Ethics Consultation

One mission of the Committee on Legal and Ethical Issues is the promotion of the highest ethical standards for training, research, and practice in Psychology. To this aim, we are available to provide assistance and advice to psychologists and LPA members who have questions or concerns that involve professional ethical and legal issues relevant to psychologists and forensic psychological practice. Consultation requests are CONFIDENTIAL. Each request is received by the Chair or the Chair’s delegate. All identifying information is removed, details are changed, and any committee member with personal or potentially conflicting interests is excluded. The anonymized request is brought to the committee for discussion. The committee discusses the request and, if needed, consults other practitioners and researchers. We arrive at a consensus response, or if we cannot, we provide both views and an honest discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of each and the reason for any disagreement.

Psychologists and LPA members may submit a request to the committee online via the LPA website. Once the committee has discussed the question and consulted necessary references and subject matter experts, the Chair will provide you with the committee’s response in writing.

We want to give psychologists all the resources and support they need to avoid illegal, unethical, and ineffective practice. Please remember, however, that we are not attorneys. Professional consult is not a substitute for competent legal representation, and you should absolutely call an attorney if you need one.

*Please contact the Chair or a committee member if you have questions or would like assistance with the consultation request process.

Ethics Consultation Submission

Type of Consultation Requested*
Description of Concern (Please do not use names and information will be kept confidential)*
Name*
First Last
Email*
Phone*
Acknowledgement:*
- The advice/opinions provided by the Committee or its members are their own based upon their professional experience. The Committee cannot provide legal advice. Members seeking legal advice should consult with an attorney or with their professional liability carrier. The Committee cannot represent how a state licensing board might view a particular situation. Submissions are received by a single committee member who removes all identifying information (names, dates, places, specific details) before sharing the submission with other committee members or subject matter experts for discussion. Your email address is retained only for tracking the submission and returning a response. All identifying information is deleted or destroyed within a timely manner after a response has been returned. We do not retain records of submissions except in summary form. In order to protect the anonymity, privacy, and confidentiality of all parties; information should be presented as hypothetical situations and avoid inadvertent mention of identifying information.

Ethics Consultation Submission

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