Читать книгу Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology - Robert Weis - Страница 67

Usually, when parents seek treatment for their children, they have their children’s best interests at heart. Occasionally, however, ethical issues arise when it is unclear whether psychologists are providing services to children or to their parents. The Ethics Code indicates that psychologists must avoid such conflicts of interest—that is, instances in which the psychologist engages in relationships that impair her objectivity, competence, or effectiveness with her client.

Conflicts of interest can arise in child and adolescent therapy in several ways. One conflict occurs when a therapist is in a professional role with the child and then (inadvertently) enters into another role with the child’s parent. Consider the case of Margaret, a girl who presents a dilemma to her therapist related to a potential conflict of interest.

Although well intentioned, the therapist entered into a multiple relationship with Margaret and her mother. A multiple relationship occurs when a psychologist, who is in a professional role with a client, enters into another relationship with the same individual or a person closely associated with that individual. Multiple relationships are problematic when they impair the objectivity of services that psychologists provide (Campbell, Vasquez, Behnke, & Kinscherff, 2010). Would the therapist be able to effectively treat Margaret while also simultaneously providing services to her mother? Might it be better for the therapist to refer Margaret’s mother to another provider?

Conflicts of interest can also occur in situations of separation and divorce (Shumaker & Medoff, 2013). Imagine that Margaret’s family situation goes from bad to worse. Margaret’s father decides to divorce Margaret’s mother and seek custody of Margaret. Her father requests Margaret’s psychological records, which include information about her mother’s depressed mood and difficulty caring for Margaret. He intends on using this information to gain custody of his daughter.

The therapist now finds herself serving as a therapist for Margaret, a therapist for her mother, and a potential witness for her father. Clearly, the therapist’s objectivity is threatened! At this point, the therapist must make this conflict known to both adults and explain the importance of limiting access to Margaret’s records.

Therapists can avoid conflicts of interests by asking this question: Who is my client? In most instances, therapists identify the child or the entire family as their client. In these instances, the therapist does not provide services to other members of the family independently. If parents present goals in therapy that are separate from those of their child or the family, the therapist will acknowledge those goals but refer the parent to another provider to avoid a multiple relationship (Koocher & Campbell, 2018).

Review

 Ethical practice increases the likelihood that a clinician will help her client (i.e., beneficence) and avoid harm (i.e., nonmaleficence).

 The APA Ethics Code consists of broad ethical principles (i.e., aspirational goals) that guide psychologists’ professional activities and specific standards (i.e., rules) they must follow when conducting research, helping clients, or interacting with the public.

 Four ethical standards are especially important when working with children and families: (1) competence, (2) consent, (3) confidentiality, and (4) conflicts of interest. They are sometimes called the Four Cs of professional ethics.