| Abstract: | Under the Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association (2002), psychologists are responsible for ensuring that delegated tasks are performed competently. For staff members who interact with clients or who have access to confidential client information, technical competence may not suffice. Psychologists who want to provide the best protection for clients can offer staff training that fosters “ethical competence” as well. Setting-specific ethics training is important even for personnel who have previously worked in other mental health sites, because it demonstrates how the profession’s ethical standards will be upheld through specific policies in the current setting. From an ethical perspective, staff training is not an end in itself or a risk-management strategy for protecting psychologists; rather, it is a means of protecting clients and their rights. The goal is to create a culture of safety (S. J. Knapp & L. D. VandeCreek, 2006) in which upholding ethical standards becomes everyone’s shared responsibility. This ethics-based training would be appropriate for nonclinical staff, clinical staff, supervisees, and students. It can be adapted to outpatient, inpatient, research, or academic clinic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
