Behavioral health clinicians often face ethical issues during diagnosis, especially when attempting to meet the diagnostic criteria for a reimbursable disorder. This can be especially problematic after the initial session when it can be tough to gather sufficient information from a client or patient. Another ethically related conflict occurs when a patient/client needs a diagnosis or statement of disability to qualify for an employment leave of absence, short-term disability, or disability managed by the Social Security Administration. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your ability to evaluate the ethical use of diagnosis. Review the following: American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. Copyright © 2017 by the American Psychological Association. Reproduced with permission. (Note: The American Psychological Association is not affiliated with nor endorses the University of Phoenix or its course materials.) American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics. Forester-Miller, H. & Davis, T. (n.d.). Practitioner’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making. Assume you are the staff psychologist in the human resources department of a large metropolitan nonprofit community center. You have been working with a staff member who suffers from alcoholism and drug dependence and takes anxiety medication. For the past 10 years, the staff member has served as director of your organization’s travel program, leading yearly trips to Latin America for members of your organization who perform service work in Paraguay. During the last trip, one of the community members reported that she was sexually assaulted by the tour bus driver. Other tour participants state that this is not true. The bus driver claimed the community member was drunk and sexually accosted him. Your travel program director met with the participant, as well as Latin American tour leaders, and prepared and submitted the appropriate forms to your nonprofit administration. Upon her return, she was told by your nonprofit management that she would never lead another tour and was accused of not fulfilling her duties appropriately. This has made the travel director more anxious. She is also going through a divorce, struggles to keep her sobriety, and is in the middle of bankruptcy. Her physician has prescribed increased doses of antianxiety medication. The staff member has told you in her most recent session with you that she can’t take the stress anymore, doesn’t understand what the problem is, and wants a way to leave her life and move to Latin America, but she has no way to support herself there. She asks you to file for FMLA paid leave on her behalf, and for a diagnosis that will allow this claim. You feel bad for the staff member, who has become a trusted colleague, but you are not sure her symptom severity meets the criteria for such a diagnosis. You are torn as to whether the diagnosis she seeks is ethical. Do you provide the diagnosis she desires? You decide to prepare a summary of the case, which you will review with your manager. Prepare a 1,050-word ethical response summary for your manager. Include each of the following in your summary: Utilize the model for ethical decision-making presented in the Forester-Miller and Davis article to analyze this situation. Review the requirements for an FMLA. Evaluate the staff member’s symptoms’ severity and determine if it meets criteria for such a diagnosis. Make a recommendation for an ethical diagnosis.
