The Department of Social Services in Sharjah organized a workshop on developing the competencies of psychologists under the title “Ethics of the Psychologist’s Profession,” presented by Dr. Suad Mohammed Al Marzouqi, a clinical psychologist at the UAE University, and Dr. Hussein Ali Masih, an expert in the development and social care sector. The workshop targeted licensed psychologists in Social Work Licensing and Development Department of the Department. This step falls within the strategy of the Licensing Department, to improve the level of performance and quality of psychologists and familiarize them with the laws and regulations that regulate social work in the country in several aspects, such as the ethics and principles of the profession and specialization. First, Al-Marzouqi reviewed the ethics of the psychologist’s profession and the ethical principles for psychologists issued by several professional psychological societies. The most widely circulated is the code issued by the American Psychological Association (APA) and issued by the British and Australian Association. She said that in the UAE there is a document issued by the Ministry of Health in this regard. . As for the principles, they are five basic. Under each principle are multiple standards that the psychologist must adhere to. These are enforceable rules and standards that aim to reach an ethical course of action. This code of ethics applies only to the activities of the psychologist that form part of his scientific, educational, or professional roles. For example: psychological consultations, practicing counseling techniques, psychological evaluation, educational guidance, supervision of trainees, individual or group services, forensic systems, research and reports. Emphasizing the need for every practitioner of the profession of psychologist to adhere to these ethics, and that lack of awareness or misunderstanding of an ethical standard is not in itself a defense for the charge of unethical behavior. At the same time, she pointed out that there are regulations and penalties that may be issued against the violating psychologist, which vary depending on the violation and may lead to the withdrawal of his professional license. Dr. Al Marzouqi enumerated the ethical principles, which are benevolence and non-harm, meaning dealing professionally with the well-being and rights of clients, not using influence incorrectly, and preserving their physical and mental health to help them scientifically and professionally. The second principle is loyalty and responsibility, for the specialist to create a relationship of trust with clients and realize the professional and scientific responsibility towards the individual and society, as well as adhering to the standards of professional behavior and defining his true role according to his specialty, while avoiding duplication, conflict of interest and exploitation. The third principle is integrity, which is that the psychologist should strive to enhance accuracy and honesty in his tasks and activities, and be committed not to cheat and stay away from fraud and falsification of facts, keep promises, stay away from loose and loose commitments, and stay away from everything that might cause harm to the client. The fourth principle is justice. All psychologists must realize that fairness and justice contribute to accessing and benefiting from the contributions of psychology and equal quality in the services and procedures it provides. The fifth principle is to respect the rights of individuals and preserve their dignity, just as psychologists respect the dignity and rights of all individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. They should realize that it may be necessary to have special guarantees to protect the rights and well-being of individuals or communities against some decisions that may be imposed by institutions or surrounding people to ensure the rights of the individual and preserve his dignity. In addition to being aware of cultural, religious and social differences, they are able to deal with all groups in society and their cultural backgrounds without entering and participating in the mentality and culture of the individual in a way that does not benefit the scientific method that he uses. The lecture also touched on the issue of specialization, which is a very important matter, as she said: No one other than a trained specialist with appropriate experience in the field of service should practice a profession that is not related to his specialization. He must obtain specialization, training, and a doctorate for practice, conduct research committed to ethics in this field, and maintain competence by continuing learning and participating in conferences, scientific forums, and training courses. Dr. Hussein reviewed the importance of preparing and writing the psychological report in a professional manner, pointing out the methodology of drafting the psychological report in psychological practice and the extent of its importance to the psychologist and that the process of preparing it depends on interviews, observations, psychological tests and valuable tools that are used to collect the necessary information.
