Therapy

Therapy is an integral part of the APA Ethics Code and includes standards on confidentiality, consent, termination, and many others. There are many things to consider on therapy and the standards on therapy of the APA ethics code provide for ethical considerations in all types of therapy from one-on-one to group therapy. In this paper, I will discuss several standards on therapy from the APA Ethics Code.

First, there is informed consent to therapy which is standard 10.01 of the APA Ethics Code (2010). Informed consent comes from standard 3.10 (Informed Consent) of the APA Ethics Code (2010) and applies to therapy due to the sheer vastness of information that must be given during a therapy relationship. A psychologist must disclose information such as the nature course of the therapy sessions, fees, limits to confidentiality, the rights of the guardians (if a minor is involved) the rights of the client and the protections they have as clients to name a few. This must be done, per the APA Code of Ethics (2010), “as early as feasible”, meaning that sometimes it cannot be done right at the beginning of the relationship but must be done as soon as possible.

The informed consent procedure can be found everywhere in psychology, but is especially important in the therapy relationship. The informed consent process helps protect the psychologist from certain liabilities and potential harm, helps protect the clients so that they know exactly what they are getting into, and helps protect the profession by maintaining a standard of integrity within psychology (Fisher, 2013).

Standard 10.03 of the APA Ethics Code (2010) covers group therapy. There are certain things when performing group therapy that a psychologist must consider. First, according to standard 10.03 (group therapy) of the APA Ethics Code (2010), the psychologist must describe the roles and responsibilities of the individuals involved in group therapy such as the various clients and the professional themselves. Along with this, the psychologist must describe the exclusivity of attention (particularly the difference it has between individual versus group settings) as well as policies regarding termination withdrawal.

One major issue that standard 10.03 (group therapy) of the APA Ethics Code (2010) covers is confidentiality. The psychology professional is bound by the APA Ethics Code to maintain confidentiality; however, the psychologist must make clear during group therapy that while he may not share confidential information from group sessions, the other members of the group are not necessarily bound to secrecy, and this is often misunderstood (Fisher, 2013). Group therapy ordered by the courts is also important with regards to confidentiality since standard 10.03 (group therapy) of the APA Ethics Code (2010) says that the psychologist must ensure that the individual understands which parties of the justice system (e.g. lawyers, judges, etc.) will have access to information.

Another consideration is standard 10.05 (Sexual Intimacies with Current Therapy Clients/Patients) of the APA Ethics Code (2010) which states that any sexual intimacy with a client/patient is unethical and all responsibility to avoid these relationships lies solely on the psychologist. Standard 10.05 explains that such relationships are unethical due to the potential for further harm to the client/patient, the difference in power between the professional and the client/patient, and impairment of the professional’s objectivity within the helping relationship. Furthermore, while non-erotic hugging and physical contact such as handshakes are not violations of this standard, research by Lamb & Cantanzaro (1998, as cited in, Fisher, 2013) indicates that these things as well as meetings outside the office can be precursors to sexual misconduct.

Another major consideration is standard 10.09 (Interruption of Therapy) of the APA Ethics Code (2010) which applies to a psychologist’s ethical obligations to ensure continuity of care if a contractual employment were to end the therapy relationship which also falls under General Principle B (Fidelity and Responsibility) of the APA General Principles of the APA Ethics Code (2010).

Along with interruption of therapy comes termination of therapy which is covered under standard 10.10 (Terminating Therapy) of the APA Ethics Code. This standard says that psychologists must terminate therapy under three circumstances: services no longer needed, no benefits is to be gained by the client/patient from continued therapy, and the client/patient may be harmed by continues therapy (Fisher, 2013). This standard fits under General A (Beneficence and Nonmaleficence) of the APA Ethics Code (2010) which states that psychologists are to do no harm. Along with terminating therapy for a client’s needs and safety, a psychologist can also terminate therapy if they are being threatened or endangered by a client/patient or another person that the client/patient has a relationship of some kind with under Standard 10.10b of the APA Ethics Code (2010).

In summary, there are many standards in the APA Ethics Code that relate to therapy. The standards reviewed, which covered confidentiality, group therapy, informed consent, and terminating therapy, were some of the more interesting ones within the APA Ethics code involved with therapy. 

References

American Psychological Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct with the 2010 amendments. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Fisher, C. B. (2013). Decoding the ethics code: a practical guide for psychologists (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.