Application: Treating Adjudicated Forensic Populations

For this week's Discussion, you looked at ethical issues related to working with nontreatment staff in forensic settings. For this Application Assignment, you will review case studies which highlight ethical challenges related to treating a specific set of the forensic population: adjudicated individuals.

Treatment providers in multidisciplinary forensic settings may face challenges and ethical dilemmas on many levels. Potential pitfalls of providing treatment to adjudicated populations include confidentiality issues, boundary setting, chain of command, and conflict of interest.

No matter the challenges/dilemmas, it is up the forensic psychology professional to provide the best quality of care possible to adjudicated populations while following ethical guidelines and upholding ethical standards. Doing so supports the professional in acting in the best interest of and protecting the rights of the adjudicated individual.

To prepare for this assignment:

• Think about ethical challenges and dilemmas that might arise related to the treatment of adjudicated forensic populations.

• Select the juvenile or adult case study to use as a basis of this Application Assignment.

• Review your chosen case study and identify ethical issues present in the case.

• Select three ethical challenges and/or dilemmas related to specific forensic psychology codes/guidelines.

• Review the APA's ethical codes and AP-LS' specialty guidelines. Focus on how the ethical challenges/dilemmas skirt or might violate codes and guidelines of forensic psychology in the case you have chosen.

The assignment (2-3 pages):

• Identify the case study you have chosen, juvenile or adult.

• Briefly describe at least three ethical issues that are present in the case study you chose.

• Explain why each poses an ethical challenge or dilemma.

• Explain the three challenges and/or dilemmas in terms of specific codes/guidelines that you selected. Include the specific codes or guidelines the challenges/dilemmas skirt or might violate.

• Share an insight or draw a conclusion about ethical challenges and dilemmas related to the treatment of adjudicated forensic populations.
Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the Learning Resources for this course.

Discussion -

Ethical Issues When Working with Nontreatment Staff

Forensic psychology rests on a combination of legal and psychological principles. Some job settings serviced by forensic psychology professionals are multi-disciplinary in nature. As a result, forensic psychology professionals may work with others who have no background in forensic psychology.

For example, a forensic psychology professional working in the family court system may work with case workers, victim advocates, attorneys, and other nontreatment professionals. In some forensic settings, a forensic psychology professional may be asked to engage in matters or make decisions that are contrary to forensic psychology professional ethics.

Navigating such situations may be difficult, particularly when the directive comes from a nontreatment supervisor. Thus communicating clearly your position as a forensic psychology professional is important to the integrity of your role. Furthermore, asserting your role may influence your professional practice or have legal implications for the people you are treating.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review Chapter 5 in the course text, Risk Management: Clinical, Ethical, and Legal Guidelines for Successful Practice. Think about ethical issues related to consulting with other staff in forensic settings.

• Consider how you might work with nontreatment staff in forensic settings.

• Select at least two potential ethical issues/challenges that you might encounter in working with nontreatment staff in forensic settings.

• Think about why each ethical issue you selected might be a challenge and consider how you might address each.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post by Day 4 a description of each of the ethical issues and/or challenges you selected. Then explain why each is a challenge and how you might address it.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Attachment:- Case study.rar