NCJ Number: 204226
Title: Ethical Concerns in Forensic Consultation Regarding National Safety and Security (From Terrorism: Strategies for Intervention, P 95-107, 2003, Harold V. Hall, ed. -- See NCJ-204221)
Author(s): Charles P. Ewing; Michael G. Gelles
Date Published: 2003
Page Count: 13
Sponsoring Agency: Haworth Press, Inc
Sale Source: Haworth Press, Inc
Publisher: http://www.haworthpress.com
Type: Issue Overview
Format: Book (Softbound)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: This paper identifies and discusses some of the ethical issues
involved in psychological and psychiatric consultations in which
the client is a government agency seeking psychiatric insight
regarding another individual in whom the client is interested; in
such cases, the consultant must work within parameters set by law
and/or dictated by concerns for public safety or national security.
Abstract: In one type of such circumstance, the consultant has no direct
access to the individual about whom psychological insight is being sought, but still the consultant's input may have serious consequences for the individual at issue as well as for legal, public-safety, and national security policies. In another type of circumstance, the consultant may have professional contact with the individual in question, but the law, national security, and/or public-safety concerns dictate that the true purpose of the contact with the individual be withheld from him/her. In both of these circumstances, certain elements of the consultant's role
are dictated in part by legal parameters over which the
consultant has no control or input. In the scenarios presented in
this paper, the strict application of the prevailing ethical
standards of psychology and psychiatry would preclude
psychologists and psychiatrists from practicing under such
circumstances. Still, under the grave dangers faced by the United
States under the terrorist threat, the U.S. Government cannot
afford to lose the input of mental health professionals in cases
that involve national safety and security. Such input has been
and will continue to be vital to protecting the lives of many
Americans, both civilian and military, at home and abroad. There
is a compelling and immediate need for the development of realistic ethical standards that are tailored to the specific circumstances and practices of mental health professionals engaged in such national-security matters. 10 references
Main Term(s): Domestic Preparedness
Index Term(s): Counter-terrorism tactics; Forensic psychology; National security; Professional conduct and ethics; Psychologists
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=204226
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