Code of ethics for the psychologists in Romania

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Romanian Deontological Code
The Deontological Code for the Free Licensed Psychologist Profession
The deontological code gathers a sum of principles and ethical standards for the exercise
of the free licensed Psychologist profession and is intended to set up rules for the
representatives of this profession, whom we may call Psychologists.
The code offers a foundation for collective consensus against possible behaviors meant to
transgress the professional ethics. Alongside its normative virtue, the code aims to direct
and adjust only the professional activities in which psychologists enroll and not to
interfere with their private life, unless the latter impairs the Psychologist profession or it
raises real doubts concerning the person’s ability to assume and fulfill their professional
responsibilities as a Psychologist.
Principle 1
I. Respecting the rights and dignity of any human person
The psychologists will permanently have under attention the fact that any person has the
right to be appreciated for its intrinsic value as a human being and that this value does not
accepts conditionings such as culture, nationality, ethnicity, color of skin, race, religion,
sex or sexual preferences, marital status, physical or intellectual abilities, age, socio-
economic status or any other personal characteristic.
Adhering to this principle requires to respect the following rules:
Art. I.1. Psychologists exercise their activity by demonstrating respect towards the inner
living, experiences, knowledge, values, ideas, opinions and options of others.
Art. I.2. Psychologists do not publicly involve into harming the image of others and do
not express injustice based on culture, nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sex or sexual
preferences, neither do they commit to remarks or behaviors which impair the dignity of
others.
Art. I.3. Psychologists will use a language that respects the dignity of others, both in
written and oral communication.
Art. I.4. Psychologists avoid or refuse to take part into activities and practices that do not
respect the legal, civic or moral rights of others.
Art. I.5. Psychologists will refuse to counsel, educate or provide information to those
persons who they consider susceptible to use their knowledge and skills in order to
violate the fundamental rights of human beings.

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Art. I.6. Psychologists respect the rights of those who benefit from psychological
services, of the participants in the research, the employees, the students and of any other,
thus protecting their own dignity.
Art. I.7. Psychologists will make sure that the informed consent of the client / participant
is not under any circumstances obtained through coercion or pressure.
Art. I.8. Psychologists will make sure that, in providing psychological services or in their
scientific research activity, they will not violate the private or cultural space of their
client / subject, in lack of a clear promise and a guarantee that they are allowed to.
Art. I.9. The activity of psychologists must not impair neither the sacral right to dignity,
nor the right to the person’s own image.
Principle II
II. Social and professional responsibility
Psychologists are at maximum responsible for the well being of any person, family,
group or community toward which they exert their role as psychologists. This aspect
concerns both those directly and indirectly involved in their activities, though those
directly involved have priority.
Adhering to this principle requires to respect the following rules:
Art. II.1. Psychologists will protect and promote well being and will avoid damaging
their clients, students, research participants, colleagues and any other, thus assuming the
consequences of their own actions.
Art. II.2. Psychologists will respect the right of the person to cease, without any
justification, their participation as a client to the provided service or as a subject, to
scientific research activities.
Art. II.3. Psychologists will refuse to guide, instruct or provide information to those who
they consider able to misuse their knowledge and skills, to the detriment of others, in
either a voluntary or not voluntary manner.
Art. II.4. Psychologists will not delegate psychological activities to somebody, if such
activities are outside of their province.
Art. II.5. Psychologists will promote and facilitate the scientific and professional
development of the employees, the supervised, the students, the participants into
professional formation programs and so forth.

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Art. II.6. Psychologists will contribute to the development of Psychology as a science and
of the society in general, through free research and by free acquisition, conveyance and
expression of knowledge, the only exception being those activities that interfere with
ethical obligations.
Art. II.7. Psychologists will responsibly sustain the role of Psychology as a science in
front of the society and will promote and maintain the highest discipline standards.
Art. II.8. Psychologists will inform The Psychologists College about those cases in which
ethical norms and professional deontology have been encroached upon, if informal,
peaceful resolution is not possible.
Art. II.9. Psychologists will respect the laws and regulations of the society and of the
community in which they operate. If these laws and regulations interfere with the ethical
principles, the psychologist will do all that is possible in order to honor the latter.
Art. II.10. Psychologists will not contribute, nor engage in research or any other activity
that runs counter to the international human laws (such as involvement into human
torture methods, developing forbidden weapons, terrorism or environmental wasting).
Art. II.11. Psychologists will not provide psychological services or research, regardless of
which person, psychologist or not, tries to impinge them into acting against the
professional ethics.
Art. II.12. Inside their province, psychologists will decide upon which methods and
techniques to apply in certain situations. They are personally responsible for their choices
and consequences, in accordance with their professional certification.
Art. II.13. Psychologists will confer with other specialists or certain institutions in order
to promote the well being of the person and the society.
Principle III
III. Professional integrity
Psychologists will manifest the highest level of moral and professional integrity within all
their relationships. It is the psychologist’ duty to honestly specify his achieved formation
and qualification within the framework of his professional relationships. Also, he will
neither allow, nor tolerate incorrect or discriminating practices.
Adhering to this principle requires to respect the following rules:
Art. III.1 Psychologists will honestly mention the specific areas in which they are
specialized, their professional experience and their certifications and will not under any
circumstances accept distortions, omissions and false statements in this respect

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Art. III.2. Psychologists do not exert, allow, accept, facilitate, instigate or co-operate to
any form of discrimination.
Art. III.3. Psychologists will honor all the promises and engagements they have
undertaken, unless any specific situations emerge, in which case they will honestly and
completely inform and explain the situation to the involved persons.
Art. III.4. Psychologists will promote objectivity, honesty and accuracy within their
professional activities, in which they will not steal, cheat, deceive or involve into fraud,
elusions, subterfuges or intented distorsions of the reality.
Art. III.5. Psychologists will avoid any interference which affects the quality of their
professional activity, whether it is about personal, political, business interests or any
other type of interest.
Art. III.6. Psychologists will avoid offering immoderate rewards in order to stimulate a
person or group to take part into activities which imply major and unforeseeable risks.
Art. III.7. Psychologists will avoid multiple relationships (regarding their clients,
subjects, employees, supervised persons, students or others) or any other situatons in
which a conflict of interests may arouse or which may reduce their ability of being
objective and unbiased.
Art. III.8. Psychologists will avoid participating to activities which may damage the
public image of the Psychology as a profession, and they will explain the role of the
Psychologists to all those who are interested.
Art. III.9. Psychologists will be reflexive, open and aware of their personal and
professional limits.
Art. III.10. Psychologists will not, either by themselves or alongside other persons,
contribute to any kind of practices which may violate the freedom or either the physical
or the psychological integrity of any human being.
GENERAL ETHICAL STANDARDS
IV. COMPETENCE STANDARDS
Knowing their competences
Art. IV.1. Psychologists have the obligation to be very well aware of the limits of their
competences in offering psychological services, in teaching and in research.
Art. IV.2. All through exerting their profession, psychologists have the duty to act on the
behalf of improving and practicing their professional competences at the highest level.

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Psychological services according to their competences
Art. IV.3. Psychologists will involve only in those activities for which they own the
propriate knowledge, aptitudes, attitudes, experience and attestation.
Honestly mentioning their competences
Art. IV.4. Psychologists will not deceive concerning the limits of their competences, nor
will they present their qualifications in such a manner as to favor their status or public
image, regardless of the type of professional activity they practice.
Limitations of the competences
Art. IV.5. Whenever psychologists attend to deliver psychological services, research or to
teach beyond the limits of their competence, they will try to achieve the necessary
competence as soon as they can (this may refer either to studying, assessment or being
supervised) and only afterwards will they commit themselves to providing the certain
service (excepting IV.7).
Asking for consultance in cases of competences’ limitations
Art. IV.6. In exercising their profession profesiei, whenever psychologists encounter a
dillema or an outrun of their competence area, they will confer with their coleagues or
their superviser.
Providing psychological services beyond one’s competence limits
Art. IV.7. If the case that there are no general standards, nor professional development
programs, nor available qualified specialists for a certain requested psychological service,
and still a psychologist is appealed to, he will do his best to achieve a minimum of
competences within the specific area and will constantly see to protect their clients,
students, participants, those he has in charge and all the others involved, as not to harm
them in any way. In such a case, he will continue offering his services until he is no
longer needed or until a qualified specialist becomes available.
Continuous formation
Art. IV.8. Psychologists have the obligation to permanently make efforts in order to
maintain and improve their competences, through continuously keeping themselves
informed, through professional development programs and by consulting with other
specialists or by getting involved in research which leads to the growth of their
professional competences, according to the Romanian Psychologists College’ standards.

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Objectivity
Art. IV.9. Psychologists have the obligations to remain aware of the limits of the
procedures they use, regardless of the type of activity. They will make sure that the
maximum of objectivity characterizes the services provided, the scientific research or the
reporting of the results, thus avoiding any tencency towards biased or subjective
reporting.
The delegation
Art. IV.10. Psychologists who authorize their employees, subalterns, researchers,
assistants to exert certain professional activities will take all the necessary measures in
order to avoid trangressing the competences standards which are enlisted within the
Code.
Art. IV.11. Whenever a psychologist ascertains that out of personal or health reasons, he
may no longer exert a professional activity according to the competence standards, he
will ask for support and professional counseling in order to decide whether or not to
restrict, suspend or end a certain professional activity.
V. STANDARDS CONCERNING HUMAN PERSONS
Respect and concerning
Art. V.1. Within their professional relationships, psychologists will express
preoccupation towards their clients, students, participants, supervised or employees,
trying not to harm them in any way, unless such phenomenon is inevitable, in which case
they will minimize it as much as possible.
Avoiding harassment
Art. V.2. Psychologists will not under any circumstances engage into any form of
harassment, neither sexual, nor emotional or verbal or nonverbal.
Avoiding abuse
Art. V.3. Psychologists will not under any circumstances involve into defamation or
abuse, neither sexual, nor physical, emotional, verbal or spiritual, towards persons with
whom they interact during their professional activity.

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Avoiding the multiple relationship
Art. V.4. Psychologists will avoid as much as they can potential multiple relationships, in
which they must play different roles simultaneously within a professional context, as
much as they can.
Acquiring consent regarding certain relationships
Art. V.5. Psychologists will clarify the nature of multiple relationships to all the parts
involved, before getting a consent, whether they offer psychological services or conduct
researches with individuals, families, groups, communities, at the request of a third part,
who may be a school, a judge, certain governmental agencies, insurance companies, the
police or certain financial institutions.
Non-exploitation
Art. V.6. Psychologists will not exploit, nor will they take advantage, under any
circumstances, of the persons towards whom, according to their professional status, they
exert authority (clients, students, participants to the research, supervised persons,
employees). Any form of abuse or authority is strictly forbidden.
Taking an active part to the decisional process
Art. V.7. Psychologists will ensure active and full participation of others to the decisional
process whenever this concerns them directly, by respecting their justified requests and
opinions, whenever this is possible.
Not entering the role
Art. V.8. Psychologists will abstain from entering a professional role whenever, out of
personal, scientific, legal, professional or financial reasons, (1) the objectivity, the
competences or the efficiency of their professional activity can be harmed, (2) there is a
risk of exploitation concerning clients/subjects.
Urging the consent
Art. V.9. Before beginning to provide any type of psychological service (assessment,
therapy, counseling etc.), psychologists will obtain informed consent from all the persons
involved, excepting the cases in which there are urgent needs, such as suicide actions. In
such cases, psychologists will continue their activity, according to the person’s assent,
still they will look forward to obtain the informed consent as soon as possible.

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Ensuring the consent
Art. V.10. Psychologists will make sure that during the process of obtaining the informed
consent, the following have been clearly understood: the goal and the nature of the
activity; the mutual responsibilities; both the advantages and the risks; the alternatives;
the circumstances in which the activity may be interrupted; the option of declining or
withholding the service at any moment, without suffering from any prejudice; the period
of time during which the consent stays available; alongside how exactly the consent may
be withhold, if the person demands this.
Delegating the consent
Art. V.11. If it ascertains to be impossible for the person that is about to be provided a
psychological service to give a consent, the consent will be acquired from someone close
to the person, who is able to legally protect his/her interests or from an authorized
individual, who can represent him/her, acoording to the law.
Continuity of the service provided
Art. V.12. If the psychologist encounters certain personal events or reasons, such as
health problems and is no longer available, he will do his best to ensure continuity of the
service he has been providing, by guiding his client towards a qualified and adequate
coleague, of course with as much as possible, the clients’ consent.
The right to oppose
Art. V.13. Excepting certain urgent situations, such as serious troubles of the
psychological functioning which demands immediat intervention, the psychologist
operates by respecting the client’s right to refuse or stop a certain psychological service.
VI. STANDARDS OF CONFIDENTIALITY
Interrupting the service out of confidentiality reasons
Art. VI.1. The relationship between psychologists and their clients often proves to be a
very delicate one, demanding the construction af an alliance which assures the necessary
conditions for the development of the professional activity. Hence, the confidentiality is a
must. Whenever, out of inevitable reasons, the psychologist can no longer respect
confidentiality, he will cease providing the specific service.
Protecting the confidentiality
Art. VI.2. Psychologists will protect the confidentiality of all the information gathered
during their professional activity and will refrain from disclosing the information they
posses regarding their coleagues and the coleagues’ clients, their students and the
members of the organization, excepting the following situations: protecting the public

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health; preventing an inevitable danger; preventing a criminal deed with all its
consequences. Disclosing data that have been entrusted or aknowledged by dint of their
proffesion is strictly forbidden if this transgress the confidentiality stipulation..
The limits of confidentiality
Art. VI.3. When providing their services and unfolding research activities, psychologists
will elucidate which are the measures, alongside the family, group, community
responsibilities to be undertaken in order to protect confidentiality. Before acquiring the
consent, they will inform the client regarding the limits and the conditions of
confidentiality, alongside the potential use of the outcomes of his activity.
Disclosing information
Art. VI.4. Psychologists are allowed to share confidential information only with the
consent of those who are involved or in such a manner as not to unveil one’s identity,
excepting certain legal situations or certain circumstances of potential or inevitable
physical injure or even murder.
Collaboration’ confidentiality
Art. VI.5. Whenever the case of two psychologists working with a client simultaneously,
they will collaborate as much as possible, without confidentiality restraints, excepting the
case in which the client obviously opposes. The auxiliary personnel will also preserve
confidentiality of the data they have acces to, by reason of their activities
Using the information
Art. VI.6. The psychologist’s results, references and notes can be used in merely such a
manner as to preserve the anonymity.
Confidentiality towards the parts involved
Art. VI.7. The psychologist will explain and clarify to the parts involved, if any, the
limits and stipulations of confidentiality and will not accept any of the parts’requests of
disclosing confidential data, unless the limits and laws of confidentiality are respected.
VII. STANDARDS OF COLLEGIAL CONDUCT (BEHAVIOR)
Collegial conduct (behavior)
Art. VII.1.Psychologists must show for their colleagues fairness, honesty, loyalty and
solidarity, their behavior being concordant with professional standards.

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Respect
Art. VII.2. Psychologists must show respect for their colleagues and mustn't express
ungrounded critics and labeling regarding their professional activity.
Avoidance of disparagement
Art. VII.3. Psychologists mustn't act, under no circumstances, in a depreciative manner
regarding their colleges and mustn't prevent clients to benefit other psychologist's
services, unless a serious reason with ethical implication in this direction.
Professional responsibility
Art. VII.4. When there is a justified intention for interrupting the psychological service
offered to the client and guiding it to another psychologist, the other psychologists have
to maintain a supportive and responsible contact for the client until the respective
psychologist assumes the continuation of the service.
The self referral
Art. VII.5. In the situation when psychologists community find different deviations of a
colleague from the present Code norms, they have to get preoccupied with the violation
of the ethical principles, attention the respective colleague discrete and collegial, and
contact the Ethics and Discipline Committee only if that behavior becomes continual.
Collegial support
Art. VII.6.Psychologists must support as much as they can the professional efforts in the
limits of their participative availability and available time.
Unfaithful competition
Art. VII.7.Psychologists mustn't practice unfaithful competition. Are banned and
considered unfaithful competition the following: the attempt and action of attracting and
diversioning the clients through disparagement and discrediting of another psychologist,
practicing under evaluated fees intentionally, knowing the anterior offert of another
psychologist, usage of a public function that the psychologist has with the proposal of
attracting clients, takeover of a contract that another psychologist has denounced based
on the provisions of the present Code; the supply of erroneous data regarding the
competency and the certification with the purpose of cheating the client.

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VII. STANDARDS FOR REGISTERING, PROCESSING AND STORAGE OF
DATA
Getting the permission
Art. VIII.1. Psychologists must get the permission of their clients or their tutors before
taking audio, video or written data during the process of serving the client or in research.
Data storage
Art. VIII.2.Psychologist must collect only the data that are relevant for the respective
service and must take all measures to protect this data. The original file and the eventual
copies can be kept only with the accord of the client.
Data protection
Art. VIII.3. Psychologists must get sure that the data they control stay identifiable as
much as long as they serve to the initial purpose, and present as anonymous or destroys
any kind of un useful data they control.
Data transfer
Art. VIII.4 The collected and registered data can be transferred to other psychologists
which take the case, consulted and used by colleagues no matter their certification if the
client has gave his consent unambiguously, and this consent hasn't been retired.
Data destruction
Art. VIII.5. If the psychologist gives up his professional practice throughout he collected
those data or if he gets retired, he should destroy those data. If the data have to be
transferred to another psychologist, the client has to give his consent, obtained before the
transfer. In the case of suspending or termination of the free practice right, data must be
destroyed if their transfer is not intended.

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XI. STANDARDS OF FEES
The right for fees
Art. IX.1. For each of their services, psychologists have the right to receive fees or a
salary, negotiated freely with the beneficiary or with a third-party.
Fees agree
Art. IX.2. The psychologists should establish, with the agree of the both sides, the value
and way of payment of the fee according to present law, without a fake presentation of
the fee.
Renegotiation
Art. IX.3. If because of some justified reasons the service demands restraints and
limitations, the initial agreement should be renegotiated as soon as possible. The
psychologists take the right to modify the value of the fee according to the new objective
situations appeared, with the advance notification and agree of the client.
Third-party payment
Art. IX.4. If the psychologist offers a service (consultance, administrative, clinic etc.)
whose fee is not intended to be paid by the direct client, but by a third-party, the payment
should be made, as possible, for the offered service and not throughout other specific
criteria of the third-party( diverse institutions).
The fee limits
Art. IX.5. The established fee depends on the quality of the offered service and the
professional competency of the psychologist, and the psychologist should be careful not
to request an unproportional fee compared to the value of the respective service.
Psychologists must not exploit their clients, and should precise, if necessary, the value of
the fee.

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X.STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC STATEMENTS AND ADVERTISEMENTS
Honesty in advertisement
Art. X.1. Psychologists can benefit for advertisement only based on their merits, avoid
promotion based on a fake professional palmers or exaggerate and only if they do not
take into account another psychologist activity.
There are not consider promotional activities nor those actions where the name or
professional activities are quoted in written or audiovisual materials realized by a third-
party with the purpose of informing the public and neither the public interventions of the
psychologists referred to their activity or their creations if there are not demanded or paid
by these.
Advertisement responsibilities
Art. X.2. (a) Psychologists who hires physical o juridical persons with the purpose of
creating and/or distributing messages that promote their professional practice, products or
their activities, must take the professional responsibility for those
messages.(b)Psychologists must not pay the audiovisual press employee or other forms of
public communication to get advertisement during news programs.(c)The advertisement
made for a psychologist must be explicit and identified clearly.
Art. X.3. Psychologists who handle announcements, catalogues, brochures or
advertisement for symposiums, seminaries or other educational programs and who do not
have a adequate competency will get sure they describe exactly the target public, the
program, the educational objectives and fees.
Representation in statements
Art. X.4. Psychologists must clarify if they act as simple citizens, as members of certain
organizations or groups when they make statements or get involved in public activities.
Public statements
Art. X.5. When a psychologist offers information, express publicly points of view on
professional themes and make public statements through mass-media, reviews or
electronic format, they must get assured that those correspond to their professional
competencies and do not get in conflict with the present Code.

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Public situations
Art. X.6. Psychologists take the entire responsibility for their public appearing, which has
to respect the norms of the present code. Psychologists must offer correct information
regarding their competencies and experience, academic titles, published papers and
results of their experiments, their professional status and affiliation to different
organizations, the services (and quality of these) they can offer and the fees.
SPECIFIC STANDARDS
XI.EDUCATION AND FORMING
The quality of educational and formative offer
Art. XI.1. Psychologists must get preoccupied with the educational and professional
forming programs, assuring that these provide the necessary and sufficient knowledge
and experience to prepare students and supervised at standards according to the
certifications, diplomas or academic/professional degrees which are going to be obtained.
The offered knowledge has to be based on experimental data and a scientific
argumentation.
Transparency
Art. XI.2.Psychologists who are responsible for educational or forming programs must
get sure that there is a recent and precise description of these: objectives, contain, benefits
and obligations that have to be accomplished to graduate the program, inclusive the ways
of taxes and fees.
Educational responsibility
Art. XI.3. Psychologist must get sure that the schedule of the courses cover the purposed
thematic, that the information is presented accurately, that there are adequate methods of
evaluating the progress and that the experiences described during the course are relevant.
Psychologists can modify the content or the demands of the course when they consider
those changes necessary or pedagogical desirable, as time as students and those
implicated in the development of the course are notified in advance.

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Framework limits of informing
Art. XI.4. Psychologists must not ask students or those supervised to reveal personal
information during the course activities or professional/supervised programs.
Conflicts of the evaluation
Art. XI.5. Psychologists from the superior learning institutions who grade academic
performance of students in a therapy form must not offer therapeutic services to students
they are evaluating, during the evaluation. In case of a course/program where individual
or group therapy is specified as an obligatory request, responsible psychologists with
development of the program must allow students to choose for the services of specialists
unaffiliated at the respective program.
Harassment and sexual relations
Art. XI.6. Psychologists must not sexually harass and develop sexual relations with
students or supervised from the department, center or institution where they work and
upon which they have or can have an evaluative authority.
Authority abuse
Art. XI.7. Being conscious of the influence they have as teachers or coordinators upon
student, course participants, and supervised, psychologists must not abuse of their
authority or humiliate or threaten under no circumstances integrity or self image of these.
Special certifications
Art. XI.8. Psychologist must not form persons who did not graduate a superior learning
form, do not have a certification, work experience or any other proof of certification
when the formation focuses on using special methods or techniques. (hypnosis,
biofeedback, advanced testing techniques).

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XII.THERAPY AND COUNSELLING
Client informing
Art. XII.1. During the informed consent obtaining process, psychologists must inform in
advance the client regarding the form of therapy used, methods, risks, alternatives, limits
of confidentiality, third-party implication, fees, and must offer any other information
requested by client. If the therapist is in supervised, but can accomplish legally and
professionally the therapeutic activity for he is in supervising, he must inform the client
these aspects as soon as possible and also must give the name of the supervisor therapist.
Consent for information reveal
Art. XII.2. In case of therapy or counseling meetings, the information obtained can be
transferred to those who take the respective clients, this information being accessible for
the other psychologists but also for supervised who are in a a therapeutic forming
process, but only with the advance given consent of those concerned by that information.
The intimacy of professional relation
Art. XII.3. Psychologists must benefit from consultancies, counseling or therapy services
from psychologists without the presents of a third-party, this present being allowed only
if it exists an agreement in this direction from client but also from psychologist.
Specifying the client
Art. XII.4. In the situation when the therapeutic process involves life-partner or other
members of the family, psychologists must clarify from the beginning their relations with
the respective person and specify who is the client: a given person, the couple relation,
the family. Also psychologists must specify which are the limits of confidentiality.
Additional specifications to the group therapy
Art. XII.5. During group therapy, psychologists must specify the group rules, the roles
and responsibilities which become to all participants and also the limits of confidentiality.
Complex service analyses

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Art. XII.6. In case the clients are already receiving psychological services from other
psychologists or specialists from other domains, the psychologist must analyze his
possibility of implication in a therapeutic relation(if this one is solicitude) by analyzing
the conditions, the potential benefits of the client, and also risks and confusions that can
intervene. Psychologist must explain to the client these aspects before obtaining the
consent.
Sexual intimacy with clients or persons related with them.
Art. XII.7. Psychologists must not engage in sexual relations with their clients, with those
persons about they know that are related with their clients (relatives, friends, other known
persons), and must not finish the therapy to avoid falling under the incidence of this
standard.
Therapy with sexual partners
Art. XII.8. Psychologists must not accept in therapeutic process persons they had sexual
relations with.
Sexual relations with former clients
Art. XII.9. Psychologists must not engage in any kind of sexual relations with former
clients for a period of at least 2 years from the end of the therapy. This does not mean that
after this period they can have intimate relations with former clients, being excepted only
the circumstances when they can prove that has not been any kind of exploitation during
those 2 years or after the end of the therapy.
End of the therapy due to lack of benefits
Art. XII.10. Psychologists must end any kind of therapy with their clients if there are
solid proofs that those have no ore benefits from continuing the therapy or when the
continual of this can lead to any kind of harm for the client.
Ending the therapy due to different reasons
Art. XII.11. Psychologists must end the therapy if the client engages in a relation with a
close person of the psychologist, and appears the risk of a multiple relationship, if there is
any kind of aggression from the client, or if the client demands it.

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Ending and continuing the therapy
Art. XII.12. If the psychologist is unavailable, and the therapy has to be interrupted for a
long period, than the psychologist must try to offer his client the possibility of continuing
the therapy with another psychologist, who is available and competent to continue the
therapy, and who can be informed regarding the level of the therapeutic process,
therapeutic actions started or ended until that moment, with the consent of the client.
Continuing the therapy with another therapist
Art. XII.13. Psychologist who takes a client from another psychologist due to a justified
reason, must examine carefully the development of the process until that moment,
potential risks, benefits, and if it is necessary can consult those persons involved in the
therapeutic process, at the end of these steps, psychologist being able to establish the
ways to continue the therapy.
XII.EVALUATION AND DIAGNOSIS
Presentation of psychological characteristics
Art. XIII.1. Psychologists are allowed to offer information about psychological
characteristics of their clients only after they realized a thoroughly assessment, able to
support scientifically and methodological their statements and conclusions, no matter if
they concern recommendations, reports or evaluations, précising the limits of their
statements, conclusions and recommendations.
If the psychologist realizes that the (re)examination is not justified or is unnecessary, then
he must explain this option, specifying the sources and documents which base those
conclusions.
Instruments usage conditions
Art. XIII.2. Psychologists must use (administrate, score, interpret) the methods and
techniques of evaluation in conformity with the norms of the Romanian Psychological
College. As a result, psychologists must use only those assessment instruments whose
technical characteristics (reliability and validity) have been established, which have been
standardized for the concerned population and have a manual of usage. In the conclusion
of the assessment, psychologist must specify the limits and results of the interpretations.
Psychologists must use assessment methods adapted to educational level of individuals,
excepting the case when usage of a sophisticated language or of another language is
relevant for the purpose of evaluation .Also, psychologists must respect the present

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legislation regarding the copyright for the assessment instruments being used, promoting
and respecting their colleagues work.
Consent for evaluation/diagnosis
Art. XIII.3. Psychologists must obtain the informed consent for assessment services,
being excepted only (1) when the case is demanded by law, (2) when testing is an
educational, institutional or organizational activity directed by internal norms, the
informed consent including explanation of the assessment nature, target, costs, third
party-implication, confidentiality limits, and possibility for the participant to formulate
questions and receive answers.
Psychologists must inform persons without their entire capacity of consent and persons
whose testing is remanded by law regarding the nature and target of assessment services
proposed, using a facile language for the person going to be tested.
Psychologists who use services of a translator must ask the consent of the client to use
those services, must get sure that those information stay confidential, the instruments are
secure, including the assessment papers.
Evaluation/diagnosis data
Art. XIII.4.Obtained data can be presented as gross or standardized scores, client’s
answers at questions or different stimulus, grades, recordings of psychologist, statements
and behavior of the client during the examination. Psychologists must present this data
under the shape of the result to the client and, if necessary to a third-party, only with the
consent of the client or during law related situations. Psychologists must avoid publishing
the data on purpose to protect the client of any kind of exploitation, abuse and
devaluation of data, being excepted from this situation the cases under the law incidence.
Assessment and diagnosis data are the property of the psychologist or institution that
realizes assessment/diagnosis and can be used only by those psychologists qualified for
using that type of instruments.
Instruments construction
Art. XIII.5.Psychologists who create or adapts tests and other measurement tools must
use procedures according to actual international standards concerning projecting of
instruments, standardization, validation, reduction or elimination of errors and must
specify the recommendations for instrument usage in the manual of the test.

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Results interpretation
Art. XIII.6.To interpret the results of the assessment (including computerized ones),
psychologists must take into consideration the purpose of assessment and many other
factors like testing skills, characteristics of the evaluated person (situational, personal,
linguistic and cultural) that can distract the judgment of the psychologist.
Certification for tests
Art. XIII.7.Psychologists must not promote/encourage the usage of psychological
assessment tools by uncertified and unauthorized persons, excepting the case of a
formation where exists an adequate oversee.
Actuality of assessment
Art. XIII.8.Psychologists must not base their decisions or recommendations on
old/superannuated tests, on inadequate data or on data which do not correspond to the
norms regarding assessment methods and techniques and psychological assistance
established by the College of Romanian Psychologists.
Responsibility in administrating the instruments
Psychologists who offer assessment techniques to other psychologists must accurately
present the aim, norms, validity, reliability and application rules for every procedure as
any other quality of these. Psychologists must assume the responsibility for application,
interpretation and adequate usage of assessment tools, no matter if they are going to
interpret the results themselves or use a computerized or any other kind of technique.
Presentation of results for the assessed persons
Art. XIII.10.No matter if the quotation and interpretation of data are made by
psychologists, employees, assistants of these ones or throughout automatic/computerized
methods, a psychologist must offer to the assessed person or to his tutor the necessary
explanations to understand the results, being excepted from this the situations when the
nature of assessment denies this (organizational and under law incidence assessment),
this aspect having to be explained to the assessed person before beginning the
procedures).

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Materials
Art. XIII.11.Assessement/diagnosis materials include the manual of the instrument, the
instrument, protocols, used questions or stimulus, necessary papers and forms, and do not
include data for assessment/diagnosis. Psychologists must assure instrument materials
and other assessment methods security and integrity through avoidance of giving those to
uncertified persons, respecting the copyright law and contractual stipulations concerning
instrument usage.
XIV. Scientific research and result capitalization
International standards
Art. XIV.1. In their research, psychologists will search, as much as possible, to promote
the newest methods of research used by the international psychological community,
respecting both standards of scientific rigor and ethical standards.
Research agreement
Art. XIV.2. When psychologists require approval from a certain institution in order to
carry out research, they will supply all the necessary data required and they will keep in
mind that the research protocol is compatible with the received approvals.
Obtaining consent
Art.XIV.3. While obtaining informed consent, psychologists will inform the participants
regarding the purpose, duration, procedures, risks, benefits and financial compensations,
confidentiality limits, right to withdraw from the project and generally, all the research
data requested by the participants and which they require to give their informed consent.
The use of audio-video support
Art.XIV.4. Psychologists will obtain informed consent from all participants to the
research for audio and video recordings, before these are carried out, offering guarantees
that these recordings will only be use in such a manner that identifying the participants
cannot cause damage to them.
Informing limitations
Art.XIV.5. Psychologists will not carry out studies and researches that involve
procedures of false research model presentation, unless the correct presentation
alternative is not scientifically viable or if it brings obvious alteration to the conclusions
of the research.

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Exception from consent
Art. XIV.6. Psychologists can disregard informed consent from the participants involved
in the research only if (a) the research cannot cause any type of damage (natural
observations, educational or curricular practices, anonymous question forms, archive
research) or (b) it is allowed by law.
Vulnerable persons and groups
Art.XIV.7. Psychologists will work towards examining in an ethical, independent, human
rights correct way and will take all precaution measures for all research that involves
vulnerable groups and/or people with a disability of giving their informed consent, before
they decide to begin.
Art.XIV.8. Psychologists will not use people with a disability to give their informed
consent in no study or research, if the study or research in question can be finalized just
as well with people that have full capacity to give their informed consent.
Manipulation through compensation increase
Art.XIV.9. Psychologists will avoid suggesting and giving the research participants
excessive financial compensations or other forms of stimulants for participation in the
research that might favor the obtaining of consent, especially when there is clear evidence
that there is a risk of inducing suffering and damage during the research.
Use of animals in research
Art. XIV.10. Psychologists that use animals in their research will avoid causing pain to
these, except in research that do not involve invasive methods that cause pain or lesions.
Data Accuracy
Art. XIV.11. Psychologists are not allowed to present false data for which the real
measurements have not been carried out. If they will find data presentation or particular
errors they will take the necessary measure to correct the errors, otherwise they will
cancel the research.
Plagiarism
Art. XIV.12. Psychologists will not present any data or results from other studies or
researches that do not belong to them.

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Status abuse
Art. XIV.13. Psychologists will be credited for the research and for the publishing of the
research only if their contribution is one of major value. This way psychologists can
distinguish between the main author of the research, the contributors, the minor
contributors and the status that each psychologist has. This way, the academic position,
the academic title, the social position or the department chief/manager position in an
institution gives no one credit for a main research position, unless they have a real
backing through the contribution they have brought to the research and not through their
academic or social status.
Data transmission
Art. XIV. 14. When there are requests of data use or verification from another researcher,
other than those involved directly in the research, psychologists will be allowed to offer
the research data only if the confidentiality of these information is kept by those who are
trusted with it and if there is a clear specification of the way these information are to be
used.
Data protection
Art. XIV.15. Psychologists will protect research data, making sure that these are kept in
secure conditions. Research protocols, research data or already published data can be kept
without restrictions but under the effect of ethical standards.
Scientific honesty
Art. XIV.16. Psychologists involved in the evaluation, monitoring, creation and reporting
of scientific research activities will manifest impartial and objective behavior and will
respect the rights to intellectual property. Research project or research result selection, in
the interest of publishing or practical use, will be based solely upon scientifically relevant
criteria, excluding any and all personal or extra-professional reasons.
Good conduct in scientific research
Art. XIV.17. In the scientific research activity, psychologists will avoid hiding or
removing unwanted results, fabricating results, replacing results with fictional data,
deliberately distorted interpretation of the results or conclusions, plagiarism of results or
other authors’ published work, incorrect authoring of a study/research, hiding conflicts of
interests, research fund embezzlement, not recording and/or storing results, the lack of
objectivity during evaluation, disrespecting confidentiality conditions or repeatedly
publishing or financing the same results as elements of scientific novelty.
Contradictory data, experimental or practical concept differences, data interpretation
differences, diverging opinions are not a breach of good conduct in scientific research.

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XV. Final dispositions
Art.XV.1. The ethical code of psychologists with a right to practice comes into action
once it is approved by the National Convention of the College of Psychologists in
Romania.
Art. XV.2. Psychologists have the responsibility to know and apply this Code. Any
actions regarding the profession that come in contradiction with the articles of the present
Code, imply disciplinary responsibility from the psychologists.
Art.XV.3. Members of the College of Psychologists in Romania will not admit as
professional any activity that is not in conformation with the principles and standards of
this Code.
Art.XV.4. All psychologists will cooperate with the Committee for Ethics and Discipline
of the College of Psychologists from Romania, both in supervising ethical conduct and in
promoting it. Refuse to cooperate will be considered a breach of this Code and therefore
the said psychologists will be sanctioned according to the Disciplinary Procedure Code.
Art.XV.5. To maintain the relevance and veracity of the code, it is revised by the
Committee of Ethics and Discipline of the College of Psychologists in Romania after a
period of 4 years or when the situation requires it.
The process of making an ethical decision
All 3 principles and 7 + 4 standards (7 general + 4 specific) must be taken into
consideration in order to make an ethical decision. Yet there are circumstances in which
ethical principles come into conflict with each other and the same importance cannot be
granted to each principle. The complexity of ethical dilemmas does not allow a firm
hierarchy of principles. Still, these 3 principles have been placed in order according to
their given importance.
This process must be a relatively fast one, leading to a simple solution to a problem with
ethical implications. This is simple in the case that no clear standards for those situations
exist and no conflict between principles and standards occurs. On the other hand, some
ethical aspects (especially those that imply a conflict between principles) cannot be
solved easily and require time for deliberation.
The following steps are considered to be the basic steps in taking an ethical decision.
1. Identifying the ethically relevant aspects and practices
2. Devising alternatives
3. Risk analysis, current, short-term and long-term benefits analysis for each
alternative devised regarding the individual/group that is involved and also the

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probability that this affects the client, family or colleagues of his, the institution
that employs the client, students, research participants, discipline, society.
4. Choosing the best course of action after consciously applying the principles and
standards of this Code.
5. Evaluation of the results of the chosen action
6. Taking responsibility for the consequences of the action, including correcting
negative consequences, if possible, or retrying to apply the decision-making
process once more if the ethical situation has not been solved.
7. Psychologists that are in a deliberation process, time-consuming as it is, are
encouraged and recommended to consult with colleagues or specialized people
from specialized bodies in the aspects of ethical dilemmas (e.g. the Committee of
Ethics and Discipline of the College of Psychologists from Romania) as this
might bring objectivity and clarification in the decision-making process. Even
though the decision of the course of action to be chosen belongs to the
psychologist, searching and resorting to such consultations shows professional
maturity and an ethical approach of the decision-making process.
Definition of terms
In the current Code the following terms have these definitions:
1. The psychologist represents any person that is a member, associate, graduate,
affiliate, or foreign affiliate to PCR
2. The client represents a person, a couple (as a relationship), a family or a group
(including organizations or communities) that are given psychological services
from a psychologist. Clients, participants to research, students and any other
persons that the psychologist comes in contact with during his professional
activity are independent if they have independently established a contract ori gave
their informed consent. The persons are partially dependant if the decision of the
contract or the informed consent is divided between 2 or more parties (e.g. parents
and school council, workers and company board, adult and his family). The
persons are considered completely dependant if they cannot choose (or can in a
very small measure) to receive a service or to take part in an activity (e.g. patients
that have involuntarily been subjected to psychiatric interventions, very young
children implied in research projects).
3. The subject represents a person that participates in a scientific research project,
either as a part of the experimental group, or as a witness.
4. The others represent any and all individuals or groups with whom the
psychologist comes in contact during his work. This term includes but is not
limited to participants in research; clients seeking help; students; supervisors;
employees; colleagues; employers; third parties and any other public members in
general.
5. Legal or civil rights represent those rights that are protected by law and
recognized as such.

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6. Moral rights represent the fundamental and inalienable rights of humans that can
and cannot be protected completely by the law. A special significance for
psychologists have the rights to: equal justice; honesty; developing an adequate
intimacy; self-determination; personal freedom. Protecting some aspects of these
rights can imply practices that are not continuous or controllable by the law. Also,
moral rights are not limited to those presented in this definition.
7. Discrimination represents the activity that prejudices or promotes prejudices
regarding persons based on their culture, nationality, ethnic descent, color or race,
religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, physical or intellectual
abilities, age, social and economical status and any other preferences, personal
traits, conditions or statuses.
8. Sexual harassment includes one or both of the following situations: (i) Use of
power or authority in the attempt to force a person to engage in or tolerate sexual
activities. This includes intimidation or forcing because of non-compliance or the
promise of a compensation or reward for compliance. (ii) Engaging in deliberate
and repeated unsolicited sexual remarks, gestures or touches if these acts are:
offensive and unwelcome, creating a hostile working environment, intimidating or
expected to be harmful to the client.
9. Psychology as a discipline implies a scientific aplication of methods, psychology
knowledge, procedures and structures used by psychologists in orienting their
activity regarding society, the members of society or between themselves.
10. Multiple relationship
A relationship is considered to be multiple in the case that:
a. At least two professional controls are exerted in reporting to another
person
b. There is a professional relationship with a person and at least one other
relationship with another person who is related or acquainted to the first
person.
c. There is common acquaintance close to both the psychologist and to the
person that benefits from the support of the psychologist
Avoiding multiple relationships is made in the spirit of respecting principles
in this Code, to keep objectivity, competence and efficiency of activities
undertaken by psychologists.
11. Client exploitation – the exploitation of lack of knowledge, lack of experience or
state of weakness in the case of vulnerable persons due to their psychiatric state,
to determine them to accept psychological services in prejudiced conditions for
them.