Case Study 3: Stephen Collins
Q1.
Overview
Stephen Collins' wife, Faye Grant, claims in their divorce proceedings that Collin has been practicing inappropriate sexual relations with underage girls. Collins admitted that he has engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviors with three young girls where two lived in New York whereas the other lived in Los Angeles (CBSNEWS, 2014). Since Collins was admitting his inappropriate behavior in a therapy session, his wife recorded the information without the consent of the husband. TMZ and other media outlets released the audiotape online and the release assisted the New York and Los Angeles police department to review the tape and conduct investigations on the allegations.
The major concern is whether the release of the taped therapy sessions violates the American Psychological Association's Code of Ethics. First, it is important to understand that mental health professionals have the authority to audiotape sessions or to take recordings which will be used in the counseling process and further investigations. In this case study, the release of the taped therapy sessions violates the American Psychological Association's Code of Ethics. According to the APA's code of ethics, the videotape of a session should not be destroyed. In other words, psychologists should ensure compliance with the law and maintain confidentiality in record keeping (American Psychological Association, 2017). Generally, the taped therapy sessions violate the codes of ethics in that psychologists should maintain the confidentiality of the records and data. However, if the confidential information is accessed by the public, the psychologists should use techniques to prevent the public from accessing personal identifiers. In addition, psychologists and the media should only discuss the confidential information with other professionals for professional purposes (American Psychological Association, 2017). They should also disclose the information with the legally authorized person to protect the client from harm.
There is a likelihood of a lawsuit against the therapist and the media. This is because the APA's code of ethics states that the psychologists should obtain a consent from the individual or their legal representatives before recording their voices (American Psychological Association, 2017). In the case study, Collin's wife recorded the voice without his consent and the media released the information to the public without an appropriate consent from the legally authorized person. Thus, the wife, therapist and the media should be charged for breach of confidentiality and failure to obtain an informed consent.
Q2
Forensic Psychologists play significant roles in conducting criminal legal matters and provides the criminal legal system with important findings. The roles of forensic psychologists are wide-ranging since the assist in police investigations, evaluates the mental functioning of the offenders, provides psychological assessments, examine the crime scene and carry out other important roles in the correctional settings (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013). Generally, Forensic Psychologist plays the role of criminal investigations where they work together with the police officers in examining the crime scene and conducting scientifically-based research to understand the offender's psychological characteristic. During the investigation, they also conduct criminal profiling which is based on the clinical investigation, types of the criminals and scene analysis.
Forensic Psychologist also plays the role of crime analysis. This involves the analysis of crime to find out the similarities between crimes, geographical locations and crime patterns and trend. Crime analysis is done to assist the police officer in understanding crime, conducting an investigation and implementing the necessary resources to deter crime (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013).
Another important role is interviewing. Forensic Psychologists tries to collect a reliable evidence through interviewing the eyewitnesses and suspects. They may interview the vulnerable witnesses such as the elderly and young people to collect accurate information and avoid creating stressful situations while dealing with interviewees (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013).
Another role is an expert witness. Forensic psychologists act as expert witnesses where they provide their opinion in addressing the court cases. They may provide opinion on a wide variety of issues such as the interviewing techniques, the psychological functioning of the offender, clinical assessment of the offender, the best profiling techniques and they also decide whether the eyewitness testimony is reliable (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013).
Another important role is the assessment and treatment of offenders. They are assigned the role of providing rehabilitation and treatment to the offenders in the community and in the prison for the purpose of addressing the offenders' psychological needs and reduce the chances of reoffending (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013). They do so by creating treatment programs where they address the offenders' behaviors and attitudes that motivate them toward committing a crime.
In these roles, one the role that I believe a forensic psychologist should play during the trial, if criminal charges against Collins are filed is the role of assessment and treatment. In the therapeutic sessions, therapists found that Collin suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. Collin's wife, Grant, reported that Collins suffers from a psychiatric disorder known as Pedophilia. She also reported that Collin was attending a 12 steps program to gain a spiritual awakening and recover from sexual addiction. However, she claimed that Collin does not seek proper care towards his predilection. Given these allegations, the important duty which the Forensic Psychologists are obligated to carry out is that of assessment and treatment. This role is important because individuals who suffer from psychological disorders such as pedophilia should work with therapists to discuss their sexual urges and control the behaviors. In other words, a therapeutic psychological assessment is better than incarceration because the individual (Collin) will recognize the problems he is undergoing, avoid risk, interact with a therapist and create common goals (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013). The various States do not provide mental health treatment to individuals convicted of sexual offenses but rather such individuals are punished. However, therapeutic treatment is the best since the individual, as well as the community, will receive more benefits.
Thus, the forensic psychologist should play the role of assessment and treatment in addressing Collin's case. The main actions that the forensic psychologists should take include using a behavior-oriented method or behavioral therapy. In specific, the psychologists should use the cognitive behavioral therapy where he or she should asses the thoughts and behaviors of Collin that influence him toward committing inappropriate behaviors (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013). The psychologist's goal should be to change the behavior patterns and negative thinking. Before engaging in behavioral therapy, the first step is to create treatment programs and create monitoring arrangements. In the treatment session, the psychologists should interact with the offender to understand the nature of the crime, the factors that trigger toward committing a crime and prevent future criminality. Under the cognitive behavioral techniques, the psychologist may create awareness and challenge the offender's irrational beliefs through questioning (Zapf, Hart & Roesch, 2013). He may also encourage self-monitoring and systematic desensitization.
Q3
SAMHSA play a significant role in providing laws, regulations, and policies that guide healthcare professionals. Regarding the recording of a patient's voice in therapy sessions, one rule that SAMHSA should make is ‘patient's data should not be shared without the patient's or client's consent'. The professionals or rather the psychologist should not disclose the patient's information without the consent from the patient (Borkosky & Smith, 2015). The purpose of this rule is to improve confidentiality and patient safety. The consent and maintaining confidentiality will create trust and strengthen the relationship between therapists and patients. With trust, the patient will gain confidence and reduce mental and physical harm. Note that when the information enters in the public domain, it is no longer confidential and unless the patients give a consent, the information should be kept confidential (Borkosky & Smith, 2015). In other words, psychologists should show legal and ethical concern when dealing with patients to avoid the great risk associated with disclosure of information to the public without legal consent.
References
CBSNEWS. (2014). Stephen Collins’ wife alleges he had “secret life” in court docs: “I believe there are other victims”. Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephen-collins-wife-alleges-he-had-secret-life-in-court-docs-i-believe-there-are-other-victims/
American Psychological Association. (2017). ETHICAL PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGISTS AND CODE OF CONDUCT. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/ethics-code-2017.pdf
Zapf, P. A., Hart, S. D., & Roesch, R. (2013). Forensic psychology and law. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Borkosky, B., & Smith, D. M. (2015). The risks and benefits of disclosing psychotherapy records to the
legal system: What psychologists and patients need to know for informed
consent? International journal of law and psychiatry, 42, 19-30.
