In health practices specifically mental health issues, ethics form the backbone of its services and its operations as it governs the way things should be conducted, not just in any way. It can be noted that mental health issues are a sensitive matter hence the need to handle such issues with care and secrecy. This bring the need for a code of conduct to be set upon the practitioners and the clients in order to set the right environment for the operations in the health department to be carried out effectively. All these said, it is seen that it is for the best interest of both the client and the practitioner to observe the specific code of conducts set and for the clients to look for qualified practitioners to attend to them.
According to the national association of social workers code of ethics, ethic code number 1.05, social workers are to obtain the relevant education in their specific fields in order to attend properly to their clients and diligently with no discrimination of any manner. With this, it can be seen that it is compulsory for every social worker to be fully educated and equipped with the necessary skills as this enables them to behave in a professional manner as they will be in a better position to understand their client well and respect the laid down code of conducts as they will be bound by them.
The code of ethics can be seen to be emphasizing on various issues of importance in the place of work relationships between employees and the clients and also among the employees themselves also. These issues emphasized include respect, discrimination, social and political action. With the use of an un-registered and un-qualified practitioner, this mean that the client will not be treated with utmost respect as required by the code of ethics of social security workers making the client be at a risk of any unforeseen and uncontrolled dangers but left on the mercies of the unlawful practitioners.
The American Psychological Association code of ethics, standard 4 of privacy and confidentiality requires that each and every psychologist to always maintain confidentiality of their clients hence giving the clients assurance that what they shared with their doctors is always kept between them. There are various clauses to explain different scenarios through which the confidentiality of the session can be maintained between them. This clause protects the client interests from any registered psychologist, when it happens that a client seeks the services of un-qualified and un-registered doctor, the client may end being at a loss. It can be seen that the quack will not be bound by the code of conduct of psychologists hence the doctor may do anything he or she sees fit without answering to the code of conducts of the psychologist association as he or she is not bound by it.
All these said and done, it can be noted that the code of ethics are set by the specific groups to bind the members in the said professionals to various laws and give the clients better reason as to why to trust that profession. Hence, in situations where quacks come in and enter into these professionals with forged documentations, there will be no code of ethics being observed by them as they are not bound by them. This puts the clients at various risks hence making it risky for the client and the practitioner as both have no relevant skills whatsoever.
References
Chinman, M., Hamilton, A. B., Butler, B. T., Knight, E., Murray, S., Young, A. S., . . . United States (2008). Mental health consumer providers: A guide for clinical staff. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx?item=7
