts in Psychology,(3rd ed.) Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.
Weeks 9 -10 Ethics IV (Sections 2 - 3)
Therapy and Confidentiality
Bersoff Chapter 7
Kessler, M. (1993) Confidentiality. American Journal of Art Therapy.31,106-108.
Pope, K.S. & Tabachnick, B.G.(1994) Therapists as patients: A national survey of psychologists'
experiences, problems and beliefs. Professional Psychology:Research and Practice.25,(3)
247-258.
Claiborn, C.D.,Berberoglu, L.S., Nerison, R.M. & Somberg, D.R. (1994) The client's perspective:
Ethical judgments and perception of therapist practices. Professional
Psychology:Research and Practice.25,(3) 262-274.
Division 44 / Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Joint Task Force on Guidelines
for Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Clients (JTF) Guidelines for
Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Clients
http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/guidelines.html#18
Task Force on Sex Bias and Sex Role Stereotyping in Psychotherapeutic Practice, APA
Guidelines for Therapy with Women.
Mar.21-25
Spring Break
Week 11 Ethics VI
Teaching
Research (The functioning of the IRB)
Readings:
The University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care on-line tutorial for the protection of
human subjects in research. At:
http://www.uvm.edu/irb/tutorial/index.html
As a result of the Tuskegee Experiment, a bibliography on research ethics is available on-line:
Love, Cynthia B; Thomson, Elizabeth J.; Royal, Charmaine D., compilers. Ethical issues in research
involving human participants [bibliography on the Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of
Medicine; 1999 April. (Current bibliographies in medicine; no. 99-3). 4621 citations from January 1989
through November 1998. Available from: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/resources.html
About the experiement:
On May 16, 1997, President Clinton apologized to the survivors and families of hundreds of men used in
a research project to study the progression of untreated syphilis. These men were mainly sharecroppers
from Macon County, Alabama (the area surrounding Tuskegee). They were poor, African American, and
had few resources available to them. In 1932, when they were offered free medical care by physicians and
researchers involved with the United States Public Health Service, they believed they had found treatment
for what they had been told was "bad blood." Instead, they were enrolled in an observational research
study, without their knowledge or consent. In exchange for their participation (which included agreeing to
an autopsy at death), the men received free medical examinations (primarily to provide data for the
study), transportation and hot meals on the days of their examinations, and $50 for burial expenses. Even
though some rudimentary remedies for syphilis were available in the early years of the study, they were
not offered to these men, so that the study of the natural history of the untreated disease would not be
jeopardized. 1
The study (the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Male Negro 2) did not end until 1972, forty
years after it had begun, and twenty years after penicillin had been identified as an effective treatment for
syphilis. The New York Times headline exposing the experiment read, "Syphilis victims in U.S. study
went untreated for 40 years." 3 The article revealed the details of the study and called it "the longest
nontherapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history." According to the Report of the Tuskegee
Syphilis Study Legacy Committee, "In the almost 25 years since its disclosure, the Study has moved from
a singular historical event to a powerful metaphor. It has come to symbolize racism in medicine, ethical
misconduct in human research, paternalism by physicians, and government abuse of vulnerable people." 4
Bersoff, Chapter 8
The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral
Research (1979) The Belmont Report: Ethical Principles for the Protection of Human
Subjects Research. Washington, D.C., DHS USGPO 1988 - 201-778/80319
Also available at:
http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/belmont.html
Grisso, T. Baldwin,E., Blanck P.D., Rotheram-Borus,M.J. & Schooler, N.R,Thompson,T. (1991)
Standards in Research:APA's Mechanism for Monitoring the Challenges. American
Psychologist,46,758-766.
Blanck P.D., Bellack, A.S., Rosnow,R.L., Rotheram-Borus,M.J. & Schooler, N.R.(1992).
Scientific Rewards and Conflicts of Ethical Choices in Human Subjects Research.
American Psychologist,47,959-965.
Goodyear, R.K., Crego, C.A. & Johnston, M.W. (1992) Ethical issues in the supervision of
student research: A study of critical incidents. Professional Psychology:Research and
Practice.23,(3) 203-210.
Sieber, J. (1994) Will the new code help researchers to be more ethical. Professional
Psychology:Research and Practice.25,(4) 369 - 375.
Tabachnick,B.G., Keith-Spiegel, P. & Pope, K.S.(1991) Ethics of Teaching:Beliefs and
Behaviors of Psychologists as Educators. American Psychologist,46,506-515.
Keith-Spiegel, P.(1994) Teaching psychologists and the new APA Ethics Code: Do we fit in?
Professional Psychology:Research and Practice.25,(4) 362 - 368.
Fine, M.A. & Kurdek, L.A.(1993) Reflections on determining authorship credit and authorship
order on faculty student collaborations. American Psychologist, 1141-1147.
Week 12 Ethics VII
Miscellaneous
Readings:
TBA
Subsequent weeks are for Debates: