Committee on Ethics Reports
1. Attached to this report is a revised draft of the document “Ethical Guidelines for Supervision in Psychology: Teaching, Research, Practice, and Administration,” which the Committee on Ethics requests that the CPA Board of Directors consider for formal adoption at its February 2009 meeting. A draft of these guidelines was approved by the CPA Board in June 2008 for posting on the CPA website for a 90-day consultation period. A revised draft, which incorporated changes based on the consultation feedback, was presented to the CPA Board of Directors for adoption at it’s November 2008 meeting. At that time, the Board requested that further changes be made to the document. Those requests, and the resulting changes to the attached document, are as follows:
a. More attention to the gatekeeper role in the supervision of psychology students and trainees. Additional information about the gatekeeping role of supervision has been made in the Definitions. Reference to gatekeeping also has been included in one of the additional examples of application of the ethical decision-making model. (Three other references to gatekeeping in the Introduction were in the previous draft, as well as being included in the third definition of supervision.)
b. Recognition that opportunities for formal training in supervision are difficult to find outside supervision in clinical/counselling psychology. In response to this observation and request, changes have been made to the wording of the first paragraph of the Introduction regarding the need for maintenance of supervision knowledge and skills, and to guideline II.5.
c. Consider additional examples of applications of the ethical decision-making steps to ethical dilemmas. Three additional examples have been included. The examples now include one from each of the major groupings of vignettes: Teaching, Research, Practice, and Administration.
d. Consider removal of all the vignettes in the last section of the Appendix. This has not been done; rather, in the introduction to the Appendix, the process for creating the vignettes is explained, including the fact that the situations portrayed can occur anywhere, often are a blend of details from a variety of sources, and care has been taken to remove any identifiers. We believe that removal of the vignettes would be very unfortunate. There is considerable inter-disciplinary literature supporting the use of vignettes or case studies in developing ethical decision-making skills and understanding the complexity of ethical dilemmas. In addition, the use of realistic vignettes is an established practice in psychology as a means of learning to apply guidelines and standards at a practical level. CPA has been recognized as one of the leaders in this. Examples of CPA documents that include vignettes include the Companion Manual to the Canadian Code of Ethics (2001), the online CPA course Being an Ethical Psychologist, and the Guidelines for Ethical Psychological Practice with Women (2007). Examples of relevant literature outside of CPA can be found at the end of this report (p. 3). We are unaware of any legal action that has been taken anywhere in North America or Europe regarding the use of a case study or vignette in workshops or publications, in spite of their wide use.
2. The Committee is continuing to prepare Code Interpretations on the following topics, with expected presentation to the Board at its June meeting:
(a) Psychological services to clients making end-of-life decisions.
(b) “Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media.” Although approved in principle by the Board, when circulated for consultation, there was concern that the guidelines were “too prescriptive”; however, enquiries continue to come in from CPA members and the public. The guidelines are being re-written as a Code Interpretation.
(c) Use of titles and designations. This is an outstanding topic that did not seem to call for a set of guidelines. A brief Code Interpretation on this topic is being prepared.
3. Work continues on the development of materials/resources/procedures for the Ethics section of the CPA website.
4. The CPA web-based ethics course “Being an Ethical Psychologist” continues to be available and to receive positive feedback..
5. The Committee continued to respond to requests for consultation/advice/information from persons directed to the Chair by CPA head office.
6. No new ethics complaints have been forwarded to the Committee since its last report to the Board, and processes regarding all previously forwarded ethics complaints have been completed.
Carole Sinclair, Ph.D.
Chair, CPA Committee on Ethics
Examples of non-CPA literature that uses vignettes/case studies:
Cory, G., Cory, M.S., & Callanan, P. (1998). Issues and ethics in the helping professions. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company
Falender, C., & Shafranske, P. (2008). Casebook for clinical supervision: A competency based approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Fisher, C. (2003). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. New York, NY: Sage Publications
Hanson, S., Kerkhoff, T., & Bush, S. (2005). Health care ethics for psychologists: A casebook. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Houser, R., Wilczenski, F., & Ham, M. (2006). Culturally relevant ethical decision making in counseling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Knapp, S., & Vandecreek, L. (2006). Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Koocher, G., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions: Professional standards and cases (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press
Ladany, N. Friedlander, M. & Nelson, M. (2005). Critical events in psychotherapy supervision: An interpersonal approach. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Lindsay, G., Koene, C., Ovreeide, H., & Lang, F. (2008). Ethics for European psychologists. Toronto, ON: Hogrefe & Huber
Lowman, R. L. (Ed.). (2006). The ethical practice of psychology in organizations (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Pope, K., & Vasquez, M. (2007). Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: A practical guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass
Rave, E., & Larsen, C. (Eds.). (1995). Ethical decision-making in therapy: Feminist perspectives. New York: Guilford Press
Sales, B. D., & Folkman, S. (Eds.). (2000). Ethics in research with human participants. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Schultz, W. (2000). Counselling ethics casebook (2nd Ed.). Ottawa: Canadian Counselling Association.
Stark(-Adamec), C., & Pettifor, J. (1995). Ethical decision-making for social scientists: Putting values into practice. Ottawa: Social Sciences Federation of Canada
Sue, D.W., & Sue, D. (1990). Counseling the culturally different: Theory and practice. (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons
Truscott, D., & Crook, K. (2004). Ethics for the practice of psychology in Canada. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press
November 2008
1. Attached to this report is the document “Ethical Guidelines for Supervision in Psychology: Teaching, Research, Practice, and Administration,” which the Committee on Ethics requests that the CPA Board of Directors consider for formal adoption at its November 2008 meeting. A draft of these guidelines was approved by the CPA Board in June 2008 for posting on the CPA website for a 90-day consultation period.
The guidelines have been under development for approximately two years, and are a response by the CPA Committee on Ethics to numerous inquiries from CPA members regarding supervisory dilemmas and to repeated comments about the need for ethical guidelines for supervisory activities in psychology. Prior to the June 2008 draft, all CPA Sections, Canadian psychology departments, and voluntary and regulatory bodies of psychologists across Canada were invited to provide feedback as part of the development process.
The recent consultation period ended on 15 October 2008, and the attached document incorporates comments/suggestions received during the consultation. Feedback was received not just from CPA members, but also from other psychologists in Canada and other countries. Feedback has been overwhelmingly favourable, resulting in very few changes to the attached document.
2. The Committee is continuing to prepare Code Interpretations on the following topics, with expected presentation to the Board at its next meeting:
(a) Psychological services to clients making end-of-life decisions.
(b) “Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media.” Although approved in principle by the Board, when circulated for consultation, there was concern that the guidelines were “too prescriptive”; however, enquiries continue to come in from CPA members and the public. The guidelines are being re-written as a Code Interpretation.
(c) Use of titles and designations. This is an outstanding topic that did not seem to call for a set of guidelines. A brief Code Interpretation on this topic is being prepared.
3. Work continues on the development of an approach/materials/resources for the Ethics section of the CPA website.
4. The CPA web-based ethics course “Being an Ethical Psychologist” continues.
5. The Committee continued to respond to requests for consultation/advice/ information from persons directed to the Chair by CPA head office.
6. No new ethics complaints have been forwarded to the Committee since its last report to the Board, and processes regarding all previously forwarded ethics complaints have been completed.
Carole Sinclair, Ph.D. Chair, CPA Committee on Ethics
March 2008
1. The Supervision Guidelines Sub-committee of the COE has completed a fourth draft of “Guidelines for Supervision: Teaching, Research, Practice and Administration.” This draft is currently being distributed for focused consultation before submitting it to the Board for approval in principle in June, followed by distribution to the CPA membership at large for consultation.
2. The Committee is continuing to prepare Code Interpretations on the following topics, with expected completion by June 2008:
(a) Psychological services to clients making end-of-life decisions. (A first draft of this Code Interpretation was discussed by the Committee on Ethics at its 2007 annual meeting.)
(b) “Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media.” Although approved in principle by the Board, when circulated for consultation, there was concern that the guidelines were “too prescriptive”; however, enquiries continue to come in from CPA members. The guidelines will be re-written and re-circulated for consultation as a Code Interpretation.
(c) Use of titles and designations. This is an outstanding topic that did not seem to call for a set of guidelines. A brief Code Interpretation on this topic is being prepared.
3. Work continues on the development of an ethics page/section for the CPA website.
4. At the request of Dr. Peter Bieling, the Committee is in the process of drafting a form for CPA Publications for authors to certify that they have complied with CPA ethical principles in the conduct of the research presented in their submissions.
5. From its launch in May of 2006 to February 2008, 60 persons have registered for the CPA web-based ethics course “Being an Ethical Psychologist.”
6. The Committee continued to respond to requests for consultation/advice/ information from persons directed to the Chair by CPA head office.
Carole Sinclair, Ph.D.
Chair, CPA Committee on Ethics
November 2007
1. Based on feedback at the Committee’s annual meeting in June, a subcommittee has almost completed its work on the fourth draft of “Guidelines for Supervision: Teaching, Research, Practice and Administration.” This draft will be made available for focused consultation before submitting it to the Board for approval in principle and distribution to the CPA membership at large for consultation.
2. The concept of “Code Interpretations” as an alternative to “Guidelines” for some topics/issues gained wide support from Committee members at the COE annual meeting and from CPA members who attended the Ethics Update presentation at the convention. The following topics are being prepared in this format:
(a) Psychological services to clients making end-of-life decisions. (A first draft of this Code Interpretation was discussed by the Committee on Ethics at its annual meeting.)
(b) “Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media.” Although approved in principle by the Board, when circulated for consultation, there was concern that the guidelines were “too prescriptive”; however, enquiries continue to come in from CPA members. The guidelines will be re-written and re-circulated for consultation as a Code Interpretation.
(c) Use of titles and designations. This is an outstanding topic that did not seem to call for a set of guidelines. A brief Code Interpretation on this topic is being prepared.
3. Work continues on the development of an ethics page/section for the CPA website.
4. From its launch in May of 2006 to September 2007, 47 persons have registered for the CPA web-based ethics course “Being an Ethical Psychologist.”
5. The Committee responded to several requests for consultation/advice/ information from persons directed to the Chair by CPA head office.
Carole Sinclair, Ph.D.
Chair, CPA Committee on Ethics
1. Based on the feedback received regarding a 2006 draft, the Committee continues to work on a revision to the “Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media,” and anticipates having another draft ready in April 2007 for circulation and feedback.
2. The Committee began its work on “Guidelines for Supervision: Teaching, Research, Practice and Administration.” A sub-committee formed in September 2006 is considering a second draft, and it is hoped that a third draft will be available soon for wider consultation.
3. Preparation of a formal opinion on psychologists’ involvement in end-of-life issues is underway and will be circulated to the Committee for their consideration in the near future.
4. Work continues on the development of an ethics page/section for the CPA website. It is expected to be ready for members by the end of the summer 2007.
5. To date, twenty-seven persons have registered for the CPA web-based ethics course “Being an Ethical Psychologist”.
Carole Sinclair, Ph.D.
Chair, CPA Committee on Ethics
1. The on-line ethics course appears to be working well. As of 25 October 2006, there had been eleven registrations. The availability of the course, and a course description, have been circulated to psychology departments across Canada, as well as to registration bodies and voluntary associations. A “Further Information” sheet was prepared recently for the CPA and Captus websites in response to questions posed by persons interested in taking the course.
2. The Committee completed its work on the Guidelines for services to women. A draft of the Guidelines, incorporating the suggestions of members of the Committee on Ethics was forwarded on 28 October 2006 to Elizabeth Church, Erica Horwitz, and John Service.
3. The Committee received nine responses to the request for consultation on “Ethical Guidelines for Psychologists Providing Psychological Services via Electronic Media” (deadline was 15 October 2006). The responses varied from suggestions for minor change, to suggestion that the CPA Code obviates the need for guidelines of any kind, to concern that the draft Guidelines will interfere with Canadians receiving appropriate and needed psychological services. The Committee requests deferral of further Board consideration of these Guidelines until the next meeting of the Board of Directors, in order for the Committee to have sufficient time to give due consideration to the consultation feedback and formulate recommendations/next steps.
4. Other major current activities of the Committee include:
a. Consideration of a request for a formal opinion (re psychologists’ involvement in end-of-life decisions/issues of clients).
b. The development of an ethics page/section for the CPA website.
c. One enquiry from a member of the public regarding a complaint.
Carole Sinclair, Ph.D.
Chair, CPA Committee on Ethics
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