Gavazzi, J. D., & Knapp, S. K. (2025, September).
Psychotherapy Bulletin, 60(4).
In this article, we examine three insidious yet common processes that can erode ethical integrity in psychological practice: ethical settling, ethical fading, and ethical drift. Ethical settling occurs when practitioners limit their conduct to the bare minimum required by law or code, sacrificing aspirational ethics for mere compliance. Ethical fading describes the unconscious displacement of ethical considerations by competing priorities such as efficiency, convenience, or social pressures. Ethical drift involves the gradual, often rationalized, deviation from professional standards, where clinicians knowingly justify increasingly problematic behaviors under the guise of good intentions or contextual necessity. Through illustrative case examples and integration of current literature, the article underscores how even well-meaning psychologists can inadvertently compromise patient care and professional boundaries. To counter these risks, the authors advocate for a “positive ethics” approach—grounded in beneficence, autonomy, and ongoing moral reflection—and offer concrete recommendations: embedding ethical awareness into daily practice, engaging in regular self-reflection and peer consultation, and utilizing structured ethical decision-making models. This article serves as both a caution and a call to action, urging psychologists to move beyond risk avoidance toward a sustained commitment to excellence, integrity, and the highest ideals of the profession.
