The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethical Principles of

Psychologists and Code of Conduct (for short, the Ethics Code, as referred to by
the APA) includes an introduction, preamble, a list of five aspirational principles
and a list of ten enforceable standards that psychologists use to guide ethical
decisions in practice, research, and education. The principles and standards are
written, revised, and enforced by the APA.

General ethical principles[edit]

There are five general principles that serve as the ideals to which psychologists should aspire within the
profession. The principles represent ethical goals but do not explicitly inform or instruct adherence to the
goals; instead, the principles aim to influence and to guide professional behavior with respect to the
psychologist, research subjects, students, and the individuals who seek psychological services.
Principle A: Beneficence and nonmaleficence[edit]
The beneficence and non maleficence principle of the APA general principles guides psychologists to perform
work that is beneficial to others yet does not hurt anyone in the process of carrying out that work.
Psychologists are to remain aware of their professional influence and the potential consequences therein on
individuals and groups who seek counsel with the psychologist, especially with respect to preventing misuse or
abuse, while additionally maintaining awareness of how the psychologist's own physical and mental health
may influence their work. Among professional interactions and research, psychologists ought to respect and
protect the rights and welfare of patients and participants.
Principle B: Fidelity and responsibility[edit]
The fidelity and responsibility principle of the APA general principles inspires psychologists to cultivate a
professional and scientific environment built upon trust, accountability, and ethical considerations.
Psychologists are bound to the community by way of their profession and must conduct themselves in a
responsible and ethical manner while also maintaining a similar check on colleagues. Furthermore,
psychologists are expected to altruistically devote some of their time to the community.
Principle C: Integrity[edit]
The integrity principle of the APA general principles aims to encourage psychologists to engage in honest,
transparent practices within all aspects of the field of psychology. That is, psychologists should not engage in
behavior that could be misconstrued as dishonest, exploitative, or otherwise malicious. When deception is
appropriately used (most likely during psychological research), psychologists have a responsibility to mitigate
the effects of its use on the overall field.
Principle D: Justice[edit]
The justice principle of the APA general principles states that people are entitled to the advances made within
the field of psychology and to the services offered by professionals within the field. Furthermore,
psychologists should prevent unjust practices by remaining aware of their biases, level of competence, and area
and limits of expertise.
Principle E: Respect for people's rights and dignity[edit]
The APA general principle concerning respect for people's rights and dignity recognizes individuals' rights to
privacy and confidentiality. Psychologists are to respect the individuals' rights while also acknowledging the
worth of the individual by taking judicious precautions and engaging in positive, professional interactions,
avoiding the influence of any personal bias towards the individual or group. This entails awareness of the
vulnerabilities experienced by any particular population of people and necessitates understanding of and
respect for diversity, including, but not limited to, factors concerning gender, race, religion, disability, and
socioeconomic status.

Ethical standards[edit]
The ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct put forth by the APA consists of ten ethical
standards. The ethical standards are enforceable rules applicable for psychologists in academia and practice.
These are written broadly to guide psychologists in varied areas and roles, addressing situations most
psychologists may encounter in their professional roles. The types of situations include those related to
resolving ethical issues, competence, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, advertising and public
statements, record keeping and fees, education and training, research and publication, assessment, and therapy.
The ethical standards are enforced for the benefit of the psychologists, clients, students, and other individuals
that work with psychologists. Any psychologist that is a member of the APA is expected to adhere to the
ethical standards. Any violation of an ethical standard may result in sanctions ranging from termination of
APA membership to loss of licensure.
Resolving ethical issues[edit]
The resolving ethical issues section of the APA Ethical Standards is broadly designed to guide psychologists
through a variety of ethical issues. One of the first sections describes how to approach when the work of
psychologists' is misused or misrepresented, such as happens in the popular press. Psychological research is
often misrepresented. Two of the sections describe how to resolve conflicts between the ethical code of
psychologists and a variety of governing bodies, laws, or regulations as well as organizational demands related
to working as a psychologist. There is a section related to informal resolution of ethical violations for
situations where such a resolution is possible while protecting confidentiality. If the incident extends beyond
being able to be resolved informally, there are guidelines for reporting ethical violations as well as working
with and cooperating with ethics committees. In regards to ethical complaints, there is also a section outlining
what might be considered an improper complaint. Lastly, the Resolving Ethical Issues section describes unfair
discrimination against complainants and respondents to protect those involved in ethics related investigations.
Competence[edit]
The competence section of the APA Ethical Standards is designed to guide psychologists in how to define their
own competence and how to approach clients or patients that might fall outside of that area of expertise. This
ethical standard begins by helping psychologists define the boundaries of their own competence. The different
types of mental health related problems and potential treatments are highly varied. It is impossible for a
psychologists to be competent in all areas, and in fact, unethical to attempt to portray themselves in such a
way. If a psychologist feels that he/she has not been trained to ensure competence in a specific area to treat a
client, he/she should make an appropriate referral. This ethical standard also provides psychologists with
guidelines on providing services in emergency situations. Although psychologists should refrain from
providing service outside of their area of competence, in times of emergency the psychologist is obligated to
help where possible. Psychologists are also required to maintain competence. This is usually done through the
completion of continuing education credits. This standard also provides the psychologist with a bases from
which to make scientific and professional judgment in an ethically consistent manner. Outlines are also
provided for delegating work to others and resolving personal problems and conflicts.
Human relations[edit]
The human relations section of the APA Ethical Standards provides psychologists guidance with how to
approach situations related to the process of working with people in a helping field. This section outlines how
to identify and avoid unfair discrimination, sexual harassment, and other types of verbal and nonverbal
harassment. These types of behavior have strong adverse influences on mental health. As such, psychologists
must be particularly vigilant in identifying and avoiding these kinds of behavior. This section also outlines
how to avoid harm when treating patients. Some treatments have been shown to cause harm, and as such,
should be avoided. The section also provides guidance for navigating and avoiding a number of multiple
relationships. Situations where a clinician has more than one relationship with the client beyond just being a
client can be difficult to navigate, which can also lead to conflicts of interest, which are also covered. Guidance
is also provided for how to approach requests for service from third-parties, that is, when someone other than
the patient is requesting services for the said patient. Exploitative relationships are also covered and should be
avoided, according to the ethical standards. This section provides guidance for cooperating with other
professionals, which is often a situation faced in multi-disciplinary treatment teams. Guidance is provided for
providing and obtaining informed consent for treatment. Another section outlines how to provide
psychological services to or through organizations. And lastly, guidance is provided for how to navigate
situations in which there is an interruption of psychological services for various reasons.
Privacy and confidentiality[edit]
The privacy and confidentiality section of the APA Ethical Standards is written to help provide psychologists
with guidelines for maintaining appropriate confidentiality and respecting the privacy of the clients and
patients under their care. Specific guidelines are provided for maintaining confidentiality for the psychologist's
patients as well as discussing the limits of confidentiality with them. In certain situations where the safety of
the patient or others is at risk, confidentiality must be broken as law enforcement needs to be motivated.
Guidelines are also provided for how to ethically record therapy sessions for various reasons including
training. Steps are covered for the psychologist to minimize intrusions on privacy for patients. Sections on
disclosures and consultations provide guidance on how and when psychologists should disclose information
and how to ethically consult with other professionals while maintaining appropriate levels of confidentiality.
Lastly, this section guides psychologists on how and when to use confidential information for didactic or other
purposes while protecting confidentiality of the client.
Advertising and other public statements[edit]
The advertising and other public statements section of the APA Ethical Standards is designed to guide
psychologists through the process of advertising their practice and making other types of public statements.
This section begins by outlining how to avoid false and deceptive statements, in specific of one's level of
competence. As described in the competence section, it is unethical to provide services outside of your area of
expertise. The section also outlines statements by others regarding a psychologist's work and competence. The
section goes on to outline how to accurately and honestly describe workshops and non-degree granting
educational programs. Media presentations and testimonials regarding one's work, and how to do so ethically
and accurately, is also covered. This section also states that obtaining testimonials from past or current clients
is not acceptable.[citation needed] The section closes by outlining how to ethically navigate situations of in-person
solicitation of services.
Record keeping and fees[edit]
The record keeping and fees standard of the APA ethical standards is developed to guide psychologists in
maintaining records of professional and scientific work in confidentiality. This standard states that maintaining
records allow professionals to share information with other professionals if needed, help replicate research
findings, and abide by the requirements of the institution and the law. In an event of an emergency,
psychologists are not allowed to withhold records of clients who have failed to make payments. Psychologists
are expected to arrange fees and financial arrangements in compliance with the law and accept barter only in
situations that doing so, does not negatively impact the treatment. Psychologists are also expected to maintain
and provide accurate reports of treatment, funding, and diagnostic details. This standard also emphasizes that
psychologists should receive payment based on the services provided rather than the referral.
Education and training[edit]
The education and training standard of the APA ethical standards is designed to help psychologists create high-
quality programmes that train future psychologists with appropriate knowledge and practice. Psychologists
creating education and training programmes are responsible for presenting clear descriptions of the
programmes, including the pre-requirements for acceptance and the requirements for completion of the
programme. Psychologists are expected to teach accurate and current material supported by scientific evidence.
Psychologists should not require students to disclose any personal information, unless it is listed as a
programme requirement, or to evaluate whether such experiences are negatively impacting a student's
performance. If individual or group therapy is a requirement of the programme, the psychologists are
responsible for allowing students to attend individual or group therapy outside of the programme. Furthermore,
faculty members are not allowed to provide therapy services to the students. Supervisors are required to
provide timely feedback to the students and supervisees based on their performance and the requirements of
the programme. Psychologists involved in the programme are prohibited from engaging in sexual relationships
with students and supervisees.
Research and publication[edit]
The research and publication standard of the APA ethical standards is developed to highlight research and
publication ethics that psychologists are expected to adhere to. This standard emphasizes the necessity of
approval by the institute prior to carrying out the research, providing accurate information about the research
study, and carrying out the research in accordance with the approval. When obtaining informed consent, details
of the study should be presented to the participants, including but not limited to, the objective of the study, the
procedures, benefits and potential risks associated with the study, and the participants' right to decline to
participate and withdraw from the study without any penalty. However, studies which are not expected to
cause any harm, such as observing in a naturalistic environment, using anonymous questionnaires, or if
permitted by the law, informed consent may not be necessary to be obtained. Compensation for participation
should not be used to persuade an unwilling participant. At the conclusion of the study, each participant should
be presented with a summary of the study and the participant should be provided with an opportunity to ask
any questions he/she has. Further, if there has been some harm caused to the participant due to participation in
the study, necessary steps should be followed to minimize the harm. This standard also provides guidelines and
instructions on animal research. Psychologists are responsible for reporting accurate findings and taking
necessary steps to correct any errors in research and publication. Psychologists are also required to only
present original data as their work and share publication credits based on the contributions rather than
authority. Psychologists are also expected to be willing to share research data when required for verification,
and maintain confidentiality of the participants during the review process.
Assessment[edit]
The assessment standard of the APA ethical standards is developed to broadly address guidelines on
assessments. This standard states that the psychologist's views should be supported by findings from
assessments, while reporting the limitations of assessments. If a viewpoint is not based on assessment results,
psychologists should provide evidence to justify their judgment. Psychologists are responsible for using valid
and reliable assessments that are administered in a preferred language by the client. Informed consent is
expected to be obtained in accordance to the guidelines on the "Informed Consent" standard, unless the
assessment is required by the law, a routine practice or required to test for the ability to make decisions.
Psychologists using an interpreter are expected to obtain informed consent from the client for the use of an
interpreter as well as maintain confidentiality and test security. Psychologists may refrain from releasing test
data in order to protect a participant. Psychologists are also responsible for developing valid and reliable
assessments and interpreting test results by taking other factors that may influence the interpretations while
also indicating any limitations associated with the interpretations. Psychologists are required to be
appropriately trained in order to administer assessments and are responsible for using current tests.
Psychologists are also responsible for providing necessary information when outsourcing interpretation and the
interpretation of test results. Psychologists are required to explain the test results to the client or other
identified persons, unless otherwise specified. Psychologists are also required to maintain security and
integrity in regards to all test material.
Therapy[edit]
The therapy section of the APA ethical standards is broadly written to guide psychologists through various
aspects of providing psychological services. Psychologists are required to obtain informed consent from clients
prior to treatment by presenting sufficient details about the therapy technique, including how established the
treatment is and whether a psychologist in training will be assisting the client. When psychologists are required
to provide services in a group setting, psychologists are required to identify the role of the psychologist and
notify the clients of the limitations of confidentiality. If a psychologist is required to provide services for a
client already receiving mental health services from another professional, the psychologist is required to
discuss with the client or other identified persons to minimize conflict and harm. Psychologists should not
engage in sexual relationships with current clients or with those closely related to clients. Psychologists should
not be sexually engaged with past clients within two years of termination and even after two years of
termination, psychologists will have to provide enough details to ensure that this ethical standard is not
violated by being involved with a past client. In the event of a termination of employment, necessary steps
should be taken in order to ensure client care. Termination of therapy should occur when the client shows
significant improvements, does not benefit further from treatment, is being harmed by the treatment, or the
clinician is threatened by the client or a person related to the client. Psychologists are expected to prepare
clients for termination and provide sources for alternative services.