I would appreciate novel ideas and existing literature about the scope of intervention of a therapist or counselor, having a degree on "related areas" and/or certified by an association of a theraphy school, and with no medical background (i.e. is not a psychiatrist for example). What kind of problems can they deal with? Are there regulations on the fair and ethical division of labor among mental health professionals, according to types and severities of problems?
This question could be quite lengthy to answer so I will do my best to answer it briefly. First, I would say no one should be doing work they are not "qualified" to do. Many professionals have a regulatory or licensing entity that outlines specifications of the profession. For example, AAMFT, NASW, and now launching in Canada is a College of Psychotherapists for those who did not belong to a regulatory body. Even with a regulatory body, an individual may still be doing work they are or are not trained in. I would not say that the person is not qualified if they meet the criteria for the posting, but ethically the professional is responsible for ensuring that they receive training to be able to work with that population/issue. For example, someone applying for a social worker job in psychiatry in a hospital may be qualified for the job with a MSW, but may have never completed a mental status exam or know how to do suicide assessment or crisis intervention. I hope this helps.
Thank you for your helpful answer, I understand from your answer is that it is mainly the professionals' responsibility to ensure that they are qualified for the job. This makes quite a degree of sense. The issue also takes different forms in different countries, specific issues etc. What I also would like to learn about is whether there are scientific literature or ethical codes of regulating institutions in different countries. The issue is quite controversial in countries like Turkey, in which the mental health services are in the "developing" phase.
Hi Cinar, that is a great point. yes, it is not only specific to the profession, but also to the culture/country although many of the ethical standards in mental health/psychotherapy roles in North America have a lot of overlap. I am attaching the code of ethics for Canadian Social Workers and two links for the codes for psychologists in America and marriage and family therapists in Canada and US. Also a new intresting regulatory board in Ontario (a province of Canada) is the Psychotherapy Assoc. Many professionals who were unlicensed (often qualified professionals who are not social workers, psychologists etc) now have a board and their own standards. I am attaching that also. http://www.aamft.org/imis15/content/legal_ethics/code_of_ethics.aspx http://www.apa.org/ethics/
"Members do not engage in therapy with clients while the member is incapacitated by
a) alcohol or drugs or
b) physical, emotional or mental dysfunction." and
"Scope of Competence: Marriage and family therapists do not diagnose, treat, or advise on problems outside the recognized boundaries of their competencies."
The above quotes are exactly in the form that I would like to see. Thank you very much for your useful responses. I would be also glad to know about more in depth analyses of the issue in the forms of a book, or article.
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