ETHICS AND LAW FOR SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS Chapter 1

Professional Associations  Publicize the services offered  Safeguards the rights of professionals  Benefits for its members  Exchange and development of knowledge  Promote standards of quality

Ethics vs. Morality  The most basic rules of a profession  Important, fundamental, universal, rational, and objective  Nonmaleficence, fidelity, beneficence, justice, and autonomy  The most basic rules of a society  Important, fundamental, universal, rational, and objective  Nonmaleficence, fidelity, beneficence, justice, and autonomy Applied Professional EthicsMorality

Purposes of Codes of Ethics  Protect the public  Provide guidance to the professional  Allows practitioner to be proactive not reactive

NASP Goals for Ethics  Balance the authority of parents with needs of children.  Sch psychs act on behalf of the school agency and must work within its legal and professional structure  Links between informed consent and formal assessment roles and informal consultant roles.  Protection of mental health information  Work within a multidisciplinary system of problem solving and intervention

Ethical Dilemmas  Competing ethical principles  Conflicts between ethics and law  Conflicting needs of multiple people  Poor educational practices  Taking the broad ethical code and applying it to a specific situation  Principled Decision: based on stated principles.  Reasoned Outcome: based on facts not emotions.  Universalizable: others would choose the same path based on the data (defensible choices) ProblemsSolutions

Ethical Problem Solving Model  Describe the parameters of the situation.  Define the ethical-legal issues involved.  Consult the guidelines, laws, rules, and ethics.  Evaluate the rights and needs of all parties.  Generate a list of all possible options.  Enumerate consequences (short & long-term) of each option.  Consider any evidence of that supports that the consequences might occur.  Make the decision, take responsibility for your decision  Act on the decision  Continue to monitor the situation and change as needed.

Stop and Think  Stop  Think  Choose  Do  Evaluate

Discussions for the Board  Examine one of the following cases in your text and discuss it on the discussion board.  Case 1.1  Case 1.3