Lecture 2

• The Code of Ethics for Psychology Practitioners in the Philippines was finalized in the 1980s, 2007, 2008, and 27th of February 2009.
• The Code of Ethics for Clinical Psychologists was adapted from the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP) in 2009.
• The Code of Ethics was revised by the Board of Directors of PAP in 2009.
• Dr. Allan B. Bernard was appointed as Chair of the Scientific and Professional Ethics Committee by the Board of Directors of PAP in 2009.
• The first draft of the Code of Ethics was presented to the PAP Board of Directors on the 24th of July 2009.
• The first Board Licensure Examination for Psychologists and Psychometricians (BLEPP) was ratified by the PAP Board of Directors on the 24th of July 2009.
• The Philippine Psychology Act of 2009 was enacted on the 27th of February 2009.
• Section 7 of Republic Act No. 10029, also known as the Philippine Psychology Act of 2009, mandates the examination for Psychologists and Psychometricians (BLEPP).
• The Principle of Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples is the most fundamental and universally recognized ethical principle that cuts across geographical and cultural boundaries, and professional disciplines.
• Psychology practitioners accept as fundamental the Principle of Respect for the Dignity of Persons and Peoples.
• In so doing, psychology practitioners accept the related values of respect for the unique worth and inherent dignity of all human beings, respect for the diversity among persons and peoples, respect for the customs and beliefs of cultures, free and informed consent, privacy of individuals, families, groups, and communities, protection of confidentiality of personal information of individuals, families, groups, and communities, and fairness and justice in the treatment of persons and peoples.
• Competent Caring for the Well-Being of Persons and Peoples involves working for their benefit and, above all, of doing no harm to them.
• Psychology practitioners accept as fundamental the Principle of Competent Caring for the Well-Being of Persons and Peoples.
• Psychology practitioners accept as fundamental the Principle of integrity, which includes honesty, truthful, open and accurate communication, avoiding incomplete disclosure of information unless complete disclosure is culturally inappropriate, or violates confidentiality, maximizing impartiality and minimizing biases, not exploring persons or peoples for personal, professional, or financial gain, and avoiding conflicts of interest and declaring them when they cannot be avoided or are inappropriate to avoid.
• Self-knowledge regarding how their own values, attitudes, experiences, and social contexts influence their actions, interpretations, choices, and recommendations; and respect for the ability of individuals, families, groups, and communities to make decisions for themselves and to care for themselves and each other.
• Psychology practitioners accept as fundamental the Principle of Integrity, which includes honesty, truthful, open and accurate communication, avoiding incomplete disclosure of information unless complete disclosure is culturally inappropriate, or violates confidentiality, maximizing impartiality and minimizing biases, not exploring persons or peoples for personal, professional, or financial gain, and avoiding conflicts of interest and declaring them when they cannot be avoided or are inappropriate to avoid.
• Competencies include boundaries of competences, providing services in emergencies, maintaining competence.
• Resolving ethical issues includes misuse of works, conflicts between ethics and law, regulations or other governing legal authority, conflicts between ethics and organizational demands, action on ethical violations, cooperating with the ethics committee, improper complaints, unfair discrimination against complainants and respondents.
• Scientific Integrity is advancement of knowledge vital to the understanding of human behavior and to the maintenance of public confidence in the discipline of Psychology.
• Professional and Scientific responsibilities to society include contributing knowledge about human behavior to the understanding of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society, increasing scientific and professional knowledge in ways that allow the promotion of the well-being of society and all its members, using Psychological knowledge for beneficial purposes and to protect such knowledge from being misused, used incompetently, or made useless, conducting its affairs in ways that are ethical and consistent with the promotion of the well-being of society and all its members, promo
• General ethical standards and procedures include resolving ethical issues, human relations, advertisement and public statements, standards of professional competence, confidentiality, records and fees.
• Psychological practitioners shall provide expert opinions regarding the Psychological characteristics of a person only after employing adequate assessment procedures and examination to support their conclusions and recommendations.
• Psychology practitioners shall educate their clients about the nature of their services, financial arrangements, potential risks, and limits of confidentiality.
• Psychology practitioners shall judiciously select and administer only those tests that are pertinent to the reason/s for referral and purpose of the assessment.
• In instances where a third-party interpreter is needed, the confidentiality of test results and the security of the tests must be ensured.
• In instances where their clients are not competent to provide informed consent on assessment, the Psychology practitioners shall discuss these matters with the immediate family members or legal guardians.
• Bases for scientific and professional judgments include delegation of work to others, personal problems and conflicts, unfair discrimination, sexual harassment, other harassment, avoiding harm, multiple relationships, conflict of interest, third-party requests for services, exploitative relationships, cooperation with other professionals, informed consent, psychological services delivered to or through organizations, interruption of psychological services, human relations, confidentiality, maintaining confidentiality, limitations of confidentiality, recording, minimizing invasions of privacy,
• Ethical standards and procedures in assessment include basis for assessment, informed consent in assessment, assessment tools, obsolete and outdated test results, interpreting assessment results, release of test data, explaining assessment results, test security, assessment by unqualified persons, test construction.
• Psychology practitioners shall use data collection, methods and procedures that are consistent with current scientific and professional developments.
• Psychology practitioners shall obtain their client's informed consent prior to the conduct of any assessment except in the following instances: when mandated by the law, when implied such as in the conduct of routine educational, institutional and organizational activity, or when the purpose of the assessment is to determine the individual's decisional capacity.
• In instances where Psychology practitioners are asked to provide opinions about an individual based on the review of existing test results and reports, but without the benefit of conducting an actual examination, they shall discuss the limitations of their opinions and the basis of their conclusions and recommendations.
• The expert opinions that Psychology practitioners provide through their recommendations, reports, and diagnostic or evaluative statements must be based on substantial information and appropriate assessment techniques.
• In so doing, psychology practitioners accept the related values of active concern for the well-being of individuals, families, groups, and communities, ensuring that no harm is done to individuals, families, groups, and communities, maximizing benefits and minimizing potential harm to individuals, families, groups, and communities, correcting or offsetting harmful effects that have occurred as a result of their activities, developing and maintaining competence, and fairness and justice in the treatment of persons and peoples.
• When test results need to be shared with schools, social agencies, the courts or industry, the psychology practitioners shall supervise such releases.
• Psychologists shall not promote the use of assessment tools and methods by unqualified persons except for training purposes and with adequate supervision.
• When this is not possible, psychology practitioners shall describe the advantages and limitations of test results and interpretation.
• Psychology practitioners shall administer assessment tools appropriate to the client's needs and profile, to include the educational attainment, language used, level of competence and other relevant characteristics of the client.
• Psychology practitioners shall not release test data in the form of raw and scaled scores, client's responses to test questions or stimuli, and notes regarding the client's statements and behaviors during the examination.
• Psychology practitioners shall ensure that test protocols, their interpretations and all other records are kept secured from unqualified persons.
• Psychology practitioners shall not provide interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations on the basis of obsolete tests.