Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Southwest Human Development, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Infant Ment Health J. 2023 Sep;44(5):625-637. doi: 10.1002/imhj.22077. Epub 2023 Jul 22.
In this paper, we consider whether the field of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) needs its own code of ethics. We begin by describing unique features of infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) and the diverse strategies that the field has developed to address complex clinical dilemmas, among them workforce development, clinical supports, policy statements, and statements of ethical values. Because of the field's interdisciplinary nature, we also consider how various contributing professions and organizations address ethical issues. While these are important resources that can inform ethical decision-making, we identify some of the limitations of the current approaches. We argue that it is time for the field of IECMH to take an intentional, systematic approach to directly address the complex and unique ethical dilemmas faced by infant and early childhood mental health practitioners, and we grapple with some of the challenges developing such a code might entail. We suggest several avenues for better understanding the scope of ethical issues and ethical decision-making processes in IECMH that could be used to support developing an ethics code that is responsive to the unique and challenging world of infant and early childhood mental health.
在本文中，我们探讨了婴幼儿心理健康（IECMH）领域是否需要制定自己的伦理准则。我们首先描述了婴幼儿心理健康（IECMH）的独特特征，以及该领域为解决复杂临床困境而制定的各种策略，包括劳动力发展、临床支持、政策声明和道德价值观声明。由于该领域的跨学科性质，我们还考虑了各个相关专业和组织如何处理伦理问题。虽然这些都是可以为伦理决策提供信息的重要资源，但我们也发现了当前方法的一些局限性。我们认为，现在是 IECMH 领域采取有计划、系统的方法，直接解决婴幼儿心理健康从业者所面临的复杂而独特的伦理困境的时候了，我们也在努力应对制定这样一个准则可能带来的一些挑战。我们提出了几种更好地理解 IECMH 中伦理问题和伦理决策过程的范围的途径，这些途径可以用来支持制定一个对婴幼儿心理健康这一独特而具有挑战性的世界有回应的伦理准则。
