LSP Ethics & Professional Standards 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A psychologist is hired by a corporation to evaluate employees for a promotion. An employee asks the psychologist to share the evaluation results. What should the psychologist do?
- Share all results directly with the employee since they are the subject of the evaluation
- Explain to the employee at the outset who the client is and the limits on result disclosure (Correct answer)
- Refuse to discuss results under any circumstances to protect corporate confidentiality
- Share results only if the employee signs a new release of information form
Correct answer: Explain to the employee at the outset who the client is and the limits on result disclosure
In organizational settings, psychologists must clarify at the outset who the client is and the limits of confidentiality, so that examinees understand that results will be shared with the organization.
Question 2: According to the APA Ethics Code, a psychologist may include a deception element in a research study only if:
- The IRB approves the study and the deception is fully disclosed before data collection
- The study has significant scientific value and cannot be conducted without the deception (Correct answer)
- Participants in prior studies rated similar deception as acceptable
- The deception involves withholding information rather than providing false information
Correct answer: The study has significant scientific value and cannot be conducted without the deception
Standard 8.07 permits deception only when the study has significant scientific, educational, or applied value and when effective non-deceptive alternatives are not feasible.
Question 3: A psychologist receives a subpoena for a client's therapy records. What is the most appropriate immediate action?
- Comply immediately with the subpoena to avoid contempt of court
- Notify the client and consult with legal counsel before releasing any records (Correct answer)
- Release only a summary of treatment and retain session notes
- Decline the subpoena citing psychotherapist-patient privilege
Correct answer: Notify the client and consult with legal counsel before releasing any records
A subpoena is not a court order; psychologists should notify the client, assert privilege if applicable, and consult legal counsel before releasing protected records.
Question 4: What is the APA Ethics Code's standard regarding sexual intimacy with former clients?
- Sexual relationships with former clients are never permissible under any circumstances
- Sexual relationships are prohibited for at least two years after termination of therapy
- Sexual relationships after two years are permissible only in the most unusual circumstances with demonstrated no harm (Correct answer)
- Sexual relationships are allowed if both parties provide written consent
Correct answer: Sexual relationships after two years are permissible only in the most unusual circumstances with demonstrated no harm
Standard 10.08 prohibits sexual intimacy with former clients for at least two years after termination and states that such relationships are almost never permissible even after two years due to the lasting power differential.
Question 5: A psychologist working with a minor discovers the adolescent client is using marijuana recreationally, which is illegal in that state. The parents have requested full disclosure of all session content. What is the most ethical course of action?
- Disclose the drug use immediately to fulfill the parental consent agreement
- Use clinical judgment to determine whether disclosure serves or harms the minor's therapeutic interests (Correct answer)
- Terminate treatment and refer the client to a substance abuse specialist
- Report the drug use to law enforcement as an illegal activity
Correct answer: Use clinical judgment to determine whether disclosure serves or harms the minor's therapeutic interests
While parents of minors generally have legal access to records, psychologists must exercise clinical judgment about what disclosures serve the minor's best interests and may negotiate confidentiality parameters with families at treatment outset.
Question 6: A psychologist practicing telehealth is contacted by a potential client residing in a state where the psychologist is not licensed. Ethically and legally, the psychologist should:
- Proceed with services since telehealth is regulated at the federal level
- Decline services or obtain licensure in the client's state before providing treatment (Correct answer)
- Provide only one intake session to assess the situation and then refer
- Provide services under supervision from a colleague licensed in that state
Correct answer: Decline services or obtain licensure in the client's state before providing treatment
Telehealth services are generally regulated by the state where the client is located; practicing without licensure in that state constitutes unlicensed practice, regardless of where the psychologist is physically located.
Question 7: A psychologist is asked to conduct a child custody evaluation but has a pre-existing belief that shared custody is always superior to sole custody arrangements. What ethical concern does this raise?
- Conflict of interest, because the psychologist may financially benefit from recommending shared custody
- Confirmation bias threatening objectivity and the ability to render an impartial opinion (Correct answer)
- Lack of competence in child custody evaluation methodology
- Dual role conflict because the psychologist is both evaluator and advocate
Correct answer: Confirmation bias threatening objectivity and the ability to render an impartial opinion
A pre-existing ideological stance about custody arrangements risks confirmation bias, which undermines the psychologist's obligation to conduct an objective, impartial evaluation based on the specific family's circumstances.
LSP Ethics & Professional Standards 5
A psychologist is hired by a corporation to evaluate employees for a promotion.
An employee asks the psychologist to share the evaluation results.
What should the psychologist do?