Challenges of Professional Ethics Among Military Psychologists; A Qualitative Approach

Military psychologists and mental health professionals live and work alongside their potential patients. For the most important concerns of military psychologists are multiple relationships, confidentiality, sudden role shifts and avoiding harm. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of the military psychologists regarding ethical challenges in the counseling centers of one of the Iranian military forces. This qualitative and content analysis study was performed on 31 military psychologists during 2019. Participants had a master's degree in one of the psychology majors and 5-15 years of work experience. Data were collected by electronic questionnaire, due to access difficulty. The most important challenges of professional ethics mentioned by the participants included boundaries of competence, confidentiality, multiple relationships, and sudden role shifts. The results of this study showed that one of the problems affecting the performance of military psychologists is ethics’ issues and its challenges. Thus, according to this study, to better manage possible ethical challenges for military psychologists, they are suggested to participate in workshops and become acquainted with important ethical decisions and ethical conflicts inherent to military settings, be active in obtaining consultation and supervisions, and involve themselves in self-monitoring programs to consistently make good ethical decisions.