How much therapy is enough?

 Majority of clients < 10 sessions

 ~33% 1 to 2 sessions only
 Only 10% complete more than 20 sessions

What does treatment look like?

 In most jurisdiction, clinical psychologists cannot prescribe medications
o CPA Task Force 2010: psychologists serve as a competent consultant but do not
prescribe
 Does theoretical orientation matter?

o
 APA 2003 Online Survey: both commonalities and clear orientation-related differences
in practice

Science and Ethics

 4 fundamentals ethical principles
o Respect for people
o Responsible caring
o Integrity in relationships
o Responsibility to society
 Ethical codes require that clinical psychologists maintain knowledge of current research
relevant to their activities
 What if research is lacking?
o You can use a scientific approach to test a theory with the client

Origin of the clinical psychology ethics code

 Nuremberg War Crime Trial (WW2)
o Informed consent
 1980s – Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists
o Inter-disciplinary and international literature
o Empirical data from Canadian Psychologists
o Model for ethical decision making
o Respect for persons given greater weight in decision making
4 Ethical Principles of the CPA Ethics Code

The importance of Self-Care

 It is our ethical responsibility to remain self-aware and able to provide responsible care
 Burnout: long hours, working harder than clients (-), constructive feedback (+)
 Secondary Traumatic Stress (?): Volume, frequency & ratio of trauma-related work (-),
personal history of trauma (-), work support & social support (+)
 Coping & resilience: work-life balance; humour; seeking help; increased compassion,
perspective, satisfaction from helping others, appreciation for human capacity for
growth and resilience