Interview: James Morris

Where did you attend school? What degree did you achieve there?

I attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois where I earned a BA in Psychology.
I also attended Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois where I earned a MA in Clinical Professional Psychology.
I am currently in the dissertation phase of my Doctoral studies in Counseling at Illinois Professional School of Psychology at Argosy Schaumburg.

What are some of the general cases or jobs you have worked?

I have worked in various settings and in varying capacities. I have worked as a program therapist in mental health facilities both in Illinois and in Louisiana. While in Louisiana I worked on acute adult inpatient units and worked with clients stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana. While in Illinois I have worked with children and adolescents in inpatient, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs. I have worked as a trauma informed therapist and consultant in the Chicago Public School system and have also been a mental health consultant to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.

From your knowledge with some of the cases you have conducted, how often has the idea of ethics been an issue in them?

Well, I am constantly considering the ethical implications of my decisions with clients given the populations I have worked with and settings I have worked in. An example would be my mental health and forensic work at the juvenile detention center. There is the occasional conflict between legislation, case law and the standards by which clinicians are held to in the profession. Even when there is clear compatibility between the legal and ethical standards, the vagueness of formal codes that often lead to subjective interpretation have me frequently seeking consultation (sigh). Strict adherence to the practice of simply avoiding the violation of legal standards may cause one to lose sight of the ethical responsibility and consequences of one’s decisions. In many cases the results of the deliberative process of ethical decision making can be the difference between life and death. It can be a challenging experience but it is necessary to protect clients the public and to sustain the field.

Today, during any human research, there are ethical boards that enforce their ethical standards*.  How do you think past experiments, such as the Milgram experiments, results would have changed if they were conducted today? 
*The ethical standards that I am referring to are the American Psychological Associations version, found at: http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx

Hmm, that’s a tough question. Given the reasons why most of those experiments would never get Institutional Review Board approval by today’s standard, it is difficult to determine how comparable the results be. Too many things to consider with replication. Some people believe that the results of the Milgram experiments were too harsh and should no longer be justified in today’s world of psychology.  Even though these experiments did not follow today's ethical standards, can they still be used to justify human rationale?You know the issues with the experiment may have extended beyond ethics and I am certainly one that has my own criticisms. But we have the benefit of hindsight. Its iconic research that shouldn’t be totally dismissed. Its tricky.

Is there any penalty to breaking the APA Ethical Code? 

Oh absolutely, if upon review a complaint of unethical behavior is founded penalties can range from verbal reprimands with recommendations up  to a loss of your license.

Have you seen or heard of any experiments today that may have broken the APA Ethical Code that are still highly regarded and referenced to? 

I cannot say that I have, but that is not to suggest that a more informed individual in this area may not be aware of such cases. I hope I understood what you were asking.

Is there anything else that you can think of that may pertain to this topic?

I was just having this ethics discussion with a few colleagues that have found themselves in the middle of a challenging ethical situation. As I shared with them,   even the most well-intentioned and skilled clinician is not infallible, and as such, efforts should always be made to circumvent the mistakes that occasionally occur as the result of our limited perspective, wrong conclusions arrived at, and even the casual certainties about decisions that we develop over time in practice. Clinicians are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas that require an understanding of formal codes, case law and even relevant legislation as I mentioned earlier. However, as each client/client situation is unique, utilizing formal codes as a guide is essential, but decisions about ethical behavior are the result of a deliberate, thoughtful process. The ethical dilemmas that clinicians face do not always consist of clear and easy answers. The complexity lies in the occasional conflict between the ethical framework for the dilemma being addressed and the legal framework.