Dr. Phil Breaches APA's Code of Conduct with Spears Family

Dr. Phil has made a mistake. He has violated just about every code of conduct in the American Psychological Association's (APA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Britney Spears and her family have to carry his mistake.

According to Reuters, Dr. Phil visited Britney Spears at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Saturday January 5,2008-just 36 hours after being admitted for bizarre behavior. Afterwards, he made several public statements about Britney, breaching the confidentiality of Britney and her family.

The American Psychological Association's (APA's) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct consist of an introduction, preamble, general principles, and Ethical Standards. Dr. Phil has breached just about every area and section in that code. However, for brevity and the obvious, he specifically breached Informed Consent to Therapy (section 4.02) and Confidentiality (section 5.01-5.11).

As a celebrity psychologist, Dr. Phil integrated entertainment with ethics, violating the rights of a patient in dire need of help. There is a special section on the Code of Conduct specifically titled, "APA statement on services by telephone, teleconferencing, and internet." This specifically includes any media that could harm another individual or breach their confidentiality.