Practice Clinical Psychology PDF

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How to put clinical psychology into practice...

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The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet

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PSY/480 Version 5

University of Phoenix Material The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet Answer the following questions. Your response to each question must be at least 150 words in length. 1. What are at least two legal issues associated with clinical psychology? Provide an example of a situation that could be legal but unethical. Explain your response. Two legal issues associated with clinical psychology are obtaining written informed consent and maintaining confidentiality. Clinical psychologists must obtain written informed consent from a patient whenever treatments or experiments involve them. They have the right to withdraw their given consent at any given point and time during the treatment or experiment. Once a patient or client withdraws consent, treatments and experiments must stop. When it comes to maintaining confidentiality, clinical psychologists must maintain confidentiality and never disclose the records of a client or patient unless ordered by law or by a medical professional working with the patient and the psychologist. An example of an instance that is legal but unethical is a judge ordering a clinical psychologist to break confidentiality and provide information about a client without their consent. The Ethics Code prohibits a clinical psychologist from releasing the records of a client without their consent (Plante, 2011). In this instance, it would be completely legal for the psychologist to do this as they were ordered to by a judge, but unethical according to the ethics code.

2. What are at least two ethical issues associated with clinical psychology? Provide an example of a situation that could be ethical but illegal. Explain your response. One ethical issue that is associated with clinical psychology is the risk of bias. A clinical psychologist may find themselves developing a bias towards a client, especially if they may share different religious beliefs, the client’s race, or their gender. A psychologist has to be fair to all clients and one who may show bias against or for one would be breaking ethical codes. Another ethical issue is their competence. A clinical psychologist has to maintain competence in their areas of specialization (Plante, 2011). Therefore, a psychologist can only provide services for which they have the appropriate experience and training. An instance that can be ethical but illegal is not disclosing to law enforcement agencies that a client who is a revealed that they have been sexually abused. For example, Laurence is a newly licensed clinical psychologist and has been given a ten-year-old client, Matthew. Matthew has taken a while to open up to Laurence but as he does, he asks Laurence to promise not to tell anyone what he’s going to say. Laurence says that as his client he will not do so. Matthew reveals that his neighbor has been sexually abusing him. Legally, Laurence has to report this, but he does not want to lose Matthew’s trust and all of the progress they’ve made, so he doesn’t tell. Not reporting sexual abuse is illegal because clinical psychologists are mandated to do so, but ethical because he maintained confidentiality with his client.

The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet

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PSY/480 Version 5

3. Define professional boundaries, boundary crossings, and boundary violations. What effects do boundaries have on the therapeutic relationship? Professional boundaries define the psychological distinctions between what is considered appropriate behavior and what is not. They are important because they help the psychologist establish their personal space and the limits between their interactions with the client, while at the same time helping to focus the treatment on the client. Professional boundaries in clinical psychology define the limitations in the therapist/patient relationship (Plante, 2011). Boundary crossings can be considered a slight aggression towards the professional boundaries, such as accidentally getting too close and personal with a client and crossing the limits they’ve set. Sometimes, if the therapist is reckless or inconsiderate, they can cross the line in their relationship with the client, but if the therapist puts their needs before the needs of the client during their treatment, then they’ve caused a boundary violation. The consequences of a boundary violations are more serious than the ones from crossing boundaries and can severely damage their career.

3. What are at least two cultural limitations associated with assessment and treatment? In your response, discuss the use or misuse of assessment instruments, therapy techniques, research results, or any other facet of clinical practice that could have potentially harmful, culture-specific implications.

Cultural characteristics and traits should always be taken in consideration when offering professional counseling and treatment. Each culture has its own ideologies and specific beliefs, which can affect the patient’s response to treatment. For example, someone may come from a culture that looks down on mental health and encourages people to bury their feelings and struggles. Because of this, the client may be apprehensive to share their feelings. One situation that must take in considering cultural limitations is in the case of psychometric testing. Cultural context must be evaluated, as well as differences in language and possible translation mishaps, since all of these factors will most likely affect the results of the test (Plante, 2011). Another situation where it is crucial to consider and respect cultural differences is when treating or counseling individuals of minority groups, since their response to treatment will be different than that of majorities. Their individualities must be taken in consideration, because it’s important for the therapist to develop an intervention strategy that is culturally appropriate and respectful (Plante, 2011). There are many different cultures and they deal with mental health and therapy in different ways, so it’s the job of the therapist to make sure they create a treatment that can help them as well as respect their culture.

The Practice of Clinical Psychology Worksheet PSY/480 Version 5 Reference Plante, T.G. (2011). Contemporary Clinical Psychology (3rd ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

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