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Objective: The authors reviewed and characterized conflict of interest (COI) and disclosure policies published in peer-reviewed psychiatric and nonpsychiatric journals. Methods: The authors examined peer-reviewed publications in the psychiatric (N=20) and nonpsychiatric (N=20) literature. Using qualitative and quantitative approaches, they designed an instrument to compare COI and disclosure policies appearing in print or journal websites between January and May 2009. Results: All journals published COI/disclosure policies that were accessible in print and online. There was substantial variability in policies, but little variability appeared to be field-specific. Psychiatric journals were more likely to request "complete" disclosure, and nonpsychiatric journals to request "relevant" disclosure, but medical journals tended to provide more detailed information about what could constitute a potential conflict and asked for broader, potentially relevant funding sources. Nonpsychiatric journals were more likely to give examples in their policies. Psychiatric journals were more likely to publish disclosures. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests that there are discrepancies in the disclosure and COI information that journals request from authors. By and large, such discrepancies are not substantially different between psychiatric and nonpsychiatric journals. Challenges in codifying COI policies and creating standardized approaches across periodicals and across disciplines may reflect ongoing debates about what exactly constitutes a COI, what needs to be disclosed, and who is responsible for disclosing. Further study is warranted into how journals convey COI policies and how such policies can be optimized. (Contains 2 tables.)

Objective: We aim to consider issues relevant to psychiatry raised by the television series, Transparent.Conclusions: Psychiatry's disturbing history regarding the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community shares many aspects with the group's persecution by the National Socialist regime in Germany. The medicalised 'otherness' conferred on LGBTI patients, latent homophobia and transphobia, and lack of culturally sensitive clinical services for these people represent a major ethical challenge for modern Australasian psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To review the ethical problems posed by the participation of psychiatrists in various forms of lay media and propose a method of resolving quandaries in this area.Conclusions: We review the potential ethical problems that arise when psychiatrists make contributions to the lay media, particularly when commentary and opinion reflects the views of the individual rather than the profession. The issues raised by the North American injunction known as the "Goldwater Rule" are pertinent to Australasia, particularly when media statements made by psychiatrists may seem to diminish the profession through politicisation, polemic, or bringing the profession and the field into disrepute. We propose a series of reflective questions to assist psychiatrists in Australasia to deliberate on the potential ethical problems arising from their participation in media activities. We conclude that it is for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists to formulate an approach to situations where the media activities of Fellows raise such problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a case study regarding coercive bullying which involves nurses in a mental health unit and the impact of the said behavior on the patient. It mentions that the study examined the case involving the inquiry of an Australian nurse regulatory tribunal after receiving complaints related to care of psychiatric patient in 2011. The study shows that nurses have the potential to deviant, controlling, and aggressive, saying that the said behaviors must not be ignored. Moreover, it adds that nurses also make considerable effort to ensure the quality of the service that they provide.

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to examine whether advertising in the College journals and at RANZCP Congress, in particular from pharmaceutical companies, gives rise to a conflict of interests, and to discuss how this should be managed. Conclusions: While advertising will often represent a conflict of interests, banning advertising from the College journals or Congress is unlikely to the best way to manage this. Conflicts of interest may be better managed by development of clear policies on advertisements, broadening the advertising base (i.e. beyond pharmaceutical companies), checking the accuracy of advertisements, and, in the case of Congress, ceasing sponsored symposia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify the core values of Australian psychiatrists to ascertain how these are reflected in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Code of Ethics. Method: An ethnomethodological study was conducted on a non-purposive sample of Australian psychiatrists using a non-probabilistic theoretical sampling method. Data obtained at interview were analysed using a qualitative computer-assisted thematic analysis paradigm. The themes generated using this coding strategy were refined into a rich description of the core values held by Australian psychiatrists. Results: Four main values emerged from the data: the value of the patient, the value of sophisticated understanding, the value of reflexivity, and the value of advocacy. Conclusions: The four main values identified in the present study were well reflected in the main principles of the RANZCP Code of Ethics. In the light of the data, some additional annotations to the document are suggested, to better reflect this value system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the various potential manifestations of the dual-role dilemma in the psychiatric ethics literature. Method: The terms 'dual role', 'dual agency', 'overlapping roles', and 'double agency' were searched on the electronic databases PubMed, Medline, Embase and PsychInfo. Classic papers in the field of psychiatric ethics and their references were manually searched. Papers were selected for relevance to the topic of the dual-role dilemma in relation to psychiatry. Results: The dual-role dilemma is most explicitly addressed in the literature on forensic psychiatry and military psychiatry. Review of the ethics literature in other fields of psychiatry indicates many instances of the dilemma of psychiatrists facing conflicting obligations akin to the dual-role problem identified in the literature on forensic psychiatry. Many of these dilemmas are characterized by the presence of a powerful third party to whom the psychiatrist has some perceived obligations. Conclusions: In psychiatric ethics, the dual-role dilemma refers to the tension between psychiatrists' obligations of beneficence towards their patients, and conflicting obligations to the community, third parties, other health-care workers, or the pursuit of knowledge in the field. These conflicting obligations transcend a conflict of interest in that the expectations of the psychiatrist, other than the patient's best interests, are so compelling. This tension illustrates how the discourse in psychiatric ethics is embedded in the social and cultural context of the situations encountered. It appears that as society changes in its approach to the value of liberal autonomy and the 'collective good', psychiatrists may also need to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the narrative ethics in psychiatry. Psychiatric narratives serve the roles of both providing a means of moral reflection for psychiatrists in the light of stories and a de facto role of influencing public perceptions of issues such as psychopathology and the treatment of psychiatric disorder. The article discusses psychiatric narratives in the context of the depiction of adolescents in literature. It also explores the dialectic between psychiatric narratives and the narratives in literature.

The article discusses the ethics of psychiatric diagnosis. The article explores the ethical issues surrounding the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" system of psychiatric diagnosis. It assesses the philosophical underpinnings of psychiatric diagnosis and describes its implications. It also reviews the misuse of psychiatric diagnosis in recent history.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to consider the application of principle-based medical ethics to psychiatry. Conclusions: Principles-based medical ethics is a useful tool for resolving ethical dilemmas in psychiatryin that clinical aspects of ethical dilemmas can be better articulated then in other methods . The ethical dilemmas unique to psychiatry, such as those related to impairment of autonomy, present a challenge to the method. After considering a case example, we conclude that psychiatrists can best utilise a principles based approach to ethical dilemmas when they combine this with a level of critical reflection in the light of other ethical theories, such as virtue ethics, as well as close consideration of the clinical and social context of the ethical dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this paper is to describe the method of ethical analysis known as casuistry and consider its merits as a basis of ethical deliberation in psychiatry. Conclusions: Casuistry approximates the legal arguments of common law. It examines ethical dilemmas by adopting a taxonomic approach to 'paradigm' cases, using a technique akin to that of normative analogical reasoning. Casuistry offers a useful method in ethical reasoning through providing a practical means of evaluating the merits of a particular course of action in a particular clinical situation. As a method ethical moral reasoning in psychiatry, casuistry suffers from a paucity of paradigm cases and its failure to fully contextualize ethical dilemmas by relying on common morality theory as its basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The ethics of publishing in psychiatry has gained only limited attention. We examine, in a historical context, pertinent ethical problems and offer a series of recommendations for dealing with them. Method: The study was conducted by exploration of medical databases and websites, and systematic discussion with ethicists, legal experts, publishers and researchers. Results: Serious ‘publishing misconduct’ appears to have been rare in the psychiatric literature, but any occurrence of redundant publication, plagiarism and publication of fraudulent or inhumane research is disturbing and should be prevented. Difficulties around authorship, sensitive use of language, conflict of interest and bias in the publishing process are additional issues claiming our attention. Conclusions: A clearly articulated publishing ethos is desirable. Potential strategies to achieve this include devising guidelines on publishing ethics, teaching the subject to new writers, journals committing themselves to the ethical dimension of their operations, and penalising colleagues who violate agreed principles of good conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on character and workplace conduct as well as their need for emphasis. He mentions a query on the percentage of achiever-survivors who started with ethical aims and remained committed to honourable behaviour towards others in challenging conditions. He notes career planning as an intellectual, intentional and practical activity. He also points out its relation to academic career and promotion.

TOPIC: E-mail interviewing-not to be confused with 'online surveying'-shows promise for researchers working with adolescent mental health populations as a data collection method. PURPOSE: To explore potential advantages, constraints, and applications of e-mail interviewing as a research method for staff working with adolescent mental health populations. CONCLUSIONS: At face value, there appear to be several advantages to e-mail interviewing with young populations and further exploration of this method is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: The oral and written presentation of work arising from clinical practice, service development, quality improvement projects and research is presently encouraged and supported. Because this work may involve consumers, staff and the organization, it is important that proper consideration is given to how the work is disseminated, including any ethical implications. There is a need to ensure that consumers, staff, facilities, the organization and intellectual property are protected from any potential concerns that may arise. This research note provides protocols and a checklist that may be of interest and may be relevant for clinicians and researchers to review and appraise their work before oral or written presentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author seeks to promote the healthy development of ideas that may advance scientific knowledge, ensuring that this occurs in academic integrity with minimal tension and conflict. He suggests the importance of having clarity around what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in relation to using the developing ideas of others. He elaborates on the grey areas on a behaviour continuum. He also offers tips on developing scholarly projects and considering sharing ideas.