Introduction
The APA’s ethical code relies on the standards revealing different aspects of psychologists’ practice (Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct, 2010). It defines the way of resolving ethical issues, explores the specifics of competence, human relations, and privacy and confidentiality. Besides, the code explores the main requirements for various activities including advertising, record keeping, training, research, publication, and assessment. AP-LS’ specialty guidelines for forensic psychology define the responsibilities of forensic psychologists, emphasize the importance of competence, diligence, privacy, and guide the psychologists on how to deal with conflicts, which methods to use, and how to assess the effectiveness of techniques (Specialty guidelines for forensic psychology, n.d.). The ethical challenges in the case study might violate certain points of the discussed code and guidelines by breaking the rules for dealing with conflict of interest, resolving ethical issues with fellow professionals, and minimizing intrusions on privacy.
Ethical Issues and Challenges
The first ethical issue in the case study is related to facing the conflict of interest that requires the psychologist to refrain from taking on a professional role and the necessity to see the inmate due to the absence of other professionals in the unit. The second ethical issue is related to the necessity of consulting the chief psychologist to resolve the issue and the fail to do it. The third ethical issue is related to the violation of the psychologist’s rights for privacy.
Each of the mentioned issues poses an ethical challenge or dilemma. The first one poses a dilemma related to the necessity to choose whether to restrain from communicating with the inmate because of the conflict of interest or follow the instructions given by the unit officer. This issue addresses the APA’s ethical code and AP-LS’ Specialty Guidelines stating that the psychologist should refrain from taking on a professional role when personal interests or relationships can impair objectivity. The second issue poses an ethical challenge, as the psychologist needs to take action without receiving proper guidelines from the chief psychologist. This issue addresses the APA’s ethical code requiring the psychologists to report ethical violations and seek the guidelines of the colleagues responsible for guiding forensic psychologists. The third issue poses an ethical challenge because the situation faced by the psychologist is related to a violation of his privacy. This issue addresses the APA’s ethical code requiring the psychologist to minimize intrusions to privacy.
Conclusion
The analysis of the case helps to understand that numerous ethical challenges and dilemmas are faced by psychologists and other specialists involved in providing treatment of adjudicated forensic populations. Managing ethical obligations is a significant challenge met by forensic practitioners (Thomson, 2013). The big number of issues arising in providing psychological services in the forensic area leads to the need for ethical guidelines for forensic practitioners (Thomson, 2013). Though requiring practitioners to adhere to formal ethical code appears to be an effective solution to ethical problems, sometimes the problems have controversial nature and need more attention and effort (Ward, Gannon, & Vess, 2009). Ethical principles appear to be difficult to apply within the existing legal system (Dickie, 2008). Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the nature of services of forensic psychologists before providing them. In such a way, a practitioner can understand the ethical and legal obligations and examine them in terms of their correspondence with each other. Careful investigation of every controversial situation and effective cooperation with other professionals are also of vital importance for decreasing the risks related to controversial ethical issues.
References
Dickie, I. (2008). Ethical dilemmas, forensic psychology, and therapeutic jurisprudence. Thomas Jefferson Law Review, 30(2), 455-461.
Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. (2010). Web.
Specialty guidelines for forensic psychology. (n.d.). Web.
Thomson, D. (2013). Creating ethical guidelines for forensic psychology. Australian Psychologist Society, 48, 28-31.
Ward, T., Gannon, T., & Vess, J. (2009). Human rights, ethical principles, and standards in forensic psychology. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 53(2), 126-144.