Module 7: Potential Ethical Issues in the Psychiatry Practice
Any breach of an ethical stipulation by the service provider during an engagement with a client could warrant a legal suite. Given the intricate nature of the mental health profession, psychiatrists are at a higher risk of becoming subjects of complaints than other health practitioners.
The first potential source of complaints highlights the presence of multiple relationships besides the service provider-client relationships. The preventive strategy for this risk involves updating practitioners of what constitutes of multiple relationships and appropriate intervention measures (Jacob, 2016). If despite all prevention measures, a relationship still grows, the psychologist is obliged to respond appropriately to the client’s best interest while upholding ethical integrity.
The second cause of the complaint can emerge from a breach of confidentiality. Confidentiality breach involves access, using, and sharing patient’s health information without authority. An intervention strategy to protect patient confidentiality involves psychologists carefully analyzing the disclosure against the ethical duty to protect the client’s confidentiality (Jacob, 2016). It requires service providers to discuss the limits of confidentiality, understanding federal and state laws, ensuring safe storage of confidential data, and abiding by compulsory reporting policies.
The third cause of clients’ complain is a psychologist’s failure to obtain the client’s consent and failure to provide the necessary information (World Health Organization, 2019). This calls for psychologists to uphold the code that demands them respect the client’s autonomy and provide all vital information right from the start of the process. Experts need to discuss the estimated length of therapy, limits of confidentiality, contacts, billing, nature of services and limits, record-keeping forms, and alternative treatment approaches.
The fourth source of complaints encompasses delegating a treatment course to a trainee without informing the client. Sometimes therapists provide trainees an opportunity to practice. However, psychologists should be mindful of their supervisory roles on various delegated tasks. Supervisors have the task of designing a quick and efficient communication process, documentation, evaluate cases keenly to delegate, and inform clients about the transfer of therapy to trainees.
Lastly, psychologists have the ethical obligation to bill patients and insurers according to the nature of services. A prevention measure involves embracing a tendency of documentation and adhering to the APA’s Record Keeping Guidelines. Besides, therapists must explain all the financial implications of the course at the beginning of an interaction. Sloppy record-keeping, also, is a common cause of conflict besides data manipulation.
References
Jacob, S. (2016). Ethics and the school psychologist. Handbook of Professional Ethics for Psychologists: Issues, Questions, and Controversies, 407-424. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412990004.n24
World Health Organization. (2019). Mental health in the workplace. https://www.who.int/mental_health/in_the_workplace/en/