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DoN - Professional Practice Guidelines
The following Guidelines have been prepared as a statement of good practice by the Committee of the Division of Neuropsychology with the object of enhancing the professional standards adopted by clinical and research neuropsychologists.The Guidelines are not intended to be comprehensive, but to address those issues which most commonly give rise to concern.
The Committee would welcome any comments or suggestions concerning these Guidelines to aid their future revision and refinement.
General
- These Guidelines subsume the content of the following documents:
Code of Conduct, Ethical Principles and Guidelines (2004)
;
DCP - Professional Practice Guidelines 1995
;
Private Practice as a Psychologist
;
Code of Practice on the Supervision, Preparation and Examination of Doctoral Theses in Departments of Psychology (BPS).
- Members of the Division of Neuropsychology must abide by the Code of Conduct of the BPS. Particular attention is drawn to issues of competence.
Clinical practice
- Only those with appropriate training and experience should offer clinical services in areas of clinical neuropsychology. Those with appropriate experience would normally be eligible to be Practitioner Full Members of the Division of Neuropsychology. Psychologists who are not eligible to be Practitioner Members of the Division of Neuropsychology may have relevant skills and experience in specific areas and are reminded of the need to operate within their competence, in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
- All clinical neuropsychologists should have regard to their competence and experience when offering services to clients, taking into particular consideration the age and ethnic status of the client, the putative diagnosis, and the clinical problem.
- Clinical neuropsychologists should take care to obtain the consent of the client (or the responsible medical officer if the client lacks the capacity to consent) before discussing the client with family members, carers, or other agencies.
Use of neuropsychological tests
- Any psychological tests must be administered by an individual with appropriate training and experience. Tests may be used in a variety of settings and for different purposes. Neuropsychological assessment can include the administration and interpretation of tests for the purpose of diagnosis, assessment and to provide a clinical neuropsychology opinion. It is the interpretation of the test results that requires a level of experience and specialist knowledge. Those with appropriate experience would normally be eligible to be Practitioner Full Members of the Division of Neuropsychology. Psychologists who are not eligible to be Practitioner Members of the Division of Neuropsychology may have relevant skills and experience in specific areas and are reminded of the need to operate within their competence, in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
- Before administering any neuropsychological test, test users should ensure that they have received appropriate training in the administration, scoring and interpretation of the test, and they are familiar with the contents of the manual and the relevant neuropsychological literature associated with the test.
Medicolegal practice
- Those eligible to be Practitioner Full Members of the Division of Neuropsychology who have undergone appropriate training or supervised experience may regard themselves as competent to act as expert witnesses on clinical neuropsychological matters by providing reports or giving evidence in Courts of Law. However, psychologists who are not eligible to be Practitioner Members of the Division of Neuropsychology may have relevant skills and experience in specific areas but are reminded of the need to operate within their competence, in accordance with the Code of Conduct.
Research
- It is recognised that Full Members of the Division of Neuropsychology contribute to the advancement of neuropsychology through their research with clinical populations.The Guidelines which follow are intended in no way to restrict neuropsychological research, but only to safeguard the interests of participants.
- Where neuropsychological research of a clinical nature is conducted by a Full Member of the Division of Neuropsychology it is good practice to seek collaboration with a Practitioner Full Member of the Division of Neuropsychology, preferably the Practitioner Full Member responsible for the participant's neuropsychological care. In these circumstances the Practitioner Full Member should be prepared to accept professional responsibility for the clinical aspects of the study.
- Full Members of the Division of Neuropsychology who engage in research in a clinical context should never give the impression that the research will be of direct individual benefit to a participant, nor should they provide a clinical opinion to participants.
- Affiliate members of the Division of Neuropsychology, research workers and students engaged in neuropsychological research in a clinical context should be supervised by a Practitioner Full Member of the Division of Neuropsychology with respect to their clinical activities.
- Where neuropsychological research of a clinical nature is conducted by a Practitioner Full Member of the Division of Neuropsychology it is good practice to seek collaboration with a Full Member of the Division of Neuropsychology with an academic speciality in the topic of the research, in recognition that this is likely to enhance the quality of their research.
Professional descriptions
- At present the Division of Neuropsychology does not have a Chartered Title and members should not use a specialist adjectival title such as 'Chartered Clinical Neuropsychologist'. It is, however, permissible for Practitioner Full Members of the Division of Neuropsychology to use the term 'Clinical Neuropsychologist' if employed in a Grade A post or its equivalent, or the term 'Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist' if employed in a Grade B post. Statutory Registration is likely to have an effect on the use of titles by professional psychologists. Members are advised to seek further guidance from the Society and the Division when Statutory Registration comes into effect.
Insurance
- All Members of the Division of Neuropsychology, whether working with clinical clients or research participants should ensure that they possess adequate professional insurance for the protection of their clients and participants.
August 2003
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