In this case, the psychologist is presented with several ethical issues that could cause harm to the client. The first ethical issue that emerged in this case is the potential role conflict. The psychologist and Mr. Hartwig had contact prior to the development of a therapeutic relationship when the psychologist purchased a car from Mr. Hartwig. It may not be enough for the brief informal relationship to end. The psychologist must evaluate the dimensions of the previous relationship from the client's perspective as well as his or her personal feelings (Koocher & Keith-Spiegel, 2008). For example, the client may feel that he has given a lot to the psychologist and that the psychologist is indebted to him. This could leave the psychologist vulnerable to manipulation by the client. Or, what would happen if the car broke down? This may leave the psychologist feeling like he or she has been deceived and result in hostile feelings toward the client. The psychologist has an ethical responsibility to examine both relationships for possible role incompatibilities before forming a therapeutic relationship. The psychologist appeared to be aware of the potential role conflict arising from their first meeting and acted ethically in attempting to refer Mr Hartwig to a psychological register. It should be emphasized that not all dual relationships can be avoided. They live in a small town, and it's possible that this psychologist was best qualified to help them deal with work-related stress. The psychologist should therefore have consulted the appropriate APA guidelines which state that “multiple relationships that would not reasonably be expected to cause impairment or risk of exploitation or harm are not unethical” (APA, 2010). Given this ethical guideline… halfway through the document… I formulated a plan to protect the client from causing harm to themselves in the future. The sixth ethical problem arises when the client is denied access to his or her medical records. . Currently, HIPPA (2006) grants clients access to their medical records. An exception to this occurs if the information in the medical record is “reasonably likely” to cause harm to the client (HIPPA, 2006; APA, 2002). The documents were unlikely to cause harm to the patient and, therefore, the client should have had access to them. Works Cited Koocher, G. P., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). Ethics in psychology and mental health professions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. American Psychiatric Association. (2010). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. American Psychological Association (APA), Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx