Morris County Psychological Association
513 West Mount Pleasant Ave.
Livingston, NJ
(973) 533-1195
www.mcpanj.com
President
Marc Gironda, Psy.D.
Program Chairperson
Jayne Shacter Walco, PhD
President-elect
Randy Bressler, Psy.D.
Treasurer
Michael Zito, Ph.D .
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Secretary
Hayley Hirschmann, Ph.D.
Past President
Morgan Murray, Ph.D.
Webmaster
Francine Rosenberg, Psy.D.
Membership
Carly Orenstein, Psy.D.
NJPA Representative
Randi Bressler, Psy.D.
September 9, 2015
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No Need to Panic,
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas In Everyday Practice
Lisa Greenberg, Phd & Laura Richardson, Phd
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Announcements by Marc Gironda:
1. Meeting next month (10/14/15) is a psychopharmacology update with Eric Bartky, MD.
Location will be new: Embassador Ballroom around the corner from the bar area
2. Use your member benefits here: put out flyers at our meetings or send to Fran to post on the
MCPA website
3. Grad. Students interested in Exec. Bd position should see Marc after meeting to set up brief
interview for next month.
4. MCPA elections are coming up and positions are available if anyone is interested. We
especially need a president elect.
Next meeting:
Nov. 11, 2015, Topic:
Meeting will be held at:
Working with Families involvled in Custody disputes by
Sharon Ryan Montgomery, PsyD
The Wyndham Hamilton Park Conference Center
175 Park Ave, Florham Park
Time: 9-10:30am meeting
** note location change: Embassador Ballroom (1st floor)
**Register on-line for meeting at www.mcpanj.com
9/9/15 MCPA meeting attendees: Mike Zito, Randy Bressler, Francine Rosenberg, Marc Gironda,
Morgan Murray, Hayley Hirschmann, Carly Orenstein, Jayne Walco, Susan Neigher, Jacob Steinberg,
Judi Amberg, Suzanne Hays, Sarah Dougherty, Ronald Gironda, Michael Koffman, Rhonda Allen,
Aaron Welt, Lisa Greenberg, Laura Richardson, Sharon Ryan Montgomery, Nydia Rolon, Josh Zavin,
Jeanine Zoppi
Biographical Information:
Drs. Greenberg and Richardson are both current members of the current NJPA Ethics Committee. Dr.
Richardson is the owner of Turn the Mind, LLC which works with families, couples,adolescents and adults.
They specialize in treating depression, parent training, trauma recover, anxiety an stress reduction, panic,
phobias, and OCD. Consulting services on organizational development , policy development, social media
and ethics are also provided. Dr. Greenberg has been in private practice in Madison, NJ since 1991 and in
Nutley, NJ from 1985-1991. Her practice focuses on Individual psychotherapy with adolescents, family
and couples. She is also a member of numerous psychological associations.
Presentation:
The presenters offered some general guidelines in thinking through and resolving ethical dilemmas that
arise for psychologists in typical practice situations. They shared about the 4 categories (“bins”) they
think about ethical dilemmas within (clinical bin, ethical bin, legal bin, risk management bin). Drs.
Greenberg and Richardson highlighted the importance of “positive ethics” (where we are all try to
focus on being the best psychologist we can be ethically and engaging in self care to avoid burnout…)
instead of just “avoiding making mistakes.” They shared how we all came to the field of psychology
with certain of our own values but we need to integrate who we are and the values of the profession to
become good ethical psychologists.
Lastly, they focused on a particular clinical vignette to illustrate their approach and encouraged
audience participation via open ended questions. The vignette pointed to the need to weigh conflicting
ethical principles in challenging situations.
When conducting your own risk management you want to ask others in the field their views and get
their opinions on how they would handle dilemmas and why. Different perspectives can be very
helpful in this situation.
Questions & Answers:
Q: Do you recommend any resources to help with ethical dilemmas for clinicians?
A: Yes, we recommend a popular Ethics in Psychology Blog run through the PA Psychological
Association. They are very generous with their materials and they send daily emails if you subscribe
Q: What are some common ethical questions you get asked at the board.
A: Many are about confidentiality, dual relationships and use of technology (skype sessions…)
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For more information or to make a reservation for our next meetings, visit www.mcpanj.com
Respectfully submitted by:
Hayley Hirschmann, Ph.D.
MCPA Secretary
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