Avoiding ethical misconduct in psychology specialty areas

the long version

With clinical psychology rapidly expanding and diversifying, new fields of expertise are emerging and new populations of clients are receiving services. This expansion has created new and important ethical issues specific to these additional areas of practice. Herein, the authors investigate these new issues, as well as some older ones, specific to the various specialty areas in clinical psychology. They present an interesting sampling of issues likely to surface in the various specialty fields. These issues are expertly illustrated by vignettes which are interpreted within the framework of the APA code of ethics. The authors, however, do not intend for this book to be a comprehensive overview of the APA code of ethics, ethical decision-making in clinical psychology or in specialty areas. The vignettes and their analyses offer psychologists, mental health professionals, and students a unique opportunity to explore their own values in a variety of ethically problematic situations. Central themes recurring throughout the book include the importance of being cognizant of one's own values and biases, having a decision-making model for dealing with potential ethical issues, and consulting with colleagues regarding ethics problems.