Ethical Issues in Geropsychology: Clinical and Forensic Perspectives

Abstract

Ethical practice and decision making in geropsychology require an awareness and understanding of the ethical issues and challenges that are commonly encountered when working with older adults in clinical and forensic contexts. Although multiple resources are available to assist practitioners with identifying common ethical issues and challenges, experienced colleagues often serve as one of the richest sources of information. The purpose of this article was to tap the ethical knowledge of psychologists who have considerable experience working with older adults. Three board certified geropsychologists were each asked to respond to five questions about ethical issues. Their responses are presented in this article. Although multiple resources are typically necessary for addressing complex ethical issues, the experiences and advice of senior colleagues provide one important perspective to help clinicians anticipate, avoid, and address ethical challenges.

“It’s not how old you are, it’s how you are old”: Australian clinical psychologists’ experiences of working with older adults.

“…In terms of managing elder abuse and euthanasia, the insight offered in this study helps to reconcile the ethical resources available with the nuances of clinical practice (Bush et al, 2015). In Australia where (a) there is no current legal reporting requirement for elder abuse and (b) euthanasia is not legalized and voluntary assisted dying is only legal in one state, many questions exist about psychologists’ ethical and legal responsibilities around reporting.…”

Ethical Issues in Delivering Psychological Therapies in Geriatric Psychiatry in India

“…A common ethical dilemma in the clinical practice of geriatric mental health practitioners is the requirement to balance the patients’ autonomy with their welfare (beneficence). 27 While the practitioners wish to support their patients’ rights to make independent decisions regarding their treatments, often, when patients are incapacious and their decisions can be contradictory to their welfare, the practitioners find it challenging to support these decisions. In these circumstances, awareness about the patients’ lifetime values and wishes can help resolve the conflicts.…”

İleri Yetişkinlerle Çalışan ve Araştırma Yapan Psikologların Dikkat Etmesi Gereken Etik Konular

“…almaları için teşvik edilmektedirler (APA, 2004;2014). Bununla ilişkili olarak, ileri yetişkinlerle çalışan alandaki deneyimli psikologlar, geropsikoloji alanında eğitim fırsatlarının artırılması gerektiğini dile getirmektedirler (Bush, Allen, Heck ve Moye, 2015). İleri yetişkin nüfusundaki artışa rağmen çok az psikoloğun ileri yetişkinlere hizmet verme konusunda uzmanlaştığı ve birçok psikoloğun özel bir eğitim ve süpervizyon almadan ileri yetişkinlere hizmet verdiği dikkate alındığında (Hoge, Karel, Zeiss, Alegria ve Moye, 2015), yeterlik ilkesi ile ilgili bu gerekliliklerin yerine getirilmediği söylenebilir.…”

“…In addition, it is suggested that education opportunities in geropsychology should be improved. (Bush, Allen, Heck, & Moye, 2015).…”

“…One of the common ethical dilemmas of psychologists working with older adults is between the principle of autonomy and benficence/nonmaleficence, and between the principle of autonomy and protecting the psychologist-client relationship (Bush et al, 2015;Fitting, 1986;Karel, 2011). These ethical dilemmas emerge especially when there is an impairment in the older adult's functioning (mostly in cognitive functioning) and severe (e.g.…”