Three Commentaries on Ethics and on the APA Ethics Code

Abstract

The APA does not provide a casebook for its ethical code, unlike the case for other national ethics codes, e.g., the CPA (Canadian Psychological Association, Canadian code of ethics for psychologists (3rd ed.). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Psychological Association, 2000, 2017). Nor has it published official interpretations of the code. However, other major book companies have published a series of editions of commentaries on the APA ethics code. The three most recent editions of these books include those of Fisher (Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2017), Koocher and Keith-Spiegel (Ethics in psychology and the mental health professions (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), and Pope and Vasquez (Ethics in psychotherapy and counseling: A practical guide (5th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2016). Aside from commenting on the APA ethics code, these books consider ethics, in general, offer many vignettes and case studies that involve ethical dilemmas and how to approach their resolution, etc. They cover all the major sets of standards in the APA ethics code, although not necessarily in the same sequence as in the code itself. They do not limit themselves to the contents of the APA ethics code and deal with topics such as telehealth that are rapidly growing in ethical complexity. They describe how to solve ethical dilemmas, how to avoid falling into the traps of biases and unethical thinking, and how to maintain one’s equilibrium in the most complex of ethical conundrums.