Zora is a 14-year-old, multi-ethnic (African American, Columbian, and Mexican) female who appears older than her stated age. She is abusing marijuana, Percocet, and Oxycontin. In defiance of her parents, she is dating Caucasian college-age boys (which her parents do not know about) and has become pregnant. She seeks counseling at a clinic for teenagers to think through how she wants to proceed. She is unsure if she wants to get an abortion, have the baby and give it up for adoption, or have the baby and join the "pregnant and parenting" services at her school. She hopes to gain clarity about what she wants before she possibly involves her family. The psychologist whom she sees at the clinic is a middle aged, Caucasian woman who is Catholic and who feels conflicted about counseling a 14-year-old who is considering an abortion. The psychologist seeks peer supervision to help her decide how she should ethically proceed. In the peer supervision group is an African American psychologist who happens to know Zora and her family, and figures out from the psychologist's description that the client is Zora. She is shocked that Zora is pregnant and is very concerned. She wants to talk with Zora, but Zora is not her client and this information was relayed in peer supervision, which is a confidential setting. This psychologist is a close friend of Zora's mother. She feels extremely conflicted as to what she should ethically do.
To prepare for this Assignment, consider the significance of confidentiality to the above case as you explore the conflicting ethical considerations at play. Consider how your own feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and cultural perspectives might influence how you conceptualize this case and include a brief self reflection on this in your paper.
The Assignment (3-5 pages)
- Explain the significance of confidentiality in ethical psychological practice, as it applies to the case above.
- Explain how your feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and cultural perspectives might influence how you conceptualize this case.
- Support your explanation with at least two peer-reviewed journal articles on confidentiality from the Learning Resources to support your points. Use correct APA-style format for your paper.