Ethics of a psychologist: essence, principles, professional responsibility

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Any specialist working with people should be guided by the moral and moral principles founded by modern society. In the case of psychology, this attitude towards ethics is even more important. However, the ideals of behavior are not written down anywhere, so it can be quite difficult to be guided by them. In our article, you will learn about the principles of professional ethics of a psychologist, as well as methods of humanity and respect for other people. We strongly recommend that you read this information.

What is the principle of mutual respect?

Every psychologist must respect the personal rights and freedoms of a person, which are proclaimed by law and guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. If the specialist does not comply with these elementary norms, then it is unlikely that the patient will be able to gain confidence. Also, the ethics of the counseling psychologist regardingmutual respect, includes several items that will be listed below:

1. The specialist is obliged to treat all his patients with equal respect, regardless of their socioeconomic status, language, religion, race, ethnicity, culture, nationality, sexual orientation, physical qualities, and so on. Of course, each client needs a different approach. However, it should be based on the life circumstances that the person had to endure, and not on any of the above.
2. A psychologist should do his best to avoid prejudice against any person. Data about the patient should not affect your attitude towards him. Even if a specialist has sympathy or a subjective opinion about the client's behavior in a certain situation, this should not affect further conclusions and the treatment process in any way. Otherwise, an initially wrong strategy for psychological healing may be chosen.
3. A psychologist must be able to properly organize the workflow so that during the study and analysis of the psychological he alth of the patient, the specialist does not accidentally harm his client. And this applies not only to his well-being, but also to his social status. If someone from the patient's acquaintances finds out about his psychological problems, then he may lose the trust of certain people and forever lose trust in society.

Also, the psychologist should make every effort to avoid such treatment, which will lead to discrimination of the client on certain grounds. Majoritypeople look askance at those individuals who seek help from specialists in the field of psychology. Giving your client some weird homework, like kissing someone they like without warning, can lead to dire consequences.

Privacy

One of the most important principles of professional ethics of a psychologist is confidentiality, which must be respected under any conditions. Even if an employee from the prosecutor's office comes to you and starts asking about what bothered your client, you have every right not to answer such questions, as this would be unethical. Read about what else the professional ethics of a psychologist includes in the list below:

1. Specialist under no circumstances has the right to disclose information obtained in the course of work with the patient. Those secrets that the psychologist received from the client in the course of confidential communication should not be subject to intentional or accidental disclosure. If such information still needs to be told to someone, then this can be done only with the consent of the patient.
2. Research results must be presented to third parties in such a way that they cannot compromise your patient. Therefore, if you are studying psychological science with your colleague, then never say any names and data that relate to the personal life of your client as a result of a discussion of the disease.
3. Professional ethics of a teacher-psychologist includescomplete confidentiality of data from students or pupils of the school. That is, if you conducted a social or psychological survey in a certain group, then only you yourself and no one else should know about its results.
4. If a specialist needs to demonstrate a specific case using the example of his patient, then this must be done in such a way that the information you say does not hurt the well-being, dignity and good name of your client.
5. A specialist should not try to find information in a client that is beyond the scope of professional tasks. For example, touching on intimate topics very often negatively affects the patient's trust in a specialist. Therefore, questions about sex and the like are best avoided.

Also, do not forget that if you store data about your patients on electronic or paper media, then this information should be under good protection. Also, the indisputable right of the client is to talk with a psychologist face to face, without the presence of third parties.

Consent in good faith and knowledge

The meaning of the professional ethics of a practical psychologist is that in the process of treatment the patient does not receive harm to his reputation. However, many clients do not even realize that they are agreeing in good faith to certain actions by visiting a specialist's office. Therefore, a psychologist should inform his patient in advance about the following nuances, so that later an unpleasant incident does not occur:

1. The psychologist is obliged to inform histhe patient about all the steps that should lead to a therapeutic effect. This is especially true in the case of inpatient treatment. The specialist must inform his client in advance about the possible risks of treatment and alternative diagnostic methods, including non-psychological ones.
2. It is allowed to make audio and video recordings of the consultation with the patient only after the written consent of the client. The same applies to telephone conversations with a client. And even if you have such a recording at your disposal, this does not mean that you can show it to third parties.
3. Participation in psychological experiments and research must be completely voluntary. The specialist in no case has the right to manipulate his patient in order to obtain any information from him. If the client gives his consent to the experiment, then all actions should be carried out by a specialist with extreme caution.

However, in some cases, it also happens that the subject should not know that a psychological experiment is being conducted on him. In this case, it is worth carrying out all actions with extreme caution and be sure to explain the situation to the client after the end of the experiment.

Customer self-determination

What else is the meaning of the professional ethics of a practical psychologist? Of course, in the right of the client to enter into relationships with those people whom he considers worthy. In no case should the psychologist dictate to the client who can be trusted and with whom it is better to communicate. In the following list you will find the main ethicalprinciples relating to customer self-determination:

1. The patient has the right to maintain maximum autonomy in self-determination of his actions. In addition, the client can always cut off all ties with the psychologist if he sees fit. The specialist should not pressure the patient with various psychological methods in order to derive his own benefit from cooperation.
2. Any person who considers himself fully capable can become a client. In case of insufficient legal capacity, the decision to cooperate with a specialist may be taken by parents, guardians or other persons appointed by law.
3. A psychologist has no moral right to interfere with the desires of his client to involve another specialist in treatment. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, for example, if psychological assistance is provided to a prisoner, then the norms established by law are clearly observed here.

Remember that regardless of the mental and physical abilities of the client, you should not influence his self-determination in any way. Also, do not forget that the professional ethics of a psychologist and professional responsibility are synonymous words. Therefore, you must unconditionally abide by even those rules that are not spelled out in any legal document.

Competence principle

The ethics of a psychologist's professional activity is also based on the desire to provide psychological support to the client and cure the disease that worries him. If the limits of the competence of a specialist are notso wide, it may take too long. Therefore, it is also necessary to take into account the principle of professional competence, the structure of which is described below.

1. The specialist must have comprehensive knowledge in the field of psychology, as well as follow a code of ethics. During his work, the psychologist must constantly be guided by ethical principles and suppress his desire to start manipulating the client.
2. If students or some group of patients act as material for experiments, then the psychologist is obliged to carry out all actions in accordance with the ethical code. If the level of competence of a specialist does not allow this, then it is best to refuse such experiments.
3. A psychologist is personally responsible for the level of professional competence of the staff under his supervision. Therefore, if you decide to hire a few young specialists to help you, then the entire responsibility for their actions lies with you.

Quite often a psychologist has to work with representatives of various professions and social groups. The specialist must be tolerant towards each of his clients and treat patients with maximum loy alty - this is one of the main principles of the ethics of a psychologist. Otherwise, you risk losing the trust of clients and other professionals.

Limit professional competence

The ethics of the work of a psychologist also lies in the fact that a specialist must be able to limit hisactivities within their own competence. You should not agree to work with seriously ill patients if you have insufficient knowledge and skills. This can negatively affect not only the patient's condition, but also your reputation.

Any specialist has the right to conduct surveys, psychotherapy, training, research and so on. However, if the psychologist does this only to make their actions accountable, and not to help the patient, this can lead to a loss of confidence in such a psychologist.

A specialist in the field of psychology must master the methods of psychological conversation. With experience, these skills develop quite strongly, however, if you do not understand the principles of any method, then it is best not to use it, otherwise it may cause the client to feel dissatisfied with communicating with a specialist.

Limit funds used

The specialist has the right to apply techniques that do not contradict the psychologist's code of ethics. However, all these funds should adequately fit into the treatment process, and not satisfy the personal desires of a specialist to conduct a particular study. If your patient has trusted you and agreed to conduct the experiment, then all actions should be as reliable, normalized and standardized as possible. Otherwise, it will make the patient feel worse.

It is necessary to apply only those methods of interpretation and data processing that have received wide scientific recognition. The choice of methods is notshould be determined only by the addictions of the psychologist to one or another method of treatment. He must first of all satisfy the personal sympathies of the client of a certain profession, social group or professional type. Otherwise, the experiment will not give true results.

Also, a psychologist does not have the moral right to distort in advance the primary data about the task that is used in the experiment or to provide deliberately incorrect and false information. If such a mistake was made by accident, then it is worth thinking about stopping the experiment, since the patient will already delve into its essence, and repeated activity will not bring true results.

Principle of Primary Responsibility

Professional ethics of a psychologist also lies in the fact that a specialist should do his best to avoid causing harm to the psychological and physical he alth of his patient. When you sign a contract with a client, you guarantee that your methods are disinterested and lawful, so you should not abuse your position for your own purposes.

Primary responsibility includes three principles:

• awareness of the specifics of interaction between a specialist and a sick patient;
• a deliberate decision by a psychologist to conduct a research experiment;
• reducing the risk of injury to the psychological he alth of the client.

If a young specialist observes these three points, then there will be no problems during communication withshould not occur to the patient. However, unfortunately, very often psychologists neglect them, believing that the information received is much more important than the personal well-being of the client. Remember that nothing is more important than your patient's he alth.

The principle of honesty

The ethics of a practical psychologist also includes the principle of honesty. Who will you trust more: a person who hides something from you, speaking in riddles all the time, or a person who is open in communication and is not afraid to share his own thoughts? In psychology, the principle of honesty plays a huge role in establishing contact with the patient and his further treatment.

A psychologist should by all means avoid advertising himself with the help of an influential patient. Even if the patient himself offers such services free of charge, then you should refuse. The fact is that various marketing moves very often overestimate the quality of the product or service offered, so if a client contacts you for such an advertisement, he will obviously be determined that you are a swindler and a scammer who only wants to rob him to the skin.

Expressing one's conclusions also leads to the establishment of trust between the psychologist and the patient. Feel free to tell the client what you really think of him. Very few people in a psychologist's office take offense at a specialist. However, if you do not hesitate to speak about your client in the context that he deserves, then the person will understand on a subconscious level that youyou can trust.

Directness and openness in communication

Well, the last principle of the ethics of a practical psychologist, which we will consider today, is directness and openness. The specialist must not only be responsible for his actions, but also provide the patient with information about his treatment without any distortion. This is especially true in the case of research work or an experiment on a client.

Many psychologists very often form their speech using various concepts and terms, but such an action only speaks of your competence. If you want to establish a trusting relationship with the patient, it is best to avoid various tricks during communication. Try to communicate with him in plain language so that the client does not have to go after a special terminological interpreter after consulting with you in order to understand exactly what you meant.

If it is still impossible to avoid distorted information, then the psychologist should do his best to explain to his patient that he did not do it on purpose. Of course, it is better to avoid such situations in order not to build the degree of trust again, but you should be able to accept your mistakes if you have made them. This fact alone speaks of a psychologist as a professional in his field.

In addition, openness and directness in communication should also be present not only during interactions with clients, but also with colleagues. You should not contribute by your actions to ousting your colleague from any position. Communication in a team should be easy andlaid-back, even if some of the novice specialists act incompetently due to their inexperience. Hint at a colleague about his mistake, but do not start a scandal that will lead to further disagreement.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, our article is coming to an end, so it's time to sum up all of the above. However, to begin with, let me advise you to watch a short video in which a qualified specialist talks about the meaning of the ethics of a psychologist and its basic principles. If you recently graduated from an educational institution and are just planning to start your professional career, then advice from such a specialist will not be superfluous. Therefore, watch the video to the end if you want to gain more knowledge on this issue.

We hope that our article has helped you understand what the ethics of a teacher-psychologist are. A specialist who works daily with sick patients must be able to communicate with them correctly and build a trusting dialogue. No external factors can influence the behavior of a professional. Even if you are working among not the most pleasant personalities, you must understand that communication with the patient is a very important stage in his treatment. What do you think about this?