Ethical Standards and Professional Conduct (APA Ethics Code as Adopted)
Core concepts
Arkansas applies the APA Ethics Code as its ethical benchmark. Know the five aspirational principles (beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, respect for people's rights and dignity) and the enforceable standards: competence, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, advertising, record keeping and fees, education and training, research and publication, assessment, and therapy. Understand the distinction between aspirational principles (not grounds for discipline by themselves) and enforceable standards. Recognize that ethical obligations can exceed legal requirements, and that when law and ethics conflict, psychologists make known their commitment to the code and take steps to resolve the conflict.
Traps
The classic trap is treating a principle as a disciplinary standard. Another is assuming ethics codes override law - they do not; law controls, and the psychologist must attempt resolution. Questions may also probe multiple relationships, boundary crossings versus boundary violations, and the difference between an ethical lapse and a clinical error. Beware distractors that make ethics purely subjective or purely legal.
Rule of thumb
Ask two questions: Is this an enforceable standard or an aspiration? And does the law require, permit, or prohibit the conduct? If law mandates something the code discourages, follow law and document efforts to resolve the tension.
Worked example
A court orders release of records the client wants withheld. The psychologist does not simply refuse on ethical grounds; the psychologist seeks to limit disclosure (e.g., requesting in camera review) and complies with the lawful order, documenting the steps taken.