Confidentiality & Telepsychology

CONFIDENTIALITY:

“Psychologists and consumers of psychological services are frequently concerned about the issue of who is allowed to see and use information about individuals generated during research, consultation, or therapy” (csbsju.edu). Generally, the public puts their trust in psychologists' promises of confidentiality, and it's imperative for psychologists to be clear about what and why information is being released. In most cases, private information must remain confident. The American Psychological Association provides Ethical Principles of Psychologists Code of Conduct (APA, 2017) http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/ that is intended to provide specific standards to cover most situations that psychologists may encounter. Mental health providers must comply with all practices presented in the ethics code and requires a personal commitment and lifelong effort to act ethically.

As technology continues to progress, an increased number of psychologists’ are incorporating technology as a part of their treatment practice. Psychologists are expanding their practice of counseling through the use of phone, text, email, and video media. Telepsychology is one such method psychologists are implementing into their practices to help their patients, however, its use raises a number of ethical privacy issues as the trend continues to become more popular.

Telepsychlology

TECHNOLOGY: 

Telepsychology, also known as “telehealth” defined by the APA Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology “as the provision of psychological services using telecommunication technologies. Telecommunications is the preparation, transmission, communication, or related processing of information by electrical, electromagnetic, electromechanical, electro-optical, or electronic means” (APA, 2017).

Psychologists in the United States must be aware of the security and privacy risks of providing online therapy. Psychologists and other healthcare providers are governed very stringently by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and issues arise when engaging in this type of treatment with technological platforms that aren’t completely HIPAA compliant. Psychologists are encouraged to take specific care when deciding to use such technologies when delivering psychological services to the patient, and also decide which service can be delivered and by what platform it can be delivered compliantly, without breech of patient confidentiality.

The use of telepsychology for mental health treatment, seems to provide a valid option for many individuals as long as the provider takes necessary precaution to protect patient privacy, researches compliant technological formats to provide the treatment, and assesses the patient appropriately in order to provide beneficial technological treatments that are specific to individual needs. Whether you choose a career in psychology, or any other vocation, we all must make great effort to examine what we are doing in terms of applying ethical implications and understand the requirements and limits of confidentiality, while also having the courage to confront and correct unethical behavior when it arises. Regardless of the technology used, the motivations for utilizing it, and how it is applied, each psychologist must consider the ethical issues prior to integrating technologies into their treatment practice.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/online-therapy.aspx

http://www.apapracticecentral.org/ce/guidelines/telepsychology-guidelines.pdf

https://www.csbsju.edu/psychology/student-resources/issues