4-2 RL Reply (250 words with 1 reference)
For Dr. Belle who works as a licensed psychologist for primarily adults and geriatrics with a variety of mood and anxiety disorders, being presented with a teenager with her own set of mood and anxiety disorders can present Dr. Belle with a few different ethical standards and dilemmas which may include nonmaleficence, integrity, and responsibility. “According to Standard 2.01a of the American Psychological Association (APA, 2010) Ethics Code, psychologists should ‘provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience’ (Knapp et al., 2015, p 88). It is essential for psychologists to know the APA Code of Ethics but also be able to flexibly apply the Code of Ethics in different scenarios which will also help foster resiliency and promote the psychologist to flourish (Wise, Reuman, 2019). Although section 2.01 of the APA Code of Ethics says they should only provide services that are within their scope of competencies and training, it is important to note that 2.01b says that psychologists may provide services not within their scope of training if there are not any other services available. Section 2.02 also states that during a time of emergency, the psychologist may provide services without obtaining correct training until the emergency has passed. In this scenario, although Dr. Belle may not have the correct training to help a 16-year-old, but she does have the training to help with anxiety and mood disorders. Since there are no appropriate services available for this client, and an urgent request provided, Dr. Belle would be able to provide impermanent services while working to do no harm to this patient and provide temporary help.
4-2 LL Reply (250 words with 1 reference)
According to this scenario, Belle is a licensed psychologist for adults who are in elderly or aging. With Dr. Belle having the competence for treating mood and anxiety disorder within the older crowd, sending her a younger patient with disorders that she does not treat on a daily basis is not very ethical According to Lowman (2006), authorize only those responsibilities that such persons can be expected to perform competently on the basis of their education, training, or experience, either independently or with the level of supervision being provided. This situation may put her in a place where she gives and treatment that will not benefit the patient due to it not being Dr. Belle’s expertise. According to Fisher (2017), Ethics Code principles and standards, scientific and professional guidelines, laws, and organizational policies should help psychologists anticipate situations that require ethical planning before a problem occurs. In this case, Dr. Belle must consider if she has the correct knowledge to assist the 16 year old. Information and techniques constituting the core curricula of psychologists’ doctoral education and training often become outdated and are replaced by new information and more effective practices as decades pass. With this in mind the techniques that are used are often changed within the age groups and times (Fisher, 2017). The ethical standards that apply to this situation is fidelity and nonmaleficence. Reason being, there is an obligation to not harm others, and if Dr. Belle decides to take this patient she could in fact cause harm, being she is not competent in that area. Also fidelity is when one is faithful to something which one is bound by duty. Dr. H helps the older crowd, therefore taking the 16 year old client id not being faithful to her duty of call for older clients.
4-1AB Reply (250 words with 1 referemce)
“Continuing competence is a process that involves maintaining the ability to integrate and apply the knowledge, skills, judgment and diligence required to practice responsibly and ethically”.
(The Continuing Competence Program for Psychologists Practicing in Nova Scotia, n.d.).
I personally love learning, even when it is not in an actual school setting. Therefore, one way I believe a psychologist may achieve and maintain competence would be to come into the profession knowing that the learning does not stop at graduation. Seeking out knowledge is key to competence in my opinion.
Another way to achieve or maintain competence would be to take new courses or attend lectures on topics that you may not be as adept in. Learning from colleagues will help as well, on top of networking and being introduced to other mentors of the profession.
“Competence within the field of psychology is as important as any other standard and possibly more important inasmuch as the knowledge available to practicing psychologists is constantly growing and changing, making competency a lifelong goal that is never quite satisfied.” (Dean, 2010, 1).
Another form of maintaining competence within the field would be observations. However, this can be a little tricky because I believe it comes down to the integrity of the observer. I don’t like to assume, however, I am sure we have all had a boss that no matter what we were asked to do it was not done properly in their opinion. With that being said if you were unfortunate enough to have a boss like this then I do not believe that observations would be beneficial for either participant. However, if you were observed with the sole intent of betterment of your profession, practice, and clients, I believe that you can learn a lot from being observed and having an outside perspective.
With that comes the question of supervision. I believe that if you are working with a supervisor then it will be easier to maintain competence. Especially if your supervisor is good at their job, you will want to learn as much as you can from them, as well as to make a good impression on them. The supervisor will be the one that will assist you in continuing your education and inform you of lectures and other helpful information that you might not come about on your own. That being said you should not rely on your supervisor for this information, but be there when it is given.
