Twenty-first century ethical challenges for psychology.

Abstract

Foreseeable social and technological changes will force us to reevaluate our thinking about ethically appropriate ways to fulfill our mission of using psychology to advance human health and welfare in the twenty-first century. Three categories of challenge related to societal and technological changes have become particularly evident. First, increasing patterns of delivering services over substantial distances by electronic means (i.e., telepsychology) demand consideration. Second, we must parse our ethical obligations to individuals, to groups, and to society at large as our influence working behind the scenes as "invisible" psychologists grows. Finally, as we witness the accelerating demise of psychiatry, we must take care not to follow a similar path. As we face new ethical challenges, we must continually ask ourselves where our responsibilities lie as individuals and as a profession. We must learn not to repeat the mistakes of the past and focus instead on optimizing the future for a science and practice of psychology focused on human health and welfare.

Telemedicine in children and adolescents

“…The lack of available specialists, insurance restrictions, appointment delays, and stigma are frequent problems [15]. These obstacles are even more pronounced in rural areas, where access to child and adolescent psychiatric services is limited [15].…”

Rural telepsychology services for children and adolescents

“…In the absence of telepsychology-specific guidelines, psychologists rely on the American Psychological Association's (APA) ethics code (APA, 2002) that ''in those emerging areas in which generally recognized standards for preparatory training do not yet exist, psychologists nevertheless take reasonable steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients, students, research participants, and others from harm.'' Just as in traditional, face-to-face clinical settings, the core ethical concern to protect the client remains paramount for telespychology (Koocher, 2007;Reed, McLaughlin, & Milholland, 2000).…”

Virtual Counseling for Students Enrolled in Online Educational Programs

“…One of the concerns with online counseling is in regard to confidentiality and protection of a client's privacy (Koocher, 2007;Maples & Han, 2008;Sampson & Lumsden, 2000). Counselors can implement measures to secure their computer files; however, control over the client's computer security and control over websites which hold messages is difficult to monitor (Frame, 1998;Robinson & Serfaty, 2003).…”

“…Finally, some therapeutic interventions do not lend themselves well to an online delivery; for example, play therapy techniques with children. (Koocher, 2007). According to Koocher (2007) practitioners need to focus on contracting regarding the nature of services, practitioner competence, confidentiality, and control in relation to licensure jurisdictions across state lines.…”

“…To address confidentiality and student privacy, a signed informed consent should be administered, outlining the limits of confidentiality, counseling services provided, procedures for counseling including when or how often the counselor will respond, the risks and benefits of online counseling, emergency back-up procedures, and counselor credentials which helps the counselor be prepared for potential difficulties (Koocher, 2007;Roy & Gillett, 2008;Shaw & Shaw, 2006). If possible, an initial face-to-face meeting or telephone conversation with the student should occur prior to engaging in online counseling where the counselor gathers demographic information about the student, administers informed consent, discusses the limitation about online counseling such as absence of verbal cues, slower transmission of conversation, technical difficulties, and informs the student about confidentiality and privacy issues (Roy & Gillett, 2008).…”