Ethical/Legal Standards and Issues

BrighamYoungUniversity

ETHICAL/LEGAL STANDARDS AND ISSUES

CPSE 710 (Section 001); Fall, 2009

343 MCKB 12:00 - 2:50 p.m. Monday

Course Description: This is an advanced course in ethics in counseling psychology. The course will include an examination of the professional ethics and legal standards of the counseling psychology profession.

Instructors:P. Scott Richards, Ph.D.

Office: 340M MCKB

Office Hours: 3:00 – 3:50 p.m. Monday (or by appointment)

Phone: 4224868; email:

Required Textbook

Corey, G., Corey, M.S. & Callanan, P. (2007). Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions (7th ed.), Brooks/Cole: Pacific Grove, CA.

Required Casebook

Nagy, T. F. (2005). Ethics in Plain English: An Illustrative Casebook for Psychologists (2nd ed.), American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.

or

Herlihy, B. & Corey, G. (Eds.). (2006). ACA Ethical Standards Casebook (6th ed.), American Counseling Association, Alexandria, VA.

*Several supplemental articles will be provided by the instructor.

Goals and Objectives

A central purpose of this course is for students to gain and demonstrate knowledge about professional ethics and standards as they apply to counseling psychology. We will carefully study the ethical codeof your professional organization. We will explore a variety of ethical issues and standards, including the counselor as a person and a professional, values and the helping relationship, client rights and counselor responsibilities, confidentiality, ethical guidelines for research and testing, dual relationships, professional competence and training, supervision and consultation, and multicultural-diversity issues.

More specifically, this course is intended to help you gain the following knowledge and competencies:

1. Gain a working knowledge of the ethical and legal codes of your future profession.

2. Understand the philosophical foundations of ethical codes and systems.

3. Understand and apply a system for reconciling ethical dilemmas.

4. Understand how to maintain an ethical and legal practice as a counseling psychologist.

5. Understand the ethical implications of a pluralistic, multicultural perspective.

6. Experience the value of both researching and consulting on ethical issues.

7. Understand the roles and functions of competent counseling.

I will conduct the class in an informal manner to encourage interaction and critical thinking. The class time will consist of several different activities. We will spend some of our time discussing textbook and supplemental readings and sharing our reactions to them. Wewill also discuss a variety of “ethical dilemmas” to help illustrate the application and challenges of ethical practice. Each of you will also present an ethical dilemma that a professional you are acquainted with shared with you. You will also make a presentation about an ethical issue that interests you and that you have done extra library research on. Iwill also present some material via case studies, films, and lecture format.

Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which could affect their performance in this classare encouraged to notify Dr. Richards so that appropriate accommodations can be made.

I support BYU’s policy against sexual harassment, as outlined by federal title IXof the Education Amendments of 1972, which protects university students from student-to-student sexual harassment both in and out of the classroom setting. Any incidents of such student-to-student harassment may be reported to me, to our department chair, to the BYU Equal Opportunity Office (422-5895), and/ or the BYU Honor Code Office (422-2847).

SCHEDULE

Aug. 31Introduction

COREY chapter 1

Sept 14Counselor as person and professional

COREY chapter 2

Sept. 21Values and the Helping Relationship

COREY chapter 3

Sept. 28Multicultural Perspective and Diversity Issues

COREY chapter 4; Supplemental readings

Oct. 5Multicultural Perspective and Diversity Issues

Ethical Case Vignette Presentations

Oct. 12Client Rights & Counselor Responsibilities

COREY chapter 5

Ethical Case Vignette Presentations

Oct. 19Confidentiality

COREY Chapter 6

Ethical Case Vignette Presentations

Oct. 26 Managing Boundaries and Multiple Relationships

COREY chapter 7

Ethical Case Vignette Presentations

Nov. 2Issues inProfessional Competence and Training

COREY chapter 8

Ethical Case Vignette Presentations

Nov. 9Issues inSupervision and Consultation

COREY chapter 9

Ethical Case Vignette Presentations

Nov. 16Issues in Theory, Practice & Research

COREY chapter 10

Ethical Issues Paper Presentations

Nov. 23Ethical Issues in Couples and Family Therapy

COREY chapter 11; Ethical Issues Paper Presentations

Nov. 30Ethical Issues in Group Work; Public Education

COREY chapter 12; Ethical Issues Paper Presentations

Dec. 7Leftovers;Wrapping things up!

Ethical Issues Paper Presentations

Class Requirements/Learning Activities

Quizzes

There will be 12 quizzes—one for each chapter in the Corey textbook (worth 10 points each or 120 points total). The quizzeswill consist of 10 multiple-choice questions and 2 or 3 short-answer questions about professional ethics and standards.I will email each week’s quiz on Monday afternoon. The quizzes will be open-book and you must complete them by the following class period. We will grade and discuss the quizzes at the start of each class period.

Reading a Casebook

You are required to read one of the required ethical standards casebook published by APA or ACA. We will spend some time in class discussing some of the casebook cases. You will not be tested on the casebook, but you will be asked to send me an email indicating if and when you finished reading the casebook. If you complete the casebook by October 19th, you will earn 75 points toward your final grade. If complete the casebook after October 19th, but by December 7th, you will earn 50 points toward your final grade. If you complete the casebook by the last day of finals, you will earn 25 points toward your final grade.

Ethical Dilemma Interview and Presentation

You are required to interview a helping professional and ask him or her to describe an ethical dilemma they have faced in their work. For example, you might interview a counseling center psychologist or a professor in the counseling or clinical psychology department. Inform the professional you interview that you will not disclose his or her identity to the class. Please also ask them to maintain the confidentiality of those who were involved in the ethical dilemma they share with you. Discuss with the professionalwhat his or her perception of the ethical dilemma was and how they perceived their professional role as it related to the dilemma. Present the dilemma to the class without disclosing how the professional resolved it. Lead a discussion that uses as fully as possible the 8 steps of ethical decision making described in the textbook (Corey, Corey, and Callahan). After explaining how the professional dealt with the dilemma, expand the discussion to include similar situations and factors that would change the solution to the dilemma. You will be given up to 30 minutes for your presentation. Class presentations will begin on October 5th. This assignment will be worth 100 points. You are encouraged to collaborate with a classmate on this presentation, but no more than 2 people can present about each ethical dilemma interview, unless we have an odd number of students, and if that is the case then one group can have either 3 students or 1 student in it.

Ethical IssuesResearch Position Paper and Class Presentation

Identify an ethical issuethat is of particular interest to you. Research the historical development of the ethical issue and any recent research and/or theoretical writing on the issue. Take a position on the issue and make some recommendations in your class presentation and paper: for example, do you agree with the stand our professional organization(s) currently take on this issue; do you think changes in the stand of the professions on the issue; what recommendations would you make to the profession and to your colleagues about how to handle this issue; do you have any recommendations about how you and your colleagues can handle this issue in your work? The class presentation should take no more than 30 minutes. The paper should be no more than 10 pages (not counting references). Please use APA formatting style. The presentation and paper will be worth 75 points each (total of 150 points). You will be required to turn in your completed paper on the last day of exams. You are encouraged to collaborate with a classmate on this presentation, but no more than 2 people can present about each ethical dilemma interview, unless we have an odd number of students, and if that is the case then one group can have either 3 students or 1 student in it.

Attendance

There are only 14 class meetings during the semester. Attendance at our classes is required due to the fact absenteeism would seriously detract from the quality of your learning experience. You will receive 10 points for each class you attend.

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