Illinois School of Professional Psychology at
Argosy University, Chicago
COURSE SYLLABUS
PP7100
Professional Issues: Ethics, Conduct and Law
Fall 2012
Faculty Information
Faculty Name: Kathleen M. O’Brien, Ph.D., ABPP (forensics)
Campus: Chicago
Contact Information:
Office Phone Number: 312-777 -7691 campus; 708-507-4216 - leave a message
and I will return your call.
E-mail: KMobrienphd@aol.com; Kobrien@argosy.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
Course description: This course addresses ethical and legal issues related to professional
conduct, including topics such as ethical reasoning, APA Ethical Principles, state regulations
with respect to licensure and rules of conduct, complaint resolution procedures, confidentiality,
release of information, record keeping, and the duty to warn. The course addresses ethical issues
in such areas as assessment, therapy, forensics, consultation, and supervisory relationships. (3
credit hours)
Course Pre-requisites: None
Required Textbooks:
Koocher, G. P. & Keith-Spiegel, P. (1998). Ethics in psychology. (2nd ed). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Bersoff, D. R. (2008) Ethical Conflicts in Psychology. Washington, D.C.: American
Psychological Association.
Technology: Pentium III CPU/ Windows 98; 128MB RAM printer; Microsoft Office: Acrobat
(full version); Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (PC), 5.0 (MAC), or Netscape Navigator 4.08;
Norton Antivirus.
Course length: 14.0 Weeks
Contact Hours: 42 Hours
Credit Value: 3.0
Course Objectives:
Course Objective
articulate the Ethical Principles of Psychologists
and their application to contemporary practice, as
measured by examination and informed consent,
and class participation
to apply the ethical principles to ethical decisionmaking in everyday clinical problems, as
evidenced by class participation in ethical problem
solving exercises and midterm II
to become aware of the application of APA
practice guidelines regarding diversity issues, as
evidenced by discussion and examination
to understand how psychology can contribute to
issues of public policy, as evidenced by classroom
discussions and presentations
Program Goal
Goal 2 –
Intervention
Method of Assessment
Presentation
Essay Exam
Objective Exam
Goal 2 –
Intervention
Case Examples Participation
Goal 3 –
Diversity
Objective Exam
Essay Exam
Goal 4 – Science;
Goal 5 Scholarship
Presenation
Instructional Contact Hours/Credit
Students can expect 15 hours of instructional engagement for every 1 semester credit hour of a
course. Instructional engagement activities include lectures, presentations, discussions, groupwork, and other activities that would normally occur during class time. Instructional engagement
activities may occur in a face-to-face meeting, or in the eclassroom.
In addition to instructional engagement, students can expect to complete 30 hours of outside
work for every 1 semester credit hour of a course. Outside work includes preparing for and
completing readings and assignments. Such outside work includes, but is not limited to, all
research associated with completing assignments, work with others to complete a group project,
participation in tutorials, labs, simulations and other electronic activities that are not a part of the
instructional engagement, as well as any activities related to preparation for instructional
engagement.
At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph above shall be applied for other
academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships,
practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.
Course Requirements






read all assigned material by specified date and come prepared to discuss and apply what you
have read
active class participation each week (see class format below)
development of an informed consent for your practice (take home)
objective midterm examination I (in class, closed book)
essay midterm examination II (take home)
class presentation
Description of Assignments

Class Five: An informed consent, unique to your practice goals and population due

Class Eight: In class, closed book, objective exam on principles, standards, and guidelines

Class Ten: Take home essay exam requiring ethical decision making in several clinical
situations due

Class Thirteen and Fourteen: Your final assignment will be a scholarly presentation. Each
person will choose a topic in the area of professional issues. In the past, students have
chosen topics such as prescription privileges, legislative involvement by psychologists,
euthanasia, peace psychology, life coaching, or new methods of delivery as their topic. You
will develop a half hour presentation to the class, thoroughly covering the research and
theory in your area, followed by your own, well thought out opinions on the subject. You
will be responsible for using examples or cases where applicable. Your presentation must
elicit class participation. You will provide the class with at least a bibliography and outline
of your presentation.
Grading Criteria
The course objectives will be measured using the following grading policies.
Informed consent will be graded based upon technical accuracy and thoroughness, eg. must
address salient issues for your type of practice
Essay portion of the mid term exam will be graded on the thoroughness of the written discussion,
eg. whether the salient points have been covered, and the clarity of thinking about the issue.
Presentations will be graded on the range and depth of the data presented to justify your
conclusions or refute them, the adequacy of the implications derived from your analysis, the
quality of your handout material, and the thoroughness of preparation evident in your class
presentation.
Class Format
Much of this course will be conducted in an informal atmosphere conducive to discussion and
debate. I will lecture each week except for class presentations, but your active participation is
required, both to allow you to make the course most meaningful to you and to give you
experience thinking about and discussing the issues presented. In your professional life in the
future, you will (and should) find yourself consulting with your colleagues often on these matters
in a similar fashion.
You will be expected to contribute to class discussions, both by sharing your knowledge of the
readings, offering your opinions, and by sharing case examples from your own practicum
experiences. Class discussion at all times will be held in a professional, collegial, constructive
manner. Differing opinions are welcomed and respected if conceived in a scholarly way and
supported with relevant literature.
Required Documents:
Illinois Licensing Act for Psychologist-- available through Illinois Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation website: State of Illinois, go to IDFPR (two parts: requirements for
licensure and protocol for handling violations) (Master’s students should also obtain and read a
copy of the licensing act for their discipline available at the same site)
American Psychological Association Ethical Principles and Standards-- available through
APA.org-- link to ethics (also in text) (Master’s students should also obtain and read ethical
standards for American Counseling Association.)
Handbook for Mandated Reporters-- available through State of Illinois website—link to DCFS
Model Informed Consent—available through APA website, go to Trust Insurance, go to
Resources, go to Informed Consent
Record Keeping Guidelines—available through APA website, go to ethics
Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act—available through
State of Illinois website
All of the above may also be accessible by directly googling their titles
Course Schedule:
Week Topic
1
introduction, assessing your
needs, course requirements,
ethical reasoning and
decision making, moral
conduct, and legal
requirements
2
models of training,
licensing, guidelines and
principles, resolving issues,
enforcement and
educational function of
ethics committees
3
ethical complaints,
confidentiality
Reading
Koocher Ch. 1: On Being Ethical
Bersoff Ch. 2: How Ethics Are
Applied; Ch. 3: Learning Ethics
Koocher Ch. 2: Making Ethical
Decisions and Taking Action
APA Ethical Principles of
Psychologists and Code of Conduct—
available at APA.org.,
Illinois Licensure Act for
Psychologist—available at State of
Illinois Government, DPR website
Koocher Ch. 3: Enforcement of
Ethical Conduct
Assignments
4
the concept of informed
consent (your informed
consent due next week)
5
competence, abuse and
neglect reporting
Bersoff Ch. 1: Ethics Codes and How
They Are Enforced
Koocher Ch. 8: Privacy,
Confidentiality, and Record Keeping;
Ch. 10: Multiple-Role Relationships I:
Boundaries, Risks, and Doing
Business.
Koocher Ch. 4: Knowing Thyself:
Understanding Competence and
Credentials
Bersoff Ch. 4: Confidentiality,
Privilege, and Privacy; Ch. 7: Therapy
and Other Fiorms of Intervention.
6
7
continued from previous
class if needed, record
keeping guidelines
midterm review,
assessment, forensics
Mandated Reporter Handbook (obtain
from Internet),
as above
Koocher Ch. 9: Psychological
Assessment: Testing Tribulations; Ch.
17: Mental Health Practitioners in the
Legal System: Tort and Retort
Bersoff Ch. 6: Psychological
Assessment; Ch. 9: Forensic Setting
8
9
10
in class
midterm I,
objective exam
research, teaching,
supervision
midterm II due, multiple
relationships (video)
Koocher Ch. 13: Relationships With
Collegues, Students, Supervisees, and
Employees; Ch. 16: Ethical Dilemmas
in Academic Settings; Ch. 19:
Scholarly Publication and the
Responsible Conduct of Research
Bersoff Ch. 8: Academia, Research,
Teaching and Supervision
Koocher Ch. 10: Multiple-Role
Relationships I: Boundaries, Risks,
and Doing Business; Ch. 11: MultipleRole Relationships II: Close
Encounters; Ch. 12: Multiple-Role III:
Attraction, Romance, and Sexual
Intimacies
11
12
13
14
psychology as a business,
insurance panels
other professional issues,
student choice
Final presentations by
students
Final presentations by
students
Bersoff Ch. 5: Multiple Relationships
Koocher Ch. 14: Marketing
Professional Services
Recommended Books (for reference only)
Other APA Ethical Guidelines available at APA website, eg. forensics, telecommunications,
child custody
Grading Criteria:
Grading Scale
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CF
Grading requirements
100 – 93
92 – 90
89 – 88
87 – 83
82 – 80
79 – 78
77 - 73
72 – 70
69 and below
Informed Consent
Mid-term Examination I
Mid-term Examination II
Final Presentation
Class Participation
5%
30%
30%
20%
15%
100%
Library Resources
Argosy University’s core online collection features more than 21,000 full-text journals, 23,000
electronic books and other content covering all academic subject areas including Business &
Economics, Career & General Education, Computers, Engineering & Applied Science,
Humanities, Science, Medicine & Allied Health, and Social & Behavior Sciences. All electronic
resources can be accessed through the library’s website at www.auchicagolib.org. User IDs and
passwords are distributed during orientation, but can also be obtained at the circulation desk,
calling 312-777-7653, or by e-mail at auchilibrary@argosy.edu.
In addition to online resources, Argosy University’s onsite collections contain a wealth of
subject-specific research materials searchable in the Library Online Catalog. Catalog searching
is easily limited to individual campus collections. Alternatively, students can search combined
collections of all Argosy University Libraries. Students are encouraged to seek research and
reference assistance from campus librarians.
Information Literacy: Argosy University’s Information Literacy Tutorial was developed to teach
fundamental and transferable research skills, including selecting sources appropriate for
academic-level research, searching periodical indexes and search engines, and evaluating and
citing information. In the tutorial, students study concepts and practice them through
interactions. At the conclusion of each module, they can test their comprehension and receive
immediate feedback. Each module takes less than 20 minutes to complete. Please view the
tutorial at http://library.argosyu.edu/infolit/
Academic Policies
Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: In an effort to foster a spirit of honesty and integrity during
the learning process, Argosy University requires that the submission of all course assignments
represent the original work produced by that student. All sources must be documented through
normal scholarly references/citations and all work must be submitted using the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition (2001). Washington DC:
American Psychological Association (APA) format. Please refer to Appendix A in the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition for thesis and paper
format. Students are encouraged to purchase this manual (required in some courses) and become
familiar with its content as well as consult the Argosy University catalog for further information
regarding academic dishonesty and plagiarism.
Scholarly writing: The faculty at Argosy University is dedicated to providing a learning
environment that supports scholarly and ethical writing, free from academic dishonesty and
plagiarism. This includes the proper and appropriate referencing of all sources. You may be
asked to submit your course assignments through “Turnitin,” (www.turnitin.com), an online
resource established to help educators develop writing/research skills and detect potential cases
of academic dishonesty. Turnitin compares submitted papers to billions of pages of content and
provides a comparison report to your instructor. This comparison detects papers that share
common information and duplicative language.
Americans with Disabilities Act Policy
It is the policy of Argosy University to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students
with disabilities, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a student
with disabilities needs accommodations, the student must notify the Director of Student Services.
Procedures for documenting student disability and the development of reasonable
accommodations will be provided to the student upon request.
Students will be notified by the Director of Student Services when each request for
accommodation is approved or denied in writing via a designated form. To receive
accommodation in class, it is the student’s responsibility to present the form (at his or her
discretion) to the instructor. In an effort to protect student privacy, the Department of Student
Services will not discuss the accommodation needs of any student with instructors. Faculty may
not make accommodations for individuals who have not been approved in this manner.
The Argosy University Statement Regarding Diversity
Argosy University prepares students to serve populations with diverse social, ethnic, economic,
and educational experiences. Both the academic and training curricula are designed to provide an
environment in which students can develop the skills and attitudes essential to working with
people from a wide range of backgrounds.
It is recommended that you retain a copy of this syllabus for licensing purposes.