psychology questions 6
The choices so far are 7 and 4 which one would every one like
Human rights and psychologists involved in assessment related to death penalty cases: 4
An explanation of how the clients in this case study would be affected by unethical disclosure of client information- Patricia
A discussion on how your research into the dilemma affected your prior views and assumptions
Confidentiality and involvement of parents in mental health services for children and adolescents: 7
An explanation of how the clients in this case study would be affected by unethical disclosure of client information- Patricia
A discussion on how your research into the dilemma affected your prior views and assumptions
Notes for # 5
Bodner, K. E. (2012). Ethical principles and standards that inform educational gatekeeping practices in psychology. Ethics & Behavior, 22(1), 60-74.
Educational gatekeeping functions in psychology serve to assess, remediate, and/or dismiss students and trainees with problematic professional competencies (STPPC). Recently, professional psychology graduate programs have increasingly focused on problems with professional competency, and they have begun to implement formal procedures to intervene with STPPC (Rubin et al., 2007). However, there has been considerably less literature addressing the ethics and ethical considerations of instituting these gatekeeping functions, especially in different stages of education and training in psychology. The American Psychological Association (APA; 2002) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Ethics Code) offers faculty and supervisors ethical principles and obligatory standards that provide guidance about how to implement highly ethical gatekeeping practices. The purpose of this article is to highlight the major ethical issues and dilemmas that faculty and supervisors may face when intervening with STPPC and provide recommendations for ethical gatekeeping practices that are inspired by the APA Ethics Code.
GATEKEEPING
Typical gatekeeping functions are put into place to assess acceptable professional competency
in students and trainees, and to remediate or dismiss STPPC (Vacha-Haase, Davenport, &
Kerewsky, 2004). Remediation may require students and trainees to take further training or
coursework; attend therapy; extend practica, internships, or postdoctoral training; and/or even
change career focus (Forrest, Elman, Gizara, & Vacha-Haase, 1999). Students and trainees
develop professional competency skills at different rates as they progress through their programs,
and faculty and supervisors may find it difficult to determine if problematic professional
competencies are developmental in nature and can be remediated. At times, student and trainee
professional competency problems may be so severe that remediation may not be successful.
Graduate programs have increasingly focused on problems with professional competency, and
they have begun to implement formal procedures to intervene with STPPC (Rubin et al., 2007).
DEFINITION OF STUDENTS AND TRAINEES WITH PROBLEMS
OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE (STPPC)
For the purpose of this article, the term “students” refers to undergraduate and graduate students
and the term “trainees” refers to internship and postdoctoral trainees. Students and trainees
may display problematic professional competency at any stage of education or training. In their
Benchmark document, Fouad and colleagues (2009) identified 15 core competencies, defined
their essential components that are necessary for each stage of training and education, and
described how to assess these competencies across educational levels (e.g., readiness for practica,
internship, and entry to practice). The authors further characterized each core competency
through its multiple elements. For example, the core competency of professionalism is characterized
by the elements of integrity/honesty, deportment, accountability, concern for the welfare
of others, and professional identity. An example of a student or trainee who displays problematic
professional competence in professionalism might be cheating on assignments, falsifying information,
and/or being disrespectful during interpersonal interactions with clients or colleagues.
A description of each core competency and its elements is beyond the scope of this article (see
Fouad et al., 2009, for a complete list). Student and trainees that display problems in one or more
of the 15 core competencies are identified as STPPC for the purpose of this article.
Prevalence and Type of Competency Problems
There is little to no research evaluating the prevalence rate of undergraduate students with
problematic professional competency. White and Franzoni (1990) evaluated 1st-year counseling
62 BODNER
graduate students and found that they had significantly higher levels of psychopathology in comparison
to the population in general, suggesting that undergraduate students with psychological
problems may well advance to graduate training in psychology, where professional competence
problems may arise (Vacha-Haase et al., 2004).
A few studies have evaluated the presence of problematic professional competency in graduate
students (e.g., counseling, clinical, school psychology) through the use of questionnaires
(Huprich & Rudd, 2004; Vacha-Haase et al., 2004). In a study of 81 graduate programs, Huprich
and his colleague (2004) reported that 65% of programs had at least one or more current students
with problematic professional competency, and 60% reported three or more within the past
10 years. In a study of 103 graduate programs, Vacha-Haase and colleagues (2004) reported that
52% of programs terminated at least one student in 3 years, which was typically attributed to
clinical work problems. However, faculty and supervisors may not always be able to intervene
with all students with problems in professional competence, or foresee students who may have
problematic competency in the future.
In a study of 118 internship sites, 10% of programs reported knowing of at least one current
trainee with professional competency problems and 35% reported three or more over the past
10 years (Huprich & Rudd, 2004). The study indicated that the most common problems identified
during graduate programs and internships were difficulties with clinical work due to adjustment
disorders, alcohol abuse, anxiety and depression, and personality disorders. At this time, the
prevalence rate of competency problems in postdoctoral trainees is unknown.
MAJOR ETHICAL ISSUES OF GATEKEEPING
There are major ethical issues to consider when instituting gatekeeping functions during undergraduate,
graduate, internship, and postdoctoral education and training. Ethical gatekeeping
issues are highlighted by applying findings from previous literature and the Ethics Code (APA,
2002). Faculty and supervisors should aspire to uphold the ethical principles of beneficence and
nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people’s rights and
dignity in their educational and professional interactions with STPPC. Faculty and supervisors
must also adhere to the standards of the Ethics Code, specifically the standards relevant to resolving
ethical issues, competence, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, record keeping, and
education and training (APA, 2002, pp. 1063–1069). Subsequent sections discuss each ethical
principle (General Principles A–E) as it applies to educational gatekeeping practices in psychology,
the standards that support the themes of the ethical principles, and special considerations
and ethical dilemmas that faculty and supervisors may encounter.
General Principle A (Beneficence and Nonmaleficence)
Principle A guides psychologists to “strive to benefit those with whom they work and take care
to do no harm” (APA, 2002, p. 1062). Principle A is especially important in guiding educational
gatekeeping practices, because it advises faculty and supervisors to be cognizant of the
welfare of their students and trainees as well as the welfare of individuals with whom students
and trainees interact (e.g., clients). Specifically, faculty and supervisors should seek to
benefit their students and trainees by providing education and training that is developmentally
ETHICAL EDUCATIONAL GATEKEEPING IN PSYCHOLOGY 63
appropriate while making sure that these students and trainees are providing good care to their
clients. At times, these two goals may conflict with each other and create an ethical dilemma
(Kitchener, 1984). Faculty and supervisors must determine the amount of potential harm that
clients might experience in the service of helping students and trainees develop professional
skills. One way that faculty and supervisors manage this ethical dilemma is to aspire to implement
ethical gatekeeping procedures to assess and remediate STPPC in a timely manner. Timely
remediation that provides developmental road maps for STPPC merges faculty’s ethical commitments
to their students with their ethical commitments to the clients served by students in
training. Thus, Principle A provides guidance to faculty and supervisors at any stage of education
or training.
Supporting standards. In support of General Principle A, Standard 3.04 explicitly states
that “psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervisees
. . . and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and
unavoidable” (APA, 2002, p. 1065). Overall, the purpose of gatekeeping functioning at every
stage of education and training in psychology is to avoid harm or foreseeable harm to clients,
patients, students, supervisees, and others with whom they work. Individuals who enter and eventually
graduate from doctoral internship and postdoctoral programs will ultimately benefit the
public through competent research and practice. STPPC may be more likely to make poor judgments,
exploit others, make mistakes, provide poor clinical care, and “project their own personal
issues” (p. 21) onto others (Bemak, Epp, & Keys, 1999). These behaviors are potentially harmful
to students and trainees when they pursue education and training in an area for which they will
ultimately be unsuccessful. Such students and trainees may face increased rates of failure and be
more likely to be exposed to increased stress, anxiety, damage to self-esteem, and depression as
a result. Students and trainees may spend time and resources on education and training in psychology
that may have been better spent on educational costs associated with another career that
better matches their strengths.
As part of the remediation process, faculty and supervisors may require students and trainees
to obtain individual or group therapy. Psychotherapy was cited as the most common remediation
method for STPPC by faculty and supervisors (Forrest et al., 1999). When psychotherapy is
used in remediation, Standard 7.05 requires faculty and supervisors to provide students and
trainees with the option to choose “therapy from practitioners unaffiliated with the program”
(APA, 2002, p. 1069). Faculty and supervisors must make their role as an educator/trainer clear
and avoid entering into a multiple relationship with STPPC by providing therapy (Standard 3.05,
APA, 2002, p. 1069). However, when faculty and supervisors use personal therapy as the sole
form of remediation without any monitoring components, faculty are unable to evaluate STPPC
progress to ascertain if the personal therapy remediation is positively affecting the professional
competencies of concern (Elman & Forrest, 2004).
General Principle
