This integrative volume proposes major revisions to the APA ethics code
and works toward creating an ethics code applicable across psychology,
psychiatry, and related mental health professions. Careful analysis
identifies theoretical and structural deficits in the principles and
standards comprising the existing APA code, corrects its ambiguities,
and provides scientific and compare-contrast illustrations to address
current and potential controversies arising from current gray areas.
Proposed revisions are informed by the American Medical Association,
Canadian Psychological Association, and international ethics codes,
emphasizing not only clearer language and diverse situations but also
deeper conceptualizations of professional skills such as decision-making
and client engagement. Ideally, the resulting universal code would be
more inclusive of evolving ethical challenges in increasingly complex
work environments and society.
Included in the coverage:
Comparison of the APA and CPA ethics codes.
- Proposing five core and five supplementary ethical principles and
their sub-principles.
- Elucidating new standards, domains, sub-domains, and meta-principles.
- Culling lessons from the 2017 AMA medical ethics code.
- Examining ethical decision-making: fallacies/biases and models.
- Proposing new concepts, such as participatory ethics and psychological
co-regulation.
- Giving concrete and practical recommendations toward revising the APA
ethics code and creating a universal mental health ethics code.
An exhaustive text that spans clinical, research, teaching, and
education domains, Revising the APA Ethics Code is essential reading
for ethics scholars, practitioners, and the APA administrative and
ethics committee hierarchies. These real-world guidelines will help
ensure that the mental health professions remain both modern and moral.
