A Comparative Account on Ethical Considerations in Practice of Clinical Psychology

Background: Practice in the clinical psychology is knitted closely to the trust and rapport building with the client. This trust is supported by the set of ethical considerations being proposed by the APA Ethical Code. It helps to build trust among the clients and to ensure the efficacy of the clinical treatment. In Pakistan there are no officially recognized ethical standards or the organization to ensure the adherence of ethics for clinical psychologists. However, in Saudi Arabia there is e Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS) for this task. But both of the Muslim countries lack Indigenous perspective in this regard which has brought many challenges and issues with application of ethical concerns during clinical psychology practices.

Methods and Findings: The purpose of the study was to explore issues in application of ethical standard in Pakistan from an Indigenous perspective and present a comparative account of it with the concerns regarding practice of ethics in Saudi Arabia. Objective is accomplished through in-depth semi-structured interviews with clinical psychologists (N=7). Findings highlighted the absence of licensing, lack of training, and proper monitoring for clinical psychology practicing. Also, the participants provide recommendations for addressing the challenges associated with ethical concerns during clinical psychology’s practice. Results were then discussed considering Saudi literature to make a comparative account.

Conclusion: The findings demonstrated significance of indigenously exploring ethical related concerns in practice of clinical psychology for both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. It is apprehended to help in devising the ethical standards in clinical psychology practices for both Muslim countries.