Introduction to Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology. Robert Weis
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a teaching license and work in schools.
School counselors help students develop academic and social skills to succeed in school. Career counselors also assist youths with the process of making career decisions by helping them develop skills or choose a career or educational program. Most have a master’s degree in school counseling and work in schools.
Child life experts are professionals who help children and families cope with psychosocial stressors through activities and play. They may help children separated from their families because of trauma or children hospitalized because of illness or injury. Most have a bachelor’s degree with a background in child development and family systems. They work in clinics, residential treatment facilities, and hospitals.
Students as Evidence-Based Helpers
College students often find themselves providing services to children and families in need. Students work as aides for people with developmental disabilities; behavior therapists for youths with autism; tutors for children with learning disabilities; or psychological technicians in residential treatment facilities, juvenile detention centers, and hospitals. Students also provide paraprofessional services through volunteer experiences. For example, many students mentor at-risk youths, provide in-services to grade school and high school students, monitor telephone crisis hotlines, and help local community mental health centers.
Do you provide frontline services like these? If so, you can greatly help children, adolescents, and families in need. Although you may not be in a position to direct interventions, you can approach treatment from the perspective of psychological science. Here are three groups of questions to ask yourself as you help others:
What is the evidence for the intervention or service that I am providing? Is there a scientific basis for my work? Are there alternative services that might provide greater benefits to the people I serve?
Am I effective? Am I monitoring the effectiveness of the services I provide to determine whether I am helping my clients? Is there any possibility that I might be harming them?
During my work, do I respect the rights and dignity of others, conduct myself in a responsible and professional manner, and represent the field of psychology with integrity? Are my activities being supervised by someone who practices in an ethically and scientifically mindful manner?
As you read this book, consider how you might use scientific principles to inform your understanding of child and adolescent disorders. A scientific approach to helping is not reserved for mental health professionals. All people who work with youths are called upon to use scientific evidence to help improve the functioning of others.
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Treatment often involves coordinated services from psychologists, physicians, teachers, and other professionals.
Students can also use the principles of evidence-based practice when they volunteer to help children and families in need.
Why Is Ethical Treatment Important?
The APA Ethics Code
Ethics refers to the standard of behavior that is determined to be acceptable for a given profession. Ethics should not be confused with a person’s morality—that is, her personal beliefs in the rightness or wrongness of a given behavior. Ethical behavior is determined by group consensus; morality is determined by one’s personal convictions (Knapp, Gottlieb, & Handelsman, 2015). All mental health professionals adhere to a code of ethics that guides their professional practice. Different professional organizations have different ethics codes. These codes include the APA (2017a) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, the National Association of School Psychologists (2010) Principles for Professional Ethics, the American Counseling Association (2014) Code of Ethics, and the American School Counselor Association (2010) Ethical Standards for School Counselors. Because the APA Ethics Code is the most frequently used system, we will examine it in greater detail.
The APA Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work (APA, 2017a). The primary purpose of the APA Ethics Code is to protect the welfare of individuals with whom psychologists work (e.g., clients, research participants, students). Because the Ethics Code is endorsed by the APA, all APA members and student affiliates are required to be familiar with the code and adhere to its rules. Failure to adhere to the Ethics Code can result in sanctions from the APA, psychology licensing boards, and other professional organizations (Koocher & Campbell, 2018).
The first part of the Ethics Code describes five general ethical principles: broad ideals for the professional behavior of psychologists. The general principles are aspirational in nature; they are not enforceable rules. Instead, the general principles describe the ideal standards of psychological practice toward which all psychologists should strive:
Beneficence and nonmaleficence: Psychologists strive to benefit those with whom they work, and they take care to do no harm.
Fidelity and responsibility: Psychologists establish relationships of trust, … are aware of their professional and scientific responsibilities, … uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, [and] accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior.
Integrity: Psychologists seek to promote accuracy, honesty, and truthfulness in science, teaching, and the practice of psychology.
Justice: Psychologists recognize that fairness and justice entitle all persons to access to and benefit from the contributions of psychology.
Respect for people’s rights and dignity: Psychologists respect the dignity and worth of all people and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination.
The second part of the Ethics Code consists of the ethical standards: specific rules that guide professional practice and research. The ethical standards govern all major professional activities, including assessment, therapy, research, and teaching. Although there are too many ethical standards to describe here, we will examine some of the rules that are most relevant to the treatment of children and adolescents. These rules fall into four categories (Koocher, 2008), sometimes called the Four Cs of ethics: (1) competence, (2) consent, (3) confidentiality, and (4) conflicts of interest.
Competence
According to the APA Ethics Code (2017a), “psychologists provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within their boundaries of competence.” Competence refers to the use of education, training, and professional experience to deliver evidence-based services to individuals and the community. In general, psychologists achieve and maintain competence in three ways. First, psychologists have the educational background necessary to assess, diagnose, and treat the children, families, and groups with whom they work. Second, psychologists seek additional training and supervised experiences to maintain their awareness of evidence-based practice and, perhaps, expand their clinical work to new populations. Third, psychologists monitor their own mental and physical health and sociocultural awareness to make sure that these factors do not limit their ability to deliver effective care (Nagy, 2011).
Practicing within the boundaries of competence is important because it protects the welfare of clients. Psychologists who practice outside their areas of training will likely be less effective than therapists who are more knowledgeable and skillful. Therapists who practice outside the boundaries of their competence also risk harming their clients.
Competence is especially relevant to the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents. There is a shortage of clinicians who have received formal education and training in diagnosing and treating childhood disorders. Many clinicians, whose educational and clinical experiences largely focused on adults, may be tempted to provide care outside their boundaries of competence. Consider the case of Dr. Williams, a psychologist struggling with an ethical