Ethics & Legal
111 articles found
Practical Tips for Using Social Media to Promote Your Professional Practice
Creating professional social media accounts across multiple platforms can increase both business traction and community outreach and contact. By using your professional knowledge to inform the public about your mental health expertise and areas of specialty, you can help strengthen the relationship between mental health care and the communities it serves; destigmatizing various facets of […]
Amanda Conway, MS
May 6, 2026
Considerations for Adolescent Mothers: Trauma-Informed and Integrated Care
Adolescent pregnancies and teen birth rates are shown to be correlated with significant physical, emotional, and social risks in the United States (Mickler & Tellestrup, 2025) and in many countries across the world. In 2019, 21 million pregnancies were reported in women aged 15 to 19 years worldwide with approximately 50% of the pregnancies reported […]
Emma N. Jalili, MA + 2 more
May 6, 2026
Childhood Adversity and Suicide
What Childhood Events Are Especially Problematic? Suicidal patients often report adverse childhood events (O’Connor, 2021; Thompson & Kingree, 2022). Consequently, psychotherapists working with suicidal patients need to consider how these experiences impact their current functioning and how they contribute to their suicidality. Adverse childhood events could involve a wide range of serious and upsetting stressors […]
Samuel Knapp, Ed.D., ABPP
May 6, 2026
Psychology at a Crossroads: The Role of Town Halls in Building Bridges
Introduction to Town Halls and the Town Hall Speaker Attendees of the Presidential Town Hall from across the US and around the globe were excited to hear from the speaker, Lynn Bufka, PhD, ABPP. She was introduced to prospective attendees in advance, and registrants were encouraged to submit their questions during registration or prepare to […]
Charles Clark, MS + 1 more
May 5, 2026
No Psychologist is an Island: Building Ethical Strength Through Community
Professions exist as shared communities with each profession defined by its specialized tasks and standards to uphold, including ethical codes, shared values, and professional norms. Psychology, like other professions, is grounded in a shared ethical code, specialized expertise, and a commitment to public service. These core elements are dynamic and continuously refined through ongoing professional […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP + 1 more
March 19, 2026
Why Artificial Intelligence Will Not Replace Human Psychologists: Legal, Ethical, and Clinical Limitations
This article builds on previous arguments (Gavazzi, 2025a; Gavazzi, 2025b) stating that although AI technologies are rapidly advancing, they cannot replace human psychologists performing psychotherapy; this is simply the result of evolutionary advantages in humans across social, emotional, and cognitive domains that are essential for therapeutic interactions. In addition, these systems are unlikely to replace […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP
December 29, 2025
Pitfalls in Ethical Decision-Making: Settling, Fading, and Drift in Psychological Practice
The American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct (2017) provides the foundations and standards for addressing ethical practice. However, these standards cannot provide direction for psychologists in every situation (Cicero, 2021). Therefore, psychologists need a decision-making model when ethics codes or laws do not provide adequate direction. Nonetheless, practitioners frequently encounter subtle processes […]
John Gavazzi, PsyD, ABPP + 1 more
September 8, 2025
From Clinical Judgment to Machine Learning: Rethinking Psychotherapeutic Decision-Making with Artificial Intelligence
According to the World Health Organization (WHO; n.d.) mental health disorders, such as anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are some of the most significant public health challenges in the WHO European Region. Within this region (which includes 53 countries across Europe and parts of Central Asia), mental health disorders are […]
Caleb Onah, MS + 1 more
August 10, 2025
“AT FIRST I WAS AFRAID, I WAS PETRIFIED”
Intriguing APA Initiatives: Katherine McGuire, APA Chief Advocacy Officer, recently reported: “This year, thanks to the dedication of psychologists, researchers, and students the Psychology PAC reached a historical milestone, achieving a record-breaking membership of 738 and raising $93,000.” This allows the PAC to strengthen their strategic advocacy efforts and thereby empowering it to champion initiatives that […]
Pat DeLeon, Ph.D.
July 9, 2025
“COME GATHER ‘ROUND PEOPLE. WHEREVER YOU ROAM”
A Fascinating and Most Timely Experience: The Association of Jewish Psychologists (AJP) has been, for several months, planning a Mission Trip to Israel, that would be focused on the treatment of trauma and the generation of resiliency. Lenore Walker, a co-founder of AJP along with Beth Rom-Rymer, was selected as a Voice of the People […]
Pat DeLeon, Ph.D.
April 2, 2025
Legislative Protection of Identity Variables in Mental and Behavioral Health Research
We are writing to express our grave concern regarding Executive Order [EO]14168 (regarding Gender Ideology) and Executive Order [EO] 14151 (regarding Government DEI Programs). Executive Order 14168 mandates that federal agencies stop using gender identity-related terms in all official agency business, materials, and policies. Executive Order 14151 directs the termination of all mandates, programs, and […]
Wilson T. Trusty, Ph.D + 3 more
February 21, 2025
THE BREAKERS BREAKING. THE SEAGULLS SQUAWKING
During the Closing Hours of 2024 The last time the Republican Party (GOP) controlled the Senate, House, and Presidency was from January 20, 2017 to January 3, 2019, during which time Donald Trump was President of the United States having being inaugurated on January 20, 2017. With this historical context in mind, the 118th Congress struggled […]
Pat DeLeon, Ph.D.
January 7, 2025