EThical issues

in psychology:
divided
loyalties
Gunn
Trinidad
Turni
What are ethics?
The term “ethics” is derived from the
Greek word “ethos”

A set of principles by which we should

act

Ethical codes are self defined or

generally accepted by society

There is often no penalty for breaking

your ethical code

The most famous example of a code

of ethics would be the Hippocratic
Oath
What are laws?
Laws are the system of rules which a
country recognizes as regulating the
behavior of its citizens

Laws are written by the legislative branch

of government

Laws have defined penalties for failure to

adhere to them
 Ethics LAWS
Laws are legal Ethical codes may be
mandates which are created by institutions,
created democratically society, or yourself

Laws have formal Ethical codes are

mechanisms of generally not enforced
enforcement
republic acts that
governor
psychology
R.A 10029 - The Psychology Act of 2009

R.A 11036 - The Mental Health Act

ETHICAl codes in the philippines
1. The Philippines Psychological Association - Code of Ethics for
Philippine Psychologists
2. International Union of Psychological Science - Universal Ethical
Principles for Psychologists
3. International Association for Applied Psychology - Universal Ethical
Principles for Psychologists
4. Hippocratic Oath for Psychiatrists
 “Who do I work for the
organization/person who pays
me or the person I'm
testing/providing psychological
services to?”

Divided loyalties: when you feel

trapped between serving the
needs of your patient and the
needs of your employer
divided loyalties
EXAMPLES OF divided loyalties
1. When working for the military and unable to provide confidentiality to
your patients
2. When diagnosing a criminal before a trial
3. When the psychological practitioner is working for large health
maitenance organizations
“The needs over the many over the needs of the
individual”
Historical extremes
USSR CIA South africa world war 2

Psychiatrists were Psychologists Apartheid era Nazi doctors and

used as a weapon helped the CIA medical scientists
to silence political design “advanced practitioners experimented on
dissidents interrogation” abused prisoners Jewish prisoners in
techniques concentration
South African camps
Defence Force
psychiatrists Japanese scientists
attempted to turn tested biological
homosexuals weapons on
heterosexual prisoners of war
exception to divided loyalties
The murder of Tatiana Tarasoff in 1974 brought into question how far a patients right to
confidentiality stretches. The legal battle after her death forever changed the landscape of
psychology. Ultimately, it found that the publics right to safety overrides a patients right to
confidentiality. On the basis of this premise The US passed a law requiring psychologists to
disclose the contents of confidential conversations if it can protect the public from being
harmed by the patient.
 overcoming divided loyalties

• Primary loyalty to the patient

• Disclose conflicts of interest to both the patient and your employer
• Recuse yourself
• THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO MAINTAIN TRUST WITH PATIENTS
RESOURCES
Addison, D. J., et al. 1988. "Divided Loyalties?" Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology 23(7): 297–298.
Encyclopedia of Bioethics. . Encyclopedia.com. 22 Oct. 2020 . (2020, October 23). Retrieved from
https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/divided-loyalties-
mental-healthcare?fbclid=IwAR2jhvG0ta9jcY8f2tXxFWljsziXFaRNzwwi5MqZ0XMrYjeDVxHIra4_Wb0

Kaplan R. M. (2004). Treatment of homosexuality during apartheid. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 329(7480), 1415–
1416. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.329.7480.1415

Mental Health Act. (2017). (Ph). Available at

https://www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/health_advisory/IRR%20of%20RA%2011036.pdf
RESOURCES
(2008). Retrieved from https://www.pap.ph/resources

Psychology Act of 2009. (2009). (Ph). Available at

https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2010/ra_10029_2010.html

Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.iupsys.net/about/governance/universal-declaration-of-ethical-principles-for-psychologists.html

Vitelli, R., Ph.D. (2014, July 28). Revisiting Tarasoff. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201407/revisiting-tarasoff

Voren, R. V. (2009). Political Abuse of Psychiatry--An Historical Overview. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 36(1), 33-35.
doi:10.1093/schbul/sbp119