Now clinical psychology is, much like medicine and law, a discipline accorded respect in society, and an individual who seeks counseling can feel confident being open and trusting of a licensed therapist. A therapist cannot claim to be a professionally licensed therapist under the law, unless he or she possesses specific qualifications. Licensing is vital to maintaining trust in the profession, as ethical questions grow more contentious regarding psychotherapy, such as the question therapists that do research funded by drug companies on psychoactive drugs, or who testify to the competency of a defendant or witness to stand trial or make decisions about his or her health. Licensing and standardization of qualifications increases confidence that the individual is giving acceptable advice based in evidence and professional ethics.
Certain aspects of the profession have come under legal scrutiny, such as legal questions of when it is acceptable to broach confidentiality requirements, and what constitutes a viable threat to an individual's life may be somewhat subjective. At times, the ethics of the profession may come into conflict with the requirements of the law. Certain definitions differ within the framework of psychology and the legal system -- for example, what constitutes someone who is criminally insane (in other words, cannot tell right from wrong) differs from a psychological...
Competence may come into question regarding the adult's sanity, age, or IQ. Minors are usually not judged to be competent, even if they may be developmentally normal -- for example, they cannot enter legally binding contracts without the permission of their
parents (Competency, 2009, Ascension Health). An adult's competency may come under dispute in a variety of legal contexts, such as if a will is being contested if it may have been authored by an elderly person whose mental capacity is in
doubt, the question of whether someone is competent and can contribute to their own defense in a
criminal case, or if someone has sufficient capacity to be given the
death penalty in a murder case.
Works Cited
Competency. (2009). Ascension Health. Retrieved March 2, 2009 at http://www.ascensionhealth.org/ethics/public/issues/competency.asp
Lloyd, Raymond. (2009). A Guide to Psychology and its Practice.
Retrieved March 2, 2009 at www.GuideToPsychology.com
Rosenfeld, Barry. (2002). The psychology of competence and
informed consent: Understanding decision-making with regard to
clinical research. Fordham Urban Law Journal. 30.
Saunders, Joseph. (2007). Expert witness ethics. Fordham Law Journal.
Retrieved March 2, 2009 at http://law.fordham.edu/publications/articles/500flspub9774.pdf
