Ethics and deontology in forensic psychology: the code that governs experts

As in all branches of the science of behavior, forensic psychology also has its own code of ethical standards.

With this article we can delve into some of the most important concepts that every forensic psychologist should respect during the performance of their activity so as not to enter into confrontation with the deontology of this countryside.

• Related article: "Forensic Psychology: definition and functions of the forensic psychologist"

The importance of ethics and deontology in forensic psychology

All disciplines that are dedicated to health must be governed by very clear rules regarding the ethics of the actions of professionals. This is the case, for example in medicine and of course in psychology. Specifically, we are going to talk about the importance of ethics and deontology in forensic psychology, one of the branches of this science that is dedicated to its most legal part.

Forensic psychologists, among other things, perform expert reports to advise a judge about the psychological foundations of different actions or situations.

Such a delicate task, which involves not only the intervention of a health science such as psychology, but also judicial decisions that can restrict freedom of an individual, or giving custody of a minor to one or the other party, must be carried out with extreme caution, and always within an ethical framework that in no way can exceed, to have the maximum guarantees that the psychological action is being carried out with the greatest possible objectivity and without violating a single right of the affected.

To achieve this objective, there are codes of ethics that apply to all psychological practice in general, but there are also others that are specific to the forensic aspect of this discipline, and that propose a series of guidelines for preparing expert reports in a way that ensures that no ethical criteria are violated. Below we will see some of them and we will take examples to illustrate the good practices that must be carried out to respect ethics and deontology in forensic psychology.

• You may be interested in: "Code of Ethics of the Psychologist"

General ethics in psychology

Even if There are some ethics manuals at the national level, such as the Code of Ethics of the General Council of Official Associations of Psychologists, and even European, like the Metacode of Ethics of the European Federation of Psychologists Associations, it is also true that each Official College of paths Autonomous communities in Spain are in charge of drawing up the guidelines that should govern the actions of registered psychologists in said territory.

In this case, we will take as a reference those carried out by the Official College of Psychology of Madrid. In this case, the first document we find is that of Ethics and Deontology in psychological practice.

What is interesting about this guide is that in its introduction it explains that it arises in response to a series of studies in which the incidence of various issues that could suppose a lack of ethics in the day-to-day activities of different psychologists in several different branches of the profession. Therefore, It became necessary to establish a unique set of criteria to avoid those situations in which, perhaps due to ignorance, it was not being acted in the most correct way.

Ethics and deontology in forensic psychology can also be seen in this manual, as it has a specific section in which the problems of this field are addressed. One of the characteristics of the forensic discipline compared to the rest of the branches of psychology, is that in This, usually, the psychologist works with people who do not want to be there of their own free will, but rather the relationship is imposed by the judicial process in which they are immersed and that makes the position of the psychologist especially delicate.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the field of legal psychology (which includes forensics) is the group that receives the most complaints for alleged malpractice in this Official College. This does not mean, far from it, that all of them entail the opening of a disciplinary process, since in most cases it is shown that said complaint does not proceed, and therefore it remains dismissed. But it is a sample of the extreme delicacy of this field and the implications that a bad performance can have.

The data shows that the field of forensic psychology receives more than 25% of all complaints to psychology professionals in general. Of that amount, more than half are archived without the need for an investigation, as there are no signs of malpractice. Of the rest, only some, 7% of the total complaints filed, generate a disciplinary file. A really low figure for all the interventions carried out in this field.

Good Practice Guides in Forensic Psychology

Continuing with other examples of documents that the Official College of Psychology of Madrid has edited to establish guidelines for action unified in terms of ethics and deontology in forensic psychology, we are going to stop at some of the most important to discover their utility.

Custody and visitation of minors

If the practice of expert psychology is already extremely delicate, when it involves decisions that affect minors, we are talking about even more sensitive cases. Hence, the Madrid COP decided to publish the Good Practice Guide for the preparation of expert psychological reports on custody and visitation of minors.

After the approval of the divorce law, the problem of custody has been a constant, and the figure of the expert psychologist is essential to advise the judge on the most favorable option for the minor, once all the possibilities.

And it is that, the best interest of the minor is the fundamental pillar of ethics and deontology in forensic psychology within this field. One of the maxims that will govern these actions is that the psychologist evaluates the entire family groupIt is not possible to reach reasonable conclusions if the custody conditions for one of the parents or guardians have only been studied. Furthermore, evaluation must always be carried out through objective criteria, obviously.

Equally important is that all family members know the purpose of the evaluation process to which they are being subjected, and must give their express consent to do so. The psychologist, in addition, must inform both parents or guardians of the techniques that they are going to apply on the minors, and if any of they are against, he must immediately interrupt the procedure, unless there is a court order to continue.

If the previous point already involved extremely delicate work, it is even more so when it comes to ethics and deontology in forensic psychology in cases of custody of minors and visitation regime for victims of violence gender. The sensitivity of these cases will be, if possible, even higher, so The expert psychologist will have to exercise extreme caution and protect the best interests of the minor at all costs, which is the general law that governs all actions that involve working with minors.

Risk of violence against women

The other area in which the most delicate cases occur within forensic psychology, and which we already advanced in the previous point, is cases of violence against women. To have the best understanding of how to act, The Madrid COP prepared the Guide to good practices for the forensic psychological evaluation of violence against women in intimate relationships (VCMP).

The figure of the forensic psychologist in this field is of vital importance, since he is going to become the judge's advisor and is going to be one of the professionals who Evaluate if a situation of violence against women is taking place, and if so, what type it is being, what its repercussions may be and the possible risks. It is, of course, an extremely complicated task and has to be done under very strict protocols that guarantee maximum ethics throughout the process.

The psychologist must make clear to the people involved in the forensic evaluation what their role is: advise the judge in a very specific field, that of psychology, within the situation being judged, so that he has all the information on the table before making a decision. And it is that, always, the judge is in charge of passing sentence and deciding. Psychological experts are only advisers who provide very valuable information so that this decision is as objective as possible.

Bibliographic references:

• Bartolomé, A., Chacón, F., García, J.F., García, A., Gómez, M.R., Gómez, R., Vázquez, B. (2013). Good practice guide for the preparation of expert psychological reports on custody and visitation of minors adapted to cases of gender violence. Official College of Psychologists of Madrid.
• Chacón, F., García, J.F., García, A., Gómez, M.R., Vázquez, B. (2009). Good practice guide for the preparation of expert psychological reports on custody and visitation of minors. Official College of Psychologists of Madrid.
• COP Madrid (2011). Ethics and Deontology in psychological practice. Official College of Psychologists of Madrid.
• Gómez, M.R., Muñoz, J.M., Vázquez, B., Gómez, R., Mateos, N. (2012). Good practice guide for forensic psychological assessment of the risk of violence against women in intimate relationships (VCMP). Official College of Psychologists of Madrid.