Comparison of university core values with 2002 ethical framework

St. Leo's Core Values and the APA Code of Ethics Psychology education today is premised on an intercession of professional, intellectual, scientific and spiritual ideals, all of which coalesce to denote a concentrated interest in caring for others and improving the ability of individuals to cope with emotional, psychological and clinical conditions impacting mental function. This coincides with the goals of Christianity, which are to better man's lot by improving his own ability to attend to the responsibilities, demands, pressures and temptations of a challenging everyday life. Thus, St. Leo University approaches its scholastic objectives with a mind toward the meeting point of these interests, molding its students with a Christian conscience and an orientation toward the practice that descends from American Psychology Association standards. To the point, this discussion draws direct parallels between the core values propagated by the University and those cited by the 2002 Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct of American Psychological Association (APA). We find that by and large, the values implied by both are common and devoted to common end goals. This, we will resolve, is an important set of parallels which implies a quality and review process applied at St. Leo's that marks it as exceeding current industry practices in terms of professional development. Info: Saint Leo Core Values Statements Among its core values, St. Leo endorses a distinct excellence of practice that demands all its students to perform to the highest of academic standards. By paying a focus to the inherently interrelated forces of character development, theoretical development, practice refinement and ethical clarification, the university is minded toward a student body that is dedicated and accomplished. Such a standard must also be present outside of the university and in professional application, justifying the core believe that excellence in study will result in excellence of practice. This is an ideal formulated by the ideal projected in the APA's Ethical Principles, which in Section 2.01, state that practicing psychologists will be expected to "provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience." (APA, Section 2.01a) The connotation here is clear, that where educational faculties have been refined and have achieved a greater degree of scrutiny in the university setting, a greater capacity will be developed to serve those in need. This helps to point to another core value for St. Leo University, which as a Christian institution, is deeply devoted to its community. There is a fundamental interest here to ensure that the neighborhoods, organizations, youth agencies and churches within range are given access to the abilities of our students, faculty and other affiliated mental health professional. Thus, according to its core values, "Saint Leo University develops hospitable Christian learning communities everywhere we serve. We foster a spirit of belonging, unity, and interdependence based on mutual trust and respect to create socially responsible environments that challenge all of us to listen, to learn, to change and to serve." (St. Leo University, 1) This is indicative of the Christian mission to help others transcend the emotional and internal difficulties that have prevented them from enjoying life to its fullest potential. Additionally, this means that for those who are less fortunate or more likely to have obstructed access to that which they need as support for mental health difficulties, the university should be a beacon of hope, counsel, opportunity and sanctuary.

This is concordant with the perspective espoused by the APA, which denotes that those who will ultimately practice psychology professionally should be expected to use that which they have gained through education and access to association resources to aid those less fortunate. Thus, the 2002 doctrine promotes the idea that all practitioners "are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities to society and to the specific communities in which they work. Psychologists uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior, and seek to manage conflicts of interest that could lead to exploitation or harm." (APA, Principle B) This means both that as a matter of conduct and as a matter of the extension of one's reach as a professional, the psychologist should ultimately come to serve the community as a model citizen comporting him or herself according to the expectations befitting a physician as well as being a point of access, compassion, information and support to those otherwise lacking such access. It is thus that one of the core values espoused by the university relates to the provision of pro bono community services such as social work, counseling or other forms of outreach, with the expectation that those practitioners adhering to the ideals of the 2002 code of ethics will ultimately come to use some time and professional resource in order to work within the community and with its citizens. As the APA reports, ideally suited candidates for work in the profession will "strive to contribute a portion of their professional time for little or no compensation or personal advantage." (APA, Principle B) To the perspective at our university, this is a distinctly Christian ideal that figures meaningfully into the correlation between St. Leo's and the APA. Even in those regards, in fact, where St. Leo's can be said to be proudly and uniquely Christian in its orientation, there remain some notable parallels between its values and those of the APA. Indeed, in its mission, St. Leo's cites respect as a core principle to be demonstrated by its students and faculty. This means that, according to the perspective that man is created in the image of God and animated in the spirit of Jesus Christ, all are to be acknowledged as uniquely capable and deserving of respect. For the psychologist, who will encounter individuals in inherently vulnerable states, this is crucial and will mean the difference between one who connects with or alienates his patients. As the APA tells, without making mention of the theological implications that distinguish our perspective, the properly acquitted psychologist will "respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. Psychologists are aware that special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights and welfare of persons or communities whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making." (APA, Principle E) St. Leo echoes this premise by incorporating the ideas of unity and diversity as being the founding principles to an effective and ethically conducted practice. In many ways, the personal and professional development of the prospective psychologist will be directly intertwined in this ability to connect with patients. Stated simply according to the APA, "psychologists undertake ongoing efforts to develop and maintain their competence." (APA, Section 2.03) The field of psychology is always evolving, with best practices and new developments marking the path to improvement of outreach efforts. In St. Leo's perspective, this is accomplished with a focus on personal development and all that is implied to the refinement of one's character. Through the paths of community and spiritual clarity, the individual will find a path to natural growth as an individual. This will inevitably lead to growth as a compassionate person, as a student of the discipline and as a professional guided by embrace of Jesus Christ. The APA provides ample explicit lines of endorsement for this type of development, composing the argument that the responsible psychologist will in all regards be in a steady state of growth. The APA denotes that especially "in those emerging areas in which generally recognized standards for preparatory training do not yet exist, psychologists nevertheless take reasonable steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients/patients, students, supervisees, research participants, organizational clients, and others from harm." (APA, Section 2.01e) This also directly implies the demand place upon all psychologists to approach the profession with centered and responsible stewardship. As St. Leo's mission and core values denote, we are divinely blessed with great abilities and insights to do good in our lives. For those of us engaged in the study of psychology, this is related to a core understanding that we have been especially fortunate in having access to education and professional development. Therefore, we are responsible for using this fortune as a point of leadership and as a light of insight for those not as fortunate. This, of course, means that much may be dependent on the ethical orientation of the developing psychologist. According to the APA, "because psychologists' scientific and professional judgments and actions may affect the lives of others, they are alert to and guard against personal, financial, social, organizational, or political factors that might lead to misuse of their influence." (APA, Principle A) This implies that among other things, a practitioner's integrity, will factor heavily into his abilities and value as a psychologist. St. Leo describes such qualities as honesty, dedication, consistency and justice as those which should be observable in the developing psychologist. The list of qualities which it cites align directly with those provided by the APA, which contends that effective and ethically grounded "psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in the science, teaching, and practice of psychology. In these activities psychologists do not steal, cheat, or engage in fraud, subterfuge, or intentional misrepresentation of fact." (APA, Principle C) This is a reinforcement of the consistencies which cross between St. Leo's University's core values and the code of ethics by which the APA remains bound today. This is important because prevailing research today suggests that there have been some fundamental failures in the maintenance of standards for those entering into the practice. As one research document states, "there appears to be minimal consensus regarding those elements of a candidate's previous experience that should be scrutinized prior to licensure. The authors highlight the frequency of character and fitness items across applications and ancillary licensure materials and conclude with several recommendations for licensing boards, national associations, and directors of training programs." (Johnson & Campbell, 654) This accounts for the value to the field of such universities as St. Leo, which pay a distinct focus to the matters of personal, professional, academic, spiritual and character development. The application of rigorous development standards at the educational level helps to provide a more effective screening process than many of the professional associations which currently guide the field. Thus, as the parallels here between the APA's 2002 Code of Ethics and the core values of St. Leo's indicate that the university is well-suited to help prime psychology practitioners properly oriented toward improving the field as a whole. Works Cited: American Psychological Association (APA). (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct of American Psychological Association. APA.