...Legal Aspects of Professional Psychology Michael Lampe May 06, 2013 There are many factors that can affect a professional in the field of psychology. Some of these factors may be ethical issues and some may have legal issues. These two issues may seem similar. However, they are very different. American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code can help clear up any problems with ethical issues. The legal issues are not as easy to see or find the correct answers. Legal issues can be separated into two categories, legislation and litigation. Legislation concerns governmental bodies passing laws. Litigation is laws that are formed by the rule of the law. There are legal issues related to informed consent, assessment, testing, diagnosis, and confidentiality. These issues will be discussed and the influence of legislation on the field of psychology will be evaluated. Competency will also be covered. Informed Consent Informed consent is a legal and ethical term defined as the consent by a client to a proposed medical or psychotherapeutic procedure, or for participation in a research project or clinical study. In order for the consent to be informed the client must first achieve a clear understanding of the relevant facts, risks and benefits, and available alternatives involved. Informed consent requires legal documentation in all 50 states. The concept of informed consent originated with the recognition that individuals have rights: to freedom, autonomy and human dignity...
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...Legal Aspects of Professional Psychology “Professional psychologists study mental processes and human behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how people and other animals relate to one another and the environment.” The psychologists express theories that have possible explanations and concentrate on an individual behavior that influence a person’s action where understanding and explaining thoughts, emotions, feelings and or behavior is in attention. However there is a legal aspect of professional psychology that is the most important part in professional practice. “Legal aspects of professional psychology cover abroad spectrum of any application of psychological ethics, and ways of understanding legal issues and questions. Additionally to the practical practices, legal aspects of psychology also include empirical or academic research on topics concerning the relationships of government laws and regulations to human behavior and mental processes”(Roger Rivera, “Legal Aspects Of Professional Psychology”). Legal issues related to informed consent and refusal Most important factor of legal issue in professional phycology is the informed consent of the client, where the doctor gets consent of the client for performing tests and medical treatments including records of the patients. It is the psychologist’s duty to offer and explain services, and if the patients have no ability for opinion, take consent from the person who has the legal power to do on behalf of the...
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...Criminal Profiling: The Public Face of Forensic Psychology Jason Evans Brandman University Table of contents Abstract 3 Introduction 4 Literature review 4 Discussion 7 Personal interest in the topic 10 References 11 Abstract The utilisation of psychological concepts has been extended in many fields in seeking to enhance understanding of human behaviours. Forensic psychology is one of the various psychological filed which have developed out of the necessity to apply psychology in different fields. This article discusses the element of forensic psychology in relation to the various issues arising within the field. A discussion of the various issues highlights ethical aspects as the main causes of many challenges faced in the field. The complexity of the setting under which the psychological practice is conducted makes the topic become one of the interesting psychological segments that can be studied. Introduction Forensic psychology can be defined as the utilisation of psychological concepts, skills, and insights in seeking to enhance the understanding of various elements of legal and criminal justice systems. Within the context of the subject various psychological and legal aspects become combined in seeking to understand the functioning and operations of criminal systems (Davies & Beech, 2012). This approach to criminal justice involves various activities involved in the delivery of justice, ranging from the enforcement to treatment of suspects...
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...The legal aspects of professional psychology covers a large area; such as assessments, HIPPA, confidentiality, testing, written consent, competence, and diagnosing. It is a large part of the psychology that most struggle with just to make sure that they do not break any laws and at the same time, giving the right treatment to every patient. The clinicians and patients have guidelines set forth according to the American Psychological Association (APA) that protects both parties from unethical and legal decisions. In this paper, the importance of informed consent and refusal, the legal issues within assessments, testing, and diagnosis, confidentiality in the therapeutic relationship, the impact of legislation and the role of competence in professional psychology will be discussed in detail. Legal Issues Related to Informed Consent and Refusal The informed consent is the agreement between two parties to work collaboratively (Pope & Vasquez, 2007). In psychology, the client signs the consent form to allow treatment from the psychologist who may include testing, treatment, and initial psychological assessment. The patients have the right to their information; in terms of benefits, alternative treatments and about the risks. If the patient does not understand what he or she is giving permission to, he or she can allow an authorized decision-maker. The law requires that all persons take reasonable steps to clarify and communicate adequately with their patients about their risks and...
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...Legal and Forensic Psychology Michael Betters Keiser University Legal and Forensic Psychology Abstract Legal and forensic psychologists are often torn between fulfilling their duties as a legal and forensic workers in the criminal justice system, and adhering to the ethical obligations to their clients as psychologists. This paper explores the dilemma faced by legal and forensic psychologists in carrying out their day-to-day roles as officials in the criminal justice system and in upholding their professional ethics as psychologists. The paper begins with an introduction of the main controversy surrounding the role of legal and forensic psychologists to the criminal justice systems (Day, 2014). It then describes some of the typical dilemmas faced by legal and forensic psychologists in the course of their work. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of the dilemmas faced by legal and forensic psychologists in the criminal justice system. Introduction Legal and forensic psychologists are a special type of psychologists who are often charged with the responsibility of standing as expert witnesses in court proceedings. The duties, roles, and responsibilities of legal and forensic psychologists in legal matters are strikingly different from those of an ordinary psychologist. It is paramount for legal and forensic psychologists to recognize the obligations as well as the limitations of their obligations when appearing as witnesses in court proceedings...
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...Ethics, Informed Consent, and Enforceable Standards William Neelsen Ethics, Informed Consent, and Enforceable Standards The clinician has high ethical standards as well as legal regulations to obtain the proper and legal consent to treat individuals in the field of psychology. Without bias to the methodology (research, experimentation, testing, or therapy), the psychologist is obligated by law, and the APA Code of Ethics to have consent to treat. The consent is in place for many reasons. The foremost is to inform the patient of the treatment plan to be undertaken, how the psychologist/clinician will administer care, and the prognosis of such treatments hopes to achieve (May, 2004). However, consent also places legal backing to the treatment given to the patient, recording necessary information such as possible diagnosis, personal and confidential information given by the patient, and a record of treatment versus effect. Informed consent creates a level and understood beginning to the treatment process, by which the patient and clinician are understood to the process of therapeutic services, or psychological testing and research that is to take place. The APA Code of Ethics is in place for the psychologist to have rigid and enforceable standards of not only how to effectively treat individuals in the therapy setting, but also of how to protect the confidential and highly sensitive nature of psycho-therapy. The psychologist in the clinical setting is observing and offering...
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...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. One major legal issue associated with clinical psychology is adhering to the Ethics Code irrespective of legal covets. The Ethics Code was cultivated and put into place by the American Psychological Association (APA) for the safety of both psychologist and patient. If the psychologist is a member of the APA (which is a voluntary endeavor), he or she must adhere to the Ethics Code (Plante, 2011). There are clear cases where this loyalty to the code undermines legal authority. However, the APA encourages its members to explain the obedience of the code, and to decide whether he or she should break their vow and go against it. Plante (2011) avows, “Generally, ethical standards represent a much higher standard of behavior than the law,” (p. 374). Another major legal issue is confidentiality, which not only ties into the abovementioned Ethics Code, but provides an example of a circumstance that could be lawful but unethical. Confidentiality is one of the foremost aspects of going to a psychologist; a psychologist is believed to break confidentiality only in the most extreme circumstances including immediate harm to the patient...
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...Ethics Awareness Inventory PSYCH/545 September 2 2013 Dr. Tindall Ethics Awareness Inventory For an individual to arrive at a decision that is ethical and professional will be greatly depend on the individuals, businesses, and the individual’s academic success. The affect on an individual’s professional career of being bad or good can be related to both the moral and ethical features presented. Test instruments performed in psychology play an important role in allowing the profession to maintain the proper knowledge it needs inside the professions expertise throughout the world. This paper will show the importance of an individual’s ethical views in their career, and help to evaluate the correlations between an individual’s professional and personal standard of ethics in the profession of psychology. Personal Ethical Perspective The Ethics Awareness Inventory Core is a concept or ideology study of morality that was founded and assumed of what was identified as being correct or not (Mulcahy, 2011).the word Core means Character, Obligation, Results, and Equity. These four groups of principles of beliefs of “Core” are for understanding a specific idea which entails an individual’s morals, values, and their principles and guidelines (Mulcahy, 2011). Ethics is similar to values in that they both have principles and standards to abide by because the individual regards them as what is being morally positive, or morally acceptable. An individual’s ethical essence is determined...
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...Forensic Psychology Name Institution Date Forensic Psychology refers to the formal intersection between the scientific section of psychology and the criminal justice systems. It involves having a thorough understanding of the criminal systems applied in various jurisdictions by constantly evaluating them at a global perspective (Bartol &Bartol, 2012). The scientific aspect of it takes this information and analyses this information and interrelates it with attorney generals, judges and other legal professionals. Moreover, the field is based on scrutinizing witness testimonies in an attempt to check its validity and make informed decisions when dealing with ambiguous court cases. The roles of forensic psychologists are multivariate. This is because they perform diverse roles according to the settings, circumstances and nature of the job. For instance, they train and evaluate police officers and, members of other law enforcement organizations. They also advise judges in determining court cases (Bartol &Bartol, 2012). For instance, when the juries are dealing with ambiguous court cases of rape, insanity or murder, all arising from mental in-capabilities of the assailants, forensic psychologies are called based on their expertise and experience to examine, evaluate and give recommendations concerning the sentencing of the culprits. Because of these several but crucial responsibilities, the field of forensic psychologist...
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...Career goals in Psychology Lynda Reyes PSY 215 Careers in Psychology I want to be a psychologist. I would love to learn all about the way people act, think and feel and at the same time try to help them. I have a very easygoing personality and I love to have fun and laugh. I ask a lot of questions, and I think I am very easy to get along with. Some career goals I have is to finish college, I would like to find a job I want to keep that I could make a career out of, and just take it one day at a time because I have desire to make the right decisions and live a pleasant life. I first became interested in psychology a couple years ago. I feel like I need to try and help make a difference, and that's what I would like to spend the rest of my life doing. The field of psychology is divided into subfields each of which deal with a different area, and since working with and helping people is a good feeling for me, community and social services is an excellent job group. When going into the field of psychology, one is able to explore many different careers. I’m also interested in forensics. The field of forensic psychology has grown in the 21st century because courtrooms recognize the value of psychologist’s testimonies to help juries reach a clearer verdict. Like all fields in psychology, forensics has many perspectives, they can focus on law enforcement psychology, the psychology of litigation, correctional psychology, and forensic psychology (Nietzel, Bernstein, & Milich...
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...PSYCHOLOGY (Principles that Defines Insanity) Michael Colton (University) Introduction The etymology of the word “insane” came from the mid-16th century Latin word “insanus” which literally means “not healthy” and is commonly defined as “a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; seriously mentally ill.” (Oxford Dictionary) Insane can also be used as an adjective that pertains to something highly unique, passionate or extreme. Three Principles that Defines Insanity Insanity is a legal term that speaks of “a defendant's ability to determine right from wrong when a crime is committed” or “mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior” (Howes, 2009). In the legal realm, insanity does not have a medical meaning; only a legal meaning. The legal meanings of insanity have very slight thing to do with the psychological or psychiatric characteristics of mental illness. Legal insanity is a perception that was established in handing over guilt or innocence to specific defendants, and is not meant to recognize the roots of mental pathology or its actions. Insanity defense is exercised as a type of defense asserted by an accused in a criminal prosecution in order to avoid any liability for commission of a crime. The M’Naghten...
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...Biopsychology: Biopsychology is a field of psychology that analyzes how the brain and neurotransmitters influence our behaviors, thoughts and feelings. This field can be thought of as a combination of basic psychology and neuroscience. Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior and psychiatric problems. Cognitive Psychology: Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that studies mental processes including how people think, perceive, remember and learn. As part of the larger field of cognitive science, this branch of psychology is related to other disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics. Comparative Psychology: Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior. Modern research on animal behavior began with the work of Charles Darwin and Georges Romanes and has continued to grow into a multidisciplinary subject. Today, biologists, psychologists, anthropologists, ecologists, geneticists and many others contribute to the study of animal behavior. Counseling Psychology: Counseling psychology focuses on providing therapeutic treatments to clients who experience a wide variety of symptoms. It is also one of the largest specialty areas within psychology. The Society of Counseling Psychology describes the field as " a psychological specialty [that] facilitates personal and interpersonal...
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...Careers in Psychology Milton T Husband University of Phoenix psy335 335 Dr. Patrick Smith February 22, 2016 Careers in Psychology The field of psychology and law involves the application of scientific and professional aspects of psychology to questions and issues relating to law and the legal system. Since that time the field has grown steadily, with an increased number of pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training programs, more journals and books devoted to psychology and law, the development of a specialized set of ethical guidelines for forensic psychologists, a regular conference held every March in addition to the annual summer meeting at the American Psychological Association convention, the involvement of psychologists in filing amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court on issues relevant to psychology and law, and the presentation of a regular workshop series in clinical-forensic psychology by the American Academy of Forensic Psychology("Careers in Psychology," 2016). Salary Even in university and other interdisciplinary settings, however, there is growing pressure on psychologists to generate sources of salary support to repay the department or school. Psychologists entering correctional settings will find striking differences between different systems. The median annual salary in the Federal prison system was $40,900 in 2002.Salaries are likely to be slightly lower in a state correctional facility or local jail, although there can be a wide range of salary...
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...Psychology is a huge topic and conveying the depth and breadth of the subject can be difficult. As a result, a number of different fields of psychology have emerged to deal with specific subtopics within the study of the mind, brain and behavior. Most general and introductory psychology courses cover many of these fields of psychology. As you delve deeper into the subject, you’ll soon find courses offered in each individual area. Each field of psychology represents a specific area of study focused on a particular topic. Oftentimes, psychologists specialize in one of these areas as a career. The following are just some of the major fields of psychology. For many of these specialty areas, additional graduate study in that particular field is required. * Abnormal Psychology: Abnormal psychology is a field of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior. The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-compulsion to sexual deviation and many more. Counselors, clinical psychologists and psychotherapists often work directly in this field. * Biopsychology: Biopsychology is a field of psychology that analyzes how the brain and neurotransmitters influence our behaviors, thoughts and feelings. This field can be thought of as a combination of basic psychology and neuroscience. * Clinical Psychology: Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness, abnormal behavior...
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...Criminologist and forensic psychologists share many similarities although they have a few differences. This essay will attempt to explain these similarities and differences. Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminals whereas forensic psychology is the interaction of the study of psychology and the law, it is also a branch of applied psychology which is concerned with the collection, examination and presentation of evidence for judicial purposes (Haward, 1953) furthermore they hold a doctorate degree in a field of psychology. The role of a criminologist is to investigate a variety of reasons to why criminals commit crimes. In order to investigate how these crimes are committed, they must consider psychological and social factors furthermore consider if any biological situations could have led the criminal to commit the crime. The role of a forensic psychologist is to provide the legal system with sound psychological information from a sound research base (Grisso, 1987). A forensic psychologist role is similar to a criminologist role to an extent that they also work with prisoners and offenders moreover they also apply the psychological theory to criminal behaviour to figure out what makes criminals commit these crimes. The premium goal of a forensic psychologist is to The first act of psychologist taking part in the justice court was in 1896 when Albert testified at the trial of Munich man accused of murdering three women. Within the United Kingdom the prison...
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