Ethical Practice In Small Communities

Psychologists who practice in small and contained communities share special circumstances that both complicate and enhance their professional lives. Such settings include rural, military, law enforcement, or faith-based environments; communities of color; gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender clients; and students at small colleges. While these communities vary considerably, the psychologists who serve them encounter similar ethical challenges in their daily work. In these close-knit groups, psychologists' professional and personal lives often overlap with those of their clients. Clients' and co-workers' expectations may run counter to psychologists' ethical standards, and issues associated with dual relationships, treatment boundaries, limits of competence, and multiple roles arise regularly. This book explores how the life of a small-community psychologist differs from that of a colleague in a large urban center who is not part of a small community, highlighting common problems and concerns. Using the provisions of the APA 2002 Ethics Code as a reference point, the authors analyze dilemmas and advantages in small-community practice and suggest ways in which psychologists can evaluate their actions and make wise decisions. In this way, they can protect and serve both themselves and their clients. This thought-provoking book provides reassuring guidance for any mental health professional who serves a small community.

The Cambridge Handbook of Applied Psychological Ethics is a valuable resource for psychologists and graduate students hoping to further develop their ethical decision making beyond more introductory ethics texts. The book offers real-world ethical vignettes and considerations. Chapters cover a wide range of practice settings, populations, and topics, and are written by scholars in these settings. Chapters focus on the application of ethics to the ethical dilemmas in which mental health and other psychology professionals sometimes find themselves. Each chapter introduces a setting and gives readers a brief understanding of some of the potential ethical issues at hand, before delving deeper into the multiple ethical issues that must be addressed and the ethical principles and standards involved. No other book on the market captures the breadth of ethical issues found in daily practice and focuses entirely on applied ethics in psychology.

Ethics in Rural Psychology provides readers with theoretical underpinnings, practical applications, and empirically based knowledge of the practice of psychology in rural communities. Dr. Boilen explores the similarities and differences within and across rural American communities to provide a framework for understanding this vast and varied population. Focusing on the ethical considerations unique to these communities, chapters use illustrative case examples, useful exercises, and personal anecdotes to highlight obstacles unique to rural areas. Finally, the book emphasizes the opportunity to be innovative and creative in rural practice, demonstrating how rural practices hold promise for cutting-edge advancements in the field of psychology. This book will serve practitioners, students, and researchers as a primer, handbook, and road map for the challenging and rewarding clinical work that awaits in rural America.

Klugman and Dalinis initiate a much-needed conversation about the ethical and policy concerns facing health care providers in the rural United States. This volume initiates a much-needed conversation about the ethical and policy concerns facing health care providers in the rural United States. Although 21 percent of the population lives in rural areas, only 11 percent of physicians practice there. What challenges do health care workers face in remote locations? What are the differences between rural and urban health care practices? What particular ethical issues arise in treating residents of small communities? Craig M. Klugman and Pamela M. Dalinis gather philosophers, lawyers, physicians, nurses, and researchers to discuss these and other questions, offering a multidisciplinary overview of rural health care in the United States. Rural practitioners often practice within small, tight-knit communities, socializing with their patients outside the examination room. The residents are more likely to have limited finances and to lack health insurance. Physicians may have insufficient resources to treat their patients, who often have to travel great distances to see a doctor. The first part of the book analyzes the differences between rural and urban cultures and discusses the difficulties in treating patients in rural settings. The second part features the personal narratives of rural health care providers, who share their experiences and insights. The last part introduces unique ethical challenges facing rural health care providers and proposes innovative solutions to those problems. This volume is a useful resource for bioethicists, members of rural bioethics committees and networks, policy makers, teachers of health care providers, and rural practitioners themselves.

Private practice opportunities for psychologists have traditionally existed in primarily large urban areas with large patient pools. Little has been written concerning the current atmosphere for psychologists working on a fee for service basis in small towns. Many psychologists are not aware of the growing need and opportunity for private practitioners in small towns in rural America. Psychological Practice in Small Towns and Rural Areas is the key sourcebook on the subject as it reviews the attitudes and needs of the people residing in these geographical areas and considers the benefits and difficulties of establishing a small town or rural practice. A variety of significant topics are covered, including the nature of small town and rural values, the psychologist's lack of anonymity in the town and adjustment and acceptance by the community, coping with the vastly different physical and social environment, ethical and personal dilemmas, ethical principles, community pressures, staff concerns, and husband and wife joint practices. Errors and stumblings to avoid, as experienced by psychologists who have entered rural private practice, are highlighted to make the transition a smooth one. Also covered are the professional and volunteer opportunities for the psychologist seeking out a small town practice and the relationships between professional and volunteer activities. Psychologists who may be considering a change of practice locale for early or after retirement, will find this an intriguing book. Newcomers to private practice, in determining the question of geographical area of practice, will find the information presented in this book helpful, as will graduate students in coursework dealing with professional activities.

This book challenges readers to rethink rural health ethics. Traditional approaches to health ethics are often urban-centric, making implicit assumptions about how values and norms apply in health care practice, and as such may fail to take into account the complexity, depth, richness, and diversity of the rural context. There are ethically relevant differences between rural health practice and rural health services delivery and urban practice and delivery that go beyond the stereotypes associated with rural life and rural health services. This book examines key values in the rural context that have not been fully explored or taken into account when we examine health ethics issues, including the values of community and place, and a need to “revalue” relationships. It also advocates for a greater attention to meso and macro level analysis in rural health ethics as being critical to ethical analysis of rural health care. This book is essential reading for those involved in health ethics, rural health policy and governance, and for rural health providers.

Ethical Considerations for Research on Housing-Related Health Hazards Involving Children explores the ethical issues posed when conducting research designed to identify, understand, or ameliorate housing-related health hazards among children. Such research involves children as subjects and is conducted in the home and in communities. It is often conducted with children in low-income families given the disproportionate prevalence of housing-related conditions such as lead poisoning, asthma, and fatal injuries among these children. This book emphasizes five key elements to address the particular ethical concerns raised by these characteristics: involving the affected community in the research and responding to their concerns; ensuring that parents understand the essential elements of the research; adopting uniform federal guidelines for such research by all sponsors (Subpart D of 45 CFR 46); providing guidance on key terms in the regulations; and viewing research oversight as a system with important roles for researchers, IRBs and their research institutions, sponsors and regulators of research, and the community.