Ethical Dilemma Paper

As an applied psychology student my different psychology professors and internships experiences have thought me the importance of having a full understanding of the ethical principles and code of conduct. As a requirement for the applied psychology we are required to complete different internships in order to gain knowledge and experience in our desired career path in the field of psychology. During those internship experience I have faced a numerous of ethical issues and dilemma. However, we are often guided by our internship site supervisor or by our professors. It is known that not all the time we are going to know what to do when facing an ethical dilemma. Being well educated on how ethics work is important in order to know the right thing to do.

Dr. Small’s Ethical Presentation

For our 496-capstone class we had a guest speaker, Dr. Richard Small, who is currently a chair member of the Pennsylvania Board of Psychology (PBP) and past President of the Pennsylvania Psychological Association (PPA). Part of Dr. Small’s responsibilities as a member of the (PBP) consist on reviewing cases and determining whether or not the issues that occur violate the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of

Small’s presentation he highlighted how ethics are a set of parameter and guidelines that individuals in the field of psychology used in order to know what to do and what not to do when facing an ethical dilemma. During his presentation he showed us diagram exampling the different between professional ethics and mortality. When it comes to ethics, society tells what is the right thing to do (impersonal) when facing a dilemma rather than to morality we follow it because we believe in something being right or wrong (personal). However, according to Dr. Small what makes you a good psychologist or therapist is not to follow the ethical guidelines precisely but the ones who are driven to make the best decision that may benefit the client in a positive