Ethical standards are essential in psychology as they play a crucial role, both for the benefit of the client and the psychologist since they provide a basis for problem solving. The American Psychological Association is the standard for resolving ethical issues in psychology and makes provisions on how to solve conflicts that may arise between ethics and other state laws.
Ethics regulates what can be done during professional practice. They provide a limit on what professionals can do depending on their training. The American Psychological Association code of ethics provides for this in its competence standard. In addition, the association’s code of ethics provides guidelines on how to handle emergency situations to ensure patients are not denied the necessary services (Singer, 2000).
Professional decision making relies on ethics as it provides solutions for situations that involve the conflict of interest and multiple relationships between a client and a psychologist. It provides what should be done in such situations and also when reporting another psychologist for violating ethical standards and codes.
One key function of ethical standards and codes is protecting the client’s interests. The client is protected from various forms of malpractice such as unfair discrimination and sexual harassment. It also protects them from the effects of multiple relationships with their service provider, and gives a clear guide on what should be done in case of third party requests.
They emphasize on the need of informed consents before all procedures especially during the research. Informed consent makes the patients aware of the services that are being given to them and the effects resulting from such services.
The state of mind of a patient should be verified before they give an informed consent. People who are not of age or have a condition that may affect their capacity of giving an informed consent require the assistance of the next of kin to give consent on their behalf (Singer, 2000).
Privacy and confidentiality are one of the foremost ethical standards in psychology. The American Psychological Association has a provision for privacy and confidentiality in its ethics. It emphasizes on the need for confidentiality on all the information that relates to the client.
It also provides for moments when privacy may be broken. In addition, before a psychologist can use any private information for didactic purposes such as writing a book, they are required to seek consent from the client or to employ enough measures to ensure that the privacy of the client is maintained (American Psychological Association, 2009).
Ethics protects the client from untrue marketing and advertisement by psychologists. Any marketing done should be based on real certificates and training.
APA ethical standards also protect the client from being pressured to give testimonials about the services that they have received. It also requires that when psychologists are giving public statements, they should base on the professional knowledge in the line with ethical standards.
They serve to improve the practice of psychology and provide the requirements necessary for one to be a psychologist. American Psychology Association under its education and training standard emphasizes accuracy in teaching. It states that the course and syllabus should be accurate and in the line with the professional requirement. It also provides a guide for the relationship between psychologists and their students.
Methods of assessing the students should also be accurate as they are the determinants of whether the course objectives have been achieved and whether the students have what it takes to join the profession (Singer, 2000).
Standards are a mechanism of professional accountability. Psychologists should be accountable for any decision or any action during their relationships with clients. This ensures that the actions taken benefit the client. Research is a crucial part of all professions and ethics provides a guide on how a research should be conducted and the need for an informed consent.
The code of ethic for APA requires that any research being done is approved by a given institution for it to be conducted. It also provides that the research participants including the research assistants can withdraw from the research at any time (American Psychological Association, 2002).
In summary, ethics provides a sense of professional identity and it serves to distinguish psychologists from other professions as they outline the core values of the profession and describe how people under the profession should behave. All individuals who have taken up or are a part of the American Psychological Association are required to adhere to their code of ethics.
References
American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychology and Code Of Conduct. California: Amer Psychological Assn.
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. New Jersey: Amer Psychological Assn.
Singer, P. (2000). Writings on an ethical life. London: Harper Collins Publishers.