中華心理衛生協會

A cluster random sample of 184 licensed Taiwanese clinical psychologists (mean years of experience is 8.02, among them, 80 were male and 104 were female) responded to questionnaires eliciting demographics and ethical attitudes and behavior toward informed consent in psychotherapy. Statistical analysis demonstrated that confidentiality, appointment scheduling, treatment goals, the right to terminate treatment, and professional compliance were recognized ethical codes often executed by respondents. Therapist background and qualification, total treatment cost, treatment development, and collaboration with supervisors and other professionals were areas of ambiguity that respondents were less likely to reveal. The right to access treatment records was recognized as an ethical issue, but seldom complied with it. Some items were significantly influenced by gender, age, years of experience, level of education, ethics education, and work place. In conclusion, in terms of informed consent, the ethical attitudes of clinical psychologists are consistent with their behavior. However, in some areas of informed consent, there were discrepancies between ethical attitudes and behavior and the codes of ethics. There were also discrepancies in ethical behaviors. The results of this study are helpful for formulating codes of ethics and planning for ethics education.