Consent, competence, and confidentiality

Confidentiality, ethics, and informed consent.

In Fisher’s (January 2008) excellent and much-needed article, she rightly implied that when discussing ethical dilemmas, psychologists may find themselves saying “consult an attorney” almost as often as they find themselves saying, “consult a fellow psychologist.” Fisher’s article was meant to turn the ship so to speak, by providing psychologists with a foundation for thinking clearly about con...

Competence, Consent and Complexity.

Adolescent consent and confidentiality in the U.K.

In R (Axon) v Secretary of State for Health the Gillick competence test was confirmed. Commitment to childhood autonomy and privacy rights caused renewed academic criticism of the 'refusal' cases. This paper considers the form any changes to the law may take, and the potential consequences for the rights of parents and young people. Silber J.'s contention that parental Article 8 rights cease wh...

Consent and confidentiality in adolescent health care.

Assessing Competence to Consent to

Burdened with the responsibility of making an initial assessment of their patients' capacity to make treatment decisions, clinicians need a sound clinical assessment model. Drawing on ethical, legal, and clinical sources, the author reviews the appropriateness of existing models and standards and describes why each fails the needs of the clinician. The patient's ability to form a therapeutic al...