PSY 650 Module 3 Codes of Ethics Example

Course	PSY 650 Ethics
Module	Module 3
Paper type	Code analysis with case
Length	About 1,064 words, 6 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Aspen University
Program	Psychology and Addiction Studies
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for PSY 650 Module 3

What the Code Says and What It Leaves Open: A Colleague Practicing Beyond Training

Student Name

Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University

PSY 650: Ethics

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title names both the code's guidance and its gaps. APA 7 student title page.

What the Code Says and What It Leaves Open: A Colleague Practicing Beyond Training

Hannah, the counselor in a small Montana group practice whose work this course follows, learned over coffee that her colleague Greg had begun offering a structured trauma therapy to two clients. He had watched several hours of online demonstrations and read a book but had no formal training or consultation. Greg is a competent, well-liked clinician with fifteen years of experience. Like Hannah and the practice, he is invented for this course. This paper examines what professional codes say about the situation and what they leave to judgment.

How a Code Is Built

The APA Ethics Code has two main parts (American Psychological Association [APA], 2017). Its five general principles, covering doing good and avoiding harm, trustworthiness, honesty, fairness and respect for dignity and rights, are aspirational: they describe the ideals of the profession and guide psychologists toward the highest standards, but they are not themselves enforceable. Its ethical standards are enforceable rules for conduct, grouped by area: resolving ethical issues, competence, human relations, privacy and confidentiality, advertising, record keeping and fees, education and training, research, assessment and therapy. Counseling and social work have similar codes, with differences in emphasis and detail.

What Practitioners Actually Face

Pope and Vetter (1992) asked a national sample of psychologists to describe an ethically troubling incident they had encountered. The most frequently reported dilemmas involved confidentiality, followed closely by blurred, dual or conflictual relationships and then by payment sources, plans and settings. Smaller numbers involved teaching, forensic work, research, colleagues' conduct, sexual issues, assessment, harmful interventions and competence. Many respondents also said the code did not address their dilemma clearly enough or conflicted with law or institutional demands.

Pope et al. (1987) asked psychologists how often they engaged in a long list of behaviors and whether they judged each ethical. Some behaviors, such as sexual contact with clients, were rare and almost universally condemned. For many others, practitioners disagreed widely about whether the behavior was ethical, and some engaged in behaviors they themselves considered questionable. The findings suggest that codes, however carefully written, leave much to individual judgment.

Standards That Apply

Standard area	What it requires	Application to Greg
Boundaries of competence	Provide services only within competence based on education, training, supervised experience, consultation or study	Videos and a book are not adequate training for a structured trauma therapy
Emerging areas	Where standards do not yet exist, take reasonable steps to ensure competence and protect clients	This therapy has established training; it is not an emerging area
Informal resolution	When a psychologist believes a colleague has violated the code, attempt to resolve it informally by bringing it to the colleague's attention, if appropriate and confidentiality allows	Hannah should speak with Greg first
Reporting	If informal resolution is not appropriate or fails, and the violation has substantially harmed or is likely to, further action such as reporting may be required	Applies only if Greg continues and harm is likely

What this page is doingThe code directs Hannah first to Greg, not to the licensing board; the step most practitioners skip is the conversation.

The Competence Standard in Practice

Competence is not a fixed credential but a match between a clinician's preparation and the task. An experienced counselor can be fully competent in some methods and a beginner in others. The code's approach recognizes this by tying competence to specific services rather than to a license in general. It also recognizes that clinicians extend their skills over a career, which is why study, consultation and supervised practice are named as routes to competence. The question for Greg was not whether he was a good counselor, which he was, but whether he was prepared for this particular treatment.

Applying the Code

Hannah's first question was whether Greg's practice actually fell outside competence. The code ties competence to education, training, supervised experience, consultation or study. Greg had done some study, but the therapy has established training programs with supervised practice, and both its developers and the research literature emphasize trained delivery, partly because it involves deliberately activating traumatic memories. Hannah concluded that Greg was practicing beyond his competence and that his clients could be harmed, for instance by being destabilized without adequate preparation.

Her second question was how to respond. The code's expectation of informal resolution fit: Greg was a colleague she could approach, there was no confidentiality barrier, since she had learned of the issue from Greg himself, and no harm had yet been reported. Hannah spoke with Greg privately, describing her concern without accusation and pointing to the competence standard. Greg was initially defensive, saying he had used similar techniques for years. After discussion, he agreed to pause the structured protocol with his two clients, continue supportive treatment, enroll in the next available training and arrange consultation with a trained colleague in the meantime.

Why Speaking Up Is Hard

Colleagues often avoid raising concerns with one another. In a small practice, Hannah risked friction with someone she would see every day, and Greg was more senior. She also worried she might be wrong about the therapy's training requirements. These pressures are part of why the code's expectation of informal resolution is easy to state and hard to meet. Hannah prepared by reading the therapy's training standards, so that she could speak from facts rather than impressions, and chose a private moment rather than a staff meeting.

What the Code Leaves Open

The code did not tell Hannah how firmly to press, how to preserve a working relationship in a three-person practice or what to do if Greg had refused but no harm had yet occurred. It also did not address the practice's role: should the practice have a policy on adopting new methods? These questions required judgment, consistent with Pope and colleagues' finding that practitioners often disagree, and with Pope and Vetter's respondents who found the code silent on their real dilemmas. Hannah proposed that the practice adopt a simple policy: before offering a new structured treatment, a clinician would describe their training to colleagues at a monthly meeting.

Conclusion

The APA Ethics Code combines aspirational principles with enforceable standards. Its standards on competence and on informal resolution applied directly to Greg's situation and guided Hannah to speak with him first. Research by Pope and Vetter and by Pope, Tabachnick and Keith-Spiegel shows that codes do not resolve every dilemma and that practitioners disagree about many behaviors. In Hannah's case, the code set the frame and judgment did the rest.

References

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code

Pope, K. S., & Vetter, V. A. (1992). Ethical dilemmas encountered by members of the American Psychological Association: A national survey. American Psychologist, 47(3), 397-411. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.47.3.397

Pope, K. S., Tabachnick, B. G., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (1987). Ethics of practice: The beliefs and behaviors of psychologists as therapists. American Psychologist, 42(11), 993-1006. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.42.11.993

Reading the PSY 650 Module 3 assignment instructions

The third module of PSY 650 commonly asks for a paper on professional codes of ethics. Start from the Module 3 instructions in your Aspen course; the people here are fictional. Explain how your profession's code is structured, distinguishing aspirational principles from enforceable standards. Identify the standards that apply to a case and quote or paraphrase them accurately. Use research on the dilemmas practitioners face and how they judge them. Address what to do about a colleague's conduct, including informal resolution. Discuss the limits of codes. Supply APA 7 references, citing the current version of the code. Explain why you chose the response you did over stronger or weaker alternatives, such as saying nothing or reporting immediately.

How this PSY 650 Module 3 example is built

Hannah, a composite counselor in a Montana group practice, learns that her colleague Greg has begun offering a structured trauma therapy without training. The APA Ethics Code's standards on boundaries of competence and on informal resolution of ethical violations frame the response. Pope and Vetter's American Psychologist survey shows which dilemmas practitioners report most. Pope, Tabachnick and Keith-Spiegel's survey shows how practitioners disagree about many behaviors. A four-row table lists the relevant standards and how each applies. Hannah raises the concern with Greg directly, he agrees to stop until trained and they discuss how the practice will handle similar questions, agreeing that new structured treatments will be discussed at a monthly meeting before clinicians offer them.

Reading the PSY 650 Module 3 grading rubric

Code analysis papers score well when they describe the code's structure correctly, correct application of specific standards and recognition of what codes leave to judgment. This example distinguishes general principles from enforceable standards. It applies the competence and colleague standards correctly, including the expectation to try informal resolution first when appropriate. Research shows that codes do not settle all questions and that practitioners disagree. The case is handled step by step, with Hannah's response proportionate to the risk. The limits of codes are discussed without dismissing their value. A practice-level policy turns one difficult conversation into a routine that prevents the next one.

Common PSY 650 Module 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Code papers often quote standards without showing how they apply. Pick the standards that fit the case and explain each. Distinguish aspirational principles from enforceable standards. Use the current version of the code. Address colleagues' conduct carefully: informal resolution is often expected first, but not when harm is serious or confidentiality prevents it. Recognize that codes cannot anticipate every situation. If you belong to a profession with its own code, such as counseling or social work, compare it with the APA code where they differ, since students in mixed programs often work under more than one. Approach colleagues with curiosity before conclusions; you may have misunderstood what they are doing.

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This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

More PSY 650 and Psychology and Addiction Studies sample papers

PSY 650 Module 3 questions, answered

What does PSY 650 Module 3 usually ask for?

Aspen's PSY 650 covers professional codes of ethics in this module, so explaining a code's structure and applying its standards to a case is typical. Read your Module 3 prompt.

What is the difference between ethical principles and standards in the APA code?

The general principles are aspirational goals; the ethical standards are enforceable rules of conduct.

What ethical dilemmas do psychologists face most often?

Pope and Vetter's survey found confidentiality and blurred or dual relationships the most frequently reported, followed by payment and setting issues.

Where can I find a free PSY 650 Module 3 sample paper?

This page has the full paper: the structure of the APA code, research on practitioners' dilemmas and a colleague practicing beyond competence.

What should I do if a colleague acts unethically?

Codes often expect an attempt at informal resolution first, when appropriate and confidentiality allows; serious harm may require reporting to a board or committee.

PSY 650 Module 3 Professional Codes of Ethics Example