Dr. Phil has made a mistake. He has violated just about every code of conduct in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Britney Spears and her family have to carry his mistake.
According to Reuters, Dr. Phil visited Britney Spears at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday January 5,2008-just 36 hours after being admitted for bizarre behavior. Afterwards, he made several public statements about Britney, breaching the confidentiality of Britney and her family.
The American Psychological Association’s (APA’s) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct consist of an introduction, preamble, general principles, and Ethical Standards. Dr. Phil has breached just about every area and section in that code. However, for brevity and the obvious, he specifically breached Informed Consent to Therapy (section 4.02) and Confidentiality (section 5.01-5.11).
As a celebrity psychologist, Dr. Phil integrated entertainment with ethics, violating the rights of a patient in dire need of help. There is a special section on the Code of Conduct specifically titled, “APA statement on services by telephone, teleconferencing, and internet.” This specifically includes any media that could harm another individual or breach their confidentiality.
Celebrity doctors are especially in a delicate position to adhere to the full term of confidentiality. For instance, a doctor may have a family intervention if a family seeks it. Then, according to the code of ethics, the doctor would be allowed to intervene with the family, because the family sought the help and wanted the therapy. However, unless a patient consents to the therapy or intervention, this breaches the rights of at least one family member. In addition, if the intervention also includes a neighbor, a friend, or a co-worker that doesn’t want this information aired, then this could pose quite a bit of problem, especially since national television aired that private information. This is the celebrity doctor’s loophole, because it will also be the family’s responsibility-not just the doctor’s.
Did Dr. Phil make sure to cover all areas of confidentiality in his shows, including the loopholes? It remains to be seen, but in Britney’s case, the Spears family wanted the intervention, but Britney did not. Dr. Phil could have had a family meeting, outside of the hospital setting, to discuss the best way to get intervention for Britney. There was not an informed consent by Britney for any kind of help from Dr. Phil.
After leaving the medical center, Dr. Phil made several public statements about Britney and her condition. Any public statement about a patient’s private matter is strictly in violation of the APA’s code of conduct. This type of conduct from a doctor could embarrass a patient and inhibit their desire to get help.
Maybe a celebrity doctor who violates these ethical codes could at least abide by one: Preamble “consult with others concerning ethical problems.” It is the code that could save face after the mistake he made.
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