Consent Analyze the Legal Issues Thesis

Requirements for licensure for psychologists under the American Psychologist Association (APA) set certain educational and ethical standards that govern the profession. Now clinical psychology is, much like medicine and law, a discipline accorded respect in society, and an individual who seeks counseling can feel confident being open and trusting of a licensed therapist. A therapist cannot claim to be a professionally licensed therapist under the law, unless he or she possesses specific qualifications. Licensing is vital to maintaining trust in the profession, as ethical questions grow more contentious regarding psychotherapy, such as the question therapists that do research funded by drug companies on psychoactive drugs, or who testify to the competency of a defendant or witness to stand trial or make decisions about his or her health. Licensing and standardization of qualifications increases confidence that the individual is giving acceptable advice based in evidence and professional ethics.

Certain aspects of the profession have come under legal scrutiny, such as legal questions of when it is acceptable to broach confidentiality requirements, and what constitutes a viable threat to an individual's life may be somewhat subjective. At times, the ethics of the profession may come into conflict with the requirements of the law. Certain definitions differ within the framework of psychology and the legal system -- for example, what constitutes someone who is criminally insane (in other words, cannot tell right from wrong) differs from a psychological definition of insanity (whereby a person who undergoes psychotic states and is therefore 'insane' may still be able to articulate the difference between right and wrong, and understand that violating the law is wrong).Explain the role of competence in professional psychology

Under the law, an adult is assumed to be competent, and the burden of proof lies on the part of the court or the individual to prove that adult incompetent. Competence may come into question regarding the adult's sanity, age, or IQ. Minors are usually not judged to be competent, even if they may be developmentally normal -- for example, they cannot enter legally binding contracts without the permission of their parents (Competency, 2009, Ascension Health). An adult's competency may come under dispute in a variety of legal contexts, such as if a will is being contested if it may have been authored by an elderly person whose mental capacity is in doubt, the question of whether someone is competent and can contribute to their own defense in a criminal case, or if someone has sufficient capacity to be given the death penalty in a murder case.

Works Cited

Competency. (2009). Ascension Health. Retrieved March 2, 2009 at http://www.ascensionhealth.org/ethics/public/issues/competency.asp

Lloyd, Raymond. (2009). A Guide to Psychology and its Practice.

Retrieved March 2, 2009 at www.GuideToPsychology.com

Rosenfeld, Barry. (2002). The psychology of competence and informed consent: Understanding decision-making with regard to clinical research. Fordham Urban Law Journal. 30.

Saunders, Joseph. (2007). Expert witness ethics. Fordham Law Journal.

Retrieved March 2, 2009 at http://law.fordham.edu/publications/articles/500flspub9774.pdf.....