Assignment task:
Create a post response to the following posts. Give an agreeable or disagreeable response. Discuss the key details of the following posts. (250 words minimum)
Multiple, or dual, relationships occur any time a psychologist interacts professionally with another person in more than one capacity (Clipson, 2005). Such relationships may involve mixing a professional role with a non-professional role (Clipson, 2005). Multiple relationships are not prohibited in the current version of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (2002), hereafter referred to as the Ethics Code, but many types of multiple relationships cannot be avoided, and some may even be sought out (Clipson, 2005). Not all are inherently harm-full, and some are extremely beneficial to both participants (Clipson, 2005). Even so, all multiple relationships provide fertile ground for problems to arise, and most psychologists believe that multiple relationships must either be approached with caution or avoided altogether (Clipson, 2005).
Some situations in which multiple relationships are unavoidable is when the community is very small and there are limited number of resources available to provide services. If a client comes needing services, and the psychologists later finds out the client was given their information through a family member who is already receiving services from that psychologist, this is a relationship that is accepted due to the psychologist being unaware and not informed by the family member recommending their services. The psychologist should take precautions to ensure that they do not cause potential harm to the client.
Factors that the psychologist should take before engaging in the multiple relationship is ensuring that they are not interfering with the psychologist's professional performance, exploiting the other party, or harming the client's trust.