Assignment 1: Limits to Confidentiality

Confidentiality cannot always be maintained. There are some circumstances under which confidentiality must be broken, either for legal or for ethical reasons.

Tasks:

In a minimum of 200 words, respond to the following:

• Suppose a defendant you are evaluating tells you about a plan to kill someone. Explain your ethical obligations in this scenario, if any.
• What are the ethical issues involved in a duty to protect? Explain using the above scenario and discuss variations to the scenario that might lead you to a different ethical decision.

Cite the appropriate APA and specialty ethical guidelines to support your answers.

By Wednesday February 15, 2017

Assignment 2: RA: Case Analysis

In this assignment, you will discuss the issues pertaining to informed consent in conducting evaluations and apply ethical decision making to a scenario in which there is a professional ethical conflict.

Tasks:

Review vignette 3 from the following article:

• Ethical and Professional Conflicts in Correctional Psychology

After you have read the vignette, answer the following questions in a 2- to 3-page paper:

• Should the evaluation, which is requested by the warden, be completed? Why or why not?
• Would your answer change if the psychologist were not a member of APA? Why or why not?
• What multicultural/diversity issues would one need to consider if the inmate in the vignette were a homosexual, African-American male who was raised in an adoptive, single-parent household? What ethical and multicultural issues would a professional need to consider in conducting an evaluation of an individual with this background?

Support your answers with appropriate references in APA style.

By Friday February 17, 2017

Assignment 3: Attorney Tactics

Attorneys may use various tactics to elicit or distort testimony from an expert witness in order to lend support to their case. It is important to understand the ethical guidelines regarding testifying in order to know what an expert witness should and should not say on the witness stand.

Tasks:

In a minimum of 300 words, respond to the following:

• What tactics can attorneys use to elicit or distort testimony from an expert witness? Describe any three tactics you know of from your readings and your experience. Use examples to illustrate your response.
• What is the best way for an expert witness to respond to these three tactics?

Cite all sources in APA style.

By Wednesday February 22, 2017

Assignment 4: Critical Evaluation of Court Case

It is important to understand the impact an expert testimony may have in the ultimate decision made by a court. In addition, it is helpful for practitioners of forensic psychology to be able to read and understand legal cases.

Tasks:

Click here to review the case Commonwealth of Virginia v. Allen (2005).

The case describes an appellate legal opinion or court decision involving expert witness testimony. When a case is appealed, it goes to an appellate or to a higher court. The appellate court then reviews the findings of the lower court, which in this case was the trial court. The appellate court offered the following two opinions:

• The first opinion (Commonwealth of Virginia v. Allen, 2005, pp. 1–24) is the majority opinion and is the one that counts.
• The second opinion (Commonwealth of Virginia v. Allen, 2005, pp. 24–31) is an opinion filed by a minority of judges who concurred (agreed) in part and dissented (disagreed) in part with the majority of the judges who ruled.

After reading the appellate legal opinion, write a 2- to 3-page paper addressing the following:

• Discuss whether either of the expert witnesses in this case acted unethically. Support your opinion with the relevant APA or specialty ethical guidelines.
• Indicate whether you agree with the majority decision or the minority concurring or dissenting opinion. Explain why.

The paper should be in APA style.

Reference:

Commonwealth of Virginia v. Allen, 609 S.E.2d 4 (Va. 2005).

By Friday February 24, 2017

Assignment 1: Addressing Ethical Dilemmas

In this assignment, you will discuss the ethical issues raised in a brief scenario. In addition, you will discuss what action you would take and why.

Tasks:

Consider the following situation: A forensic mental health professional (who specialized in criminal cases) retired from practice about 10 years ago. She was asked by her husband’s boss to conduct a custody evaluation. The boss is seeking full-time custody of her two young children and alleges that her ex-husband has severe mental health issues.

What are the potential ethical issues raised in this scenario? Be sure to support your response with the appropriate ethical guidelines from the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology. What action would you take and why? Be sure to describe your process of ethical decision making.

By Wednesday March 1, 2017

Assignment 6: LASA: Therapeutic and Forensic Roles

For many years, the ethical dilemma of playing both a therapeutic role and a forensic role has been debated in the literature. Some authorities argue that there is always a conflict of interest in such dual relationships, while other authorities argue that the two roles can be reconciled and impartiality can be maintained. Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, locate at least ten articles that discuss the therapeutic role and the forensic role and take a stance on this particular debate. Make sure that your collection of articles is balanced with regard to the roles and the viewpoints.

Tasks:

Utilize the ethical decision-making process you learned about in M1 Assignment 3 to create a 7- to 8-page argumentative paper supporting your stand. First, compare and contrast the roles, articulate the potential ethical conflicts, and discuss how those conflicts might be managed. Then, in a reasoned fashion, develop an argument for whether the two roles—therapeutic and forensic—should ethically coincide.

The course paper is essentially an argumentative essay. Refer to the following for guidelines about writing argumentative essays:

• Refer to this guide for tips about writing argumentative essays.

Ensure that you follow these instructions:

• Identify and articulate the similarities and differences between the therapeutic and forensic roles for both assessment and treatment.
• Articulate the potential ethical conflicts and discuss how those conflicts might be managed.
• Using multiple sources, defend your thesis on how and why therapeutic and forensic roles should or should not be reconciled.
• Be sure to address the issues of dual relationships as they apply to assessment as well as treatment.
• Ensure that you argue for a particular side of the issue (not arguing both sides) and that your argument is well-supported by scholarly literature, professional ethical guidelines, and the law.
• Include solid reasoning and a compelling thesis.
• Remember, a strong argument always supports its ideas and proves the other side wrong. Make sure to both support your views with credible arguments and sources and refute the other side.

Use proper grammar and spelling. Additionally, the paper should be written and formatted in APA style.

By Friday March 3, 2017