gradPSYCH - November 2011 - (Page 6)
T H E L AT E S T
Most practice-oriented psychology students Google their clients
Time for an ethics reality check: 98 percent of clinical, counseling and school doctoral psychology students report having looked up a client online, according to a study published in the August issue of Training and Education in Professional Psychology. The 854 students who participated in the survey weren’t looking up all their clients — they reported conducting Internet searches on about 17 percent of the 13,582 clients they’d seen in the previous year. Students reported searching to confirm addresses and telephone numbers, glean insight into clients’ personal lives or investigate issues that arose in therapy, such as questionable client reports. Interestingly, 67 percent of students who conducted such searches said it is always or usually unacceptable to do so, the research found. Although students reported that about 82 percent of clients they searched were aware of the searches, researchers were unsure whether this consent had been obtained before or after the search had occurred, or even if this Looking up clients online without their consent is almost always unethical, experts say. statistic reflects over-reporting by students. Looking up clients online presents several practical problems Ethics experts agree that client searches should be undertaken as well, says the study’s lead author David DiLillo, PhD, a with caution after informed consent. You should never look up psychology professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. For a client simply because you are curious, says Lindsay Childressstarters, information found online is often outdated or inaccurate. Beatty, JD, PhD, deputy director and director of adjudication of And, if you do find something therapeutically relevant, “do you APA’s Ethics Office. Rather, you should have a clear therapeutic divulge it at risk of betraying the trust of the client?” DiLillo asks. goal, such as verifying information if there is a risk of a client There are no easy answers to that question, he says, and it’s best hurting himself or others, or to better understand an issue a client to avoid the issue altogether by getting clients’ full consent before reports. But, she says, even these types of situations would be rare. Googling. And, she emphasizes, you should engage in an informed consent —S. DEMBLING process so that the client knows what to expect.
6 • gradPSYCH • November 2011
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of gradPSYCH - November 2011
GradPSYCH - November 2011
Contents
Most practice-oriented psychology students Google their clients
Does romance quash women’s interest in science?
Goodbye to the ad hoc postdoc
Graduate students take on Capitol Hill
Media Picks
Odd Jobs
Research Roundup
Grad school traps
Chair’s Corner
Postgrad growth area: Designing workplace wellness programs
Study smart
Fighting food addiction
Matters to a Degree
Using social media in your research
Midlife grad students
Are you really ready for private practice?
Bulletin Board
Jobs, internships, postdocs and other opportunities
The Back Page
gradPSYCH - November 2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/apa/gradpsych_201109
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com