Essay on Hhs 310 Internet and Mental Health Isuues

APA Sections 3 & 4: Human Relations & Privacy and Confidentiality Sections 3 and 4 of the APA ethical code talks about how important it is to avoid any harm to our clients and avoid discrimination. The code also talks about avoiding any harassment to the clients and to avoid any inappropriate relationship. I believe this code is extremely important because as a professional you need to act professionally and ethically. Engaging in relationships, harassment, or discrimination is serious and as therapist we should avoid that in its entirety. A therapist should abide by all codes but one of the most important codes is to make sure that when treating a client, you have appropriate, updated, and written consent from the client.

It is an assistive process that seeks to give advice and represent the individual. Identifying opportunities is the first step of advocacy (Rapp, 2012), as these opportunities may present beneficial changes for the individual suffering from mental health issues. There needs to be an advocacy to change the mental health system to better suit the needs of modern society, and especially the youth. The development of mental services on an online platform is already a big step towards making positive changes, however that only tackles the issue of accessibility. The way that mental health professional approach and understand youth mental issues needs to change in order for there to be a meaningful and engaging

However, ethics codes have been criticized. APA ethics code have been criticized for being more protective of the profession than of the consumer (Kitchener & Anderson, 2010). Criticism has also been given because more emphasis of concern has been placed on protecting psychologists from legal liabilities than with instilling ethical ideals (Kitchener & Anderson, 2010). A limitation of ethical codes is that it does not address many important ethical concerns. The text provides an example regarding questions of justice, such as access to psychological or counseling services. This is not generally covered in ethical standards. In addition, other areas not covered include issues pertaining to the rights of consumers or research participants. For many decades focus on research for the APA has been to establish standards that are enforceable when psychologists are accused of unethical behavior. Kitchener and Anderson (2010) suggest that this focus on identifying activities that have restricted activities has distracted the APA from applying more positive ethical

The American Psychology Association (APA) represents the field of psychology and practitioners in the United States. The association has developed a set of rules and guidelines, called ethical codes that are used to maintain correct conduct of psychologists, therapists, counselors and other professionals.

Psychologists uphold professional standards of conduct, clarify their professional roles and obligations, accept appropriate responsibility for their behavior, and adapt their methods to the needs of different populations

Internet-based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy has been used successfully to treat some of the relatively minor symptoms of anxiety, depression and social phobias. Advantages of computer and internet based therapies include easy availability, anonymity, accessibility, flexibility in self-direction and pacing, reduced travel time and costs.

Goss S., & Anthony, K. (2009). Developments in the use of technology in counselling and psychother

The first ethical issue included in the guide for the psychological help agency is Informed Consent. Given that employees working in the agency may often service in forensic matters, it is imperative to respect constitutional rights, liberties and properties of each client (Agre & Rapkin, 2003). Some experiences of clients may be very traumatic and stressful, so many of them may not desire to reveal confidential information to the public. Therefore, all professionals involved in the agency should respect rights of each patient and follow corresponding APA instructions. Informed consent is included in the APA code of ethics, which emphasizes its significance in psychological work (APA, 2010). According to the code, psychologists should obtain the

Psychologists are bound to a set of moral codes for ethical conducts and professional practices in psychology, just as the Hippocratic oath as to medicine practitioners. The Australian Psychology Society (APA) Code of Ethics (2007) is the ethical guidelines for the members registered under the Australian Psychology Society, which outlines the responsibilities of a psychologist. All the registered members are subjected to the stated standards or guidelines function to clarify the application of the general principles and specific standards; as well as to aid the members in interpreting their conducts in contemporary areas of the professional relationship. As mentioned by Pope, Tabachnick and Keith-Spiegel (1987), the purpose of the moral guidelines

There have been numerous studies conducted to see how effective online mental health services are. By using the technology, we have available today to benefit patients provide improved access to services, flexibility, increased patient self-disclosure, and even reduced costs (Richards & Simpson., 2015). Employment for mental health counselors is expected to rise twenty-nine percent within six years. Mentally ill people in the United States can now afford the mental health care that they need, which is why there is going to be such an increase in employment (Employment Outlook., n.d.)

As mentioned above, therapeutic interventions may be delivered by numerous routes, including email, web text-chat, and video chat. Some programs are utilized as self-help or as adjuncts to professionally administered therapy. These resources include online support forums for specific concerns, support chat rooms, psychoeducational resources, and structured programs that are based on therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT in this context). Such distinctions may have very important implications for the acceptability of the program in question as well as for efficacy and user adherence. The efficacy of online psychotherapy services is an important topic. Different studies report varying results, likely as a result of the broad variability of web-based interventions that are being studied. Some researchers in this area have attempted to tackle the problems that this variability presents by proposing a system of categorization for different types of programs. Barack et al (2009) suggested that implementing a four-category system that distinguishes among web-based interventions, online counseling/therapy, Internet operated psychotherapeutic software, and other online programs considered

Psychologists are committed to increasing scientific and professional knowledge of behaviour and people's understanding of themselves and others and to the use of such knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organisations, and society (APA, 2010). The PSI preamble (2010) states “the authority of psychologists derives from the scientific methods of investigation on which their knowledge is based, and the ethics which govern all their professional activity. They accept that codes of ethics are necessary to protect the interest of clients and prevent misuse of psychological knowledge. The Ethics Code provides a common set of principles and standards upon which psychologists build their professional and scientific work. The following is a rough and general summary of the principles that are addressed by the APA, PSI and BPS;

Online therapy has emerged as a viable new option in the helping profession. Online therapy or e-therapy occurs when a therapist provides therapy and support over the Internet. E-mail, chat, video, or smart phone are all ways individuals can communicate through online therapy. Online therapy websites are abounding on the Internet, any individual seeking online therapy will surely find what they are looking for. This paper will evaluate and explain the content from

Various terms are used for online counseling, including e-therapy (Manhal-Baugus,2001), cyber therapy (Suler,2000), online or Internet Therapy (Rochlen, Zack, & Speyer,2004), email therapy (Shapiro & Schulman,1996), e-counseling (Tate, Jackvony & Wing,2003) Internet counseling (Pollock,2006), web counseling (Urbis Keys Young,2002), cyber counseling (Maples and Han, 2008) and therap-e-mail

Little is known or researched concerning the efficacy of the counselling relationship on clients who use and participate in e-therapy. The increased use of e-therapy can have a major impact on both the industry as well as those who participate in the sessions. Participants will have a great level of choice of therapist since they are no longer confined to their local market. They are able to seek out specialist who can assist them in their particular area of need. They are no longer hindered by the need to commute to a certain locale to obtain services. Patients are able to use parts of their day that were previously unavailable.