Ethical Use of Assessment Essay

elevateIn this report Julia has selected an mind instrument that testifyamenting be occasion in the psychical health advise field area of master practice, the Beck low gear memorandum-II. Reviews of the judgment will be read to ensure that the legal opinion measures what it purports to measure and that the article reviews will in any case establish an reserve commit of that tool. Julia has also analyzed the theoretical basis of the article choice for the elect assessment tool. In addition, Julia will compare who the tribulation developers or publishers and breaka bureau reviewers to discuss the applicability of the assessment tool to diverse peoples. Julia will support information declared by the publisher where applicable. Along with this information, Julia will discuss how the resemblance of the BDI-II to other assessments smoke help the guidance-at-law make an honest archetype of the applicability of using the tool in spite of appearance diverse groups of guests. Fin on the wholey, Julia will cite each(prenominal) relevant sections of the code of good motive for mental health counseling within the Ameri goat Counseling Association as well as the mental wellness Professional code of ethics. It is also main(prenominal) to country that the names of drawers utilize are fictional repayable to cover of genuine soul(a)s.Ethical Use of Assessment mental Testing ethicsEthics are an essential part of administering mental tests and it is necessary that wholly test users follow the ethical guidelines for assessment when using any type of psychological test. Psychological tests are an important tool in terms of many a(prenominal) professions in an array of machinatetings such as in clinical psychology, education, and all the same business. However, misuse of psychological test by the administrators is a constant and upset edit out that has the po gotial to terms the singulars who are taking the test and thus far socie ty as a whole. For test takers, the misuse of a psychological test could conduct in improper diagnoses or inappropriate last make for their therapeutic process. The misuse of tests reflects very poorly on the skipper organizations along with highly trained test users. Overall this will result in poor decisions that whitethorn harm society in two an economic and mental fashion (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988).Usually test administrators do non intentionally misuse tests, but rather are not mightily trained within the technical kip downledge and overall examination surgery involved in administering the test. In an effort to prevent the misuse of psychological tests, psychologists au consequentlytic a set of professional and technical standards for the development, evaluation, administration, scoring, and interpretation of all psychological tests. Professionals can overcome the misuse of tests simply by agreement these professional and technical standards involved in using psych ological tests (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988). Beck essential a manual to help the administrator of the BDI to interpret the results of the inventory, which take ons fifty reviews within a thirty page manual (Conoley, 2012) In any power in which a professional offers advice or intervenes in a soulfulnesss personal life in any way, burns regarding fairness, honesty, and conflict of wager can exist. The term ethics directly indicates any issues or practices that get under ones skin the potential to influence the decision making process that involves doing the serious on thing.thitherfore, ethics refers to the moral aspect of right or wrong in regards to motley things such as an entire society, an organization, or a culture. Among many professions, at that place is a set of practice guidelines which are cognize as ethical standards in which each member of those professions elect on such codes afterward debating and discussing their various concerns of these particular guide lines that would make the process of testing more(prenominal) than than effective and ethical (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988). However, it is exceptionally difficult to achieve universal agreement when it comes to ethics. For example, numerous psychologists disagree with each other in terms of the proper way to interpret a clients right to privacy. solutions such as whether knowing a client may be a hazard to themselves and others should be protected from legal inquiry poses what is known as an ethical dilemma.Ethical dilemmas are problems that will arise in which there is no clear, direct, or agreed upon moral solution. While ethical standards are not government appointed laws, violating ethical standards of an organization or profession can film numerous and varied penalties as well which can include expulsion from the organization. Testing is an essentialpart of the psychological network, and if utilise improperly, can cause harm to individuals without their knowledge. The refore, it is necessary that an ethical use of psychological tests is provided to anyone who relies upon them (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988).Psychological Testing and PrivacyEthical standards indisputably cover a large get along of ethical concerns and issues with a common purpose involving protecting the rights of any individual that becomes a recipient of any psychological service including testing. The Ethical Principles have a goal to respect individuals, safeguard individual privacy as well as dignity, and censure any unfair or invidious practices. There are many issues of concern when it comes to ethics, one such issue existence the right to privacy (an enormous issue in the mental health counseling profession). The concepts of individual rights and privacy are a sound part of any society. The Ethical Principles affirm individual rights to privacy and confidentiality as well as self-determination, meaning that each client has the right to be able to discuss any presenting i ssue with their therapist and the discussion hang in within the bounds of the office and to participate in the decision making of the therapeutic process.The term confidentiality indicates that individuals are guaranteed privacy in terms of all personal information that is disclosed and that no information will then be disclosed without the individuals direct written permission. There are times however, that confidentiality is breached because directions within a business setting, for example, will examine out psychological information around their employees. Another example of confidentiality being breached in a professional setting is when teachers may seek anterior test scores for students, however, with the good intention of understanding issues of performance (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988). Counselors will also disclose any information the client discusses with them if the client intends to harm himself/herself and or others and when any type of abuse is indicated during th e session.Psychological Testing and namelessnessAnother term involved with an individuals right to privacy is known as anonymity. Anonymity refers to the practice of obtaining information throughthe use of tests while concealing the identicalness of the participant involved. Anonymous testing is more commonly used in double-blind studies in which the researchers are completely incognizant of the identity of the participants of the study. It is suggested that anonymous testing may provide more robustness in terms of accurate and truthful information about participants because participants will be more likely to answer questions truthfully about themselves when their identity is not revealed (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988).Psychological Testing and Informed ConsentAnother important issue is the right to informed consent which means that the client has the right to know exactly what is happening at all times during the testing and therapeutic process during therapy. Self-determinatio n is a right to every individual which means that individuals are entitled to complete explanations as to why exactly they are being tested as well as how the results of the test will be utilized and what their results mean. These complete explanations are commonly known as informed consent and should be conveyed in such a way that is straight-forward and easy for examinees to understand which is about of the time done in a language in which the client understands what is being beg offed to them. In the contingency of pip-squeaks or those with limited cognitive abilities, informed consent call for to be discussed with both the minor examinee themselves as well as their parent or withstander (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988).However, informed consent should not be confused with parental permission. Counselors have a responsibility to ensure that the minor examinee as well as their parent or guardian understand all implications and requirements that will be involved in a psychologic al test before it is even administered. In addition to the issue of informed consent, participants are also entitled to be prompted with an explanation of the test results in a language structure that they understand. However, due to the fact that approximately test results may influence the participants self-esteem as well as behavior, it is crucial that a trained professional explain the results to the participant in a sensitive and understanding manner so that the participant responds to the items on the test with accuracy (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988).Psychological Testing and mugAnother issue that involves ethics in terms of psychological tests is the right of protection from stigma. In conjunction with the participants right to know and understand their results, researchers need to be careful not to use any labels which might be interpreted as a stigma when describing the results in terms of and to the participant. Counselors and researchers must refrain from using terms suc h as insane, feebleminded, or addictive personality. Therefore, the results that the client receives, along with the parent or guardian in cases involving minors, should be describe in a absolute way so that the growth and development of the participant is not disrespected in any way (Beck, Steer, & Garbin, 1988). Beck natural depression Inventory versus Beck Depression Inventory-II Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was designed to evaluate the possibility and severity of slump along with suicidality issues. The BDI was developed by Aaron Beck and his associates back in 1961 as a structured interview. as yet though Beck is known for using a cognitive therapy methodology, the BDI is not designed in that fashion. Beck used language that was conducive of a fifth academic degree level to develop twenty-one items from which the participant can choose a level of severity from four option with each particular item.Cautions that Conoley (2012) mentioned in the review are those of fakabi lity and social desirability. The individual participant may not be entirely truthful when choosing the severity of his or her level for items on the inventory. He or she may score higher or cut back depending on how the individual responds to the inventory. Julia has also found that sometimes a participant has suffered from picture for a length of time in which makes responding to the items difficult since this individual may feel as though what is normal for him or her may not be normal for another individual. For example, Elka may score dispirit but has been presenting with depression some(prenominal) longer than Norma who scored higher due to the big(p) onset of depression versus the early onset of depression. Even though the BDI has been used extensively for about twenty-five years prior to revision in 1987 and again in the 1990s. Many articles touted the use of the BDI causing psychologists and therapists to use the master key discrepancy created by Aaron Beck. The mo st recent BDI revised the original form with the rewording of fifteen out of twenty-one of the items due to discriminatory wording.The most recent revision also took into account the changes that were made to the Diagnostic manual of arms forMental Illness which correlate with the criteria for depression on a more than higher level. It is plausible to have a more recent version created due to the Diagnostic Manual revision this past year in 2013. All versions of the BDI are designed to evaluate the probability of depression and suicidal tendency for individuals aged thirteen and over for a timeframe of five to ten minutes of the participant choosing the criteria associated with each item. The most recent version of the BDI has also revised to avoid sex and gender discrimination. These factors make the BDI-II a much stronger assessment tool which the counselor uses to evaluate the clients presenting symptoms of depression (Arbisi & Farmer, 2012).Psychological Testing and BDI-IIAll of the ethical issues discussed above come into play when the counselor tests for depression of a client including the severity and longevity of the presenting symptoms of depression. Mental health counselors use the BDI-II to evaluate the possibility and severity of depression with which the client presents, in which it does. Usually the client will make a report concerning the longevity of their presenting symptoms of depression which gives the counselor an idea of how long the client has been effect depressed. Both are helpful in not only appropriately diagnosing the severity of the depression but also knowing what stairs to take in the way of a treatment plan.Beck Depression Inventory-II and potpourriBDI-II has been modified and or translated into several different languages to address diversity in several cultures, such as Mexican-American, Chinese, as well as the time-worn and older women groups. The items are modified in a way so that each group understands what the item is addressing as well as the ethnicity of each diverse group. Depression presents itself differently across cultural groups. What let ons as depression in a Caucasian is most likely not display in an identical way with another culture group, such as African-American, Hispanic, Latino, Norwegian, etc. (Joe, Woolley, Brown, Ghahramanlou-Holloway, & Beck, 2008). The BDI-II has also been modified to address differences between adolescents, adults, and elderly. The elderly population has a much different presenting issue with depression.BDI-II and Counselor JudgmentThe counselor must make a sound judgment in choosing the BDI-II for use in evaluating a clients presenting issues concerning depression, which includes comparing the BDI-II to other depression inventory assessments such as the CAD (Clinical Assessment of Depression) or the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9). While the BDI-II is comparable to the PHQ-9 in statistical analysis, the CAD seems to be more accurate in evaluati ng clinical depression. However, the CAD consists of fifty questions which take about ten minutes or more to complete. For this factor alone the client may not accurately respond to the items on the CAD due to the length even though studies show that it results in a more accurate evaluation of depression (Arbisi & Farmer, 2012 Faxlanger, 2009 Kung, Alarcon, Williams, Poppe, & Frye, 2012).Even though the greet of the BDI-II cost much more than the CAD, the CAD is a relatively new assessment that has not had the longevity that the BDI-II has. The PHQ-9 does not have a cost committed to the assessment, but it is not as well-known as the BDI-II. Once Julia has launch herself as a mental health counselor, she will look the tierce tests further to see the effectiveness of each test compared to the other so that she can make a judgment on which test is more accurate and effective in diagnosing her clients (Arbisi & Farmer, 2012 Faxlanger, 2009 Kung, Alarcon, Williams, Poppe, & Frye, 20 12).SummaryIn conclusion, the BDI-II seems to be the most effective assessment tool in diagnosing clinical depression. The American Mental Health Counselors Association Code of Ethics (2000) reports that the counselor is responsible for ensuring that each client is assessed appropriately including using the most appropriate test for the clients presenting issues for diagnosis. The Code of Ethics also cautions the counselor in privacy, interpretation of the results, and to be trained for the assessments in which he or she will use in practice. As before stated, Julia will explore all options for testing for diagnosing clients as well as move training in testing and interpretation of the results of each test used in practice.ReferencesAmerican Mental Health Counselors Association (2000). Code of ethics. Retrieved serve 9, 2014 from www.amhca.org/assets/content/CodeofEthics1.pdfArbisi, P. A., and Farmer, R. F. (2012). Beck depression inventory-ii. Mental Measurements Yearbook and Tes ts in Print. Accession keep down TIP07000275. Mental Measurements Review Number 14122148. Beck, A. T., Steer, R. 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