⚖️ Ethics & Professional Standards

Your Ethics Code
Requires This.
Your License Depends on It.

Child Psychological Abuse under DSM-5 V995.51 is mandatorily reportable child abuse. Every licensed mental health professional in the United States has a legal and ethical obligation to recognize it, document it, and report it. This page documents exactly what your ethics code requires — and what happens when it is not fulfilled.
APA Ethics Violations USP Standards Mandatory Reporting File a Complaint Self-Assessment
APA Ethics Codes USP Standards Mandatory Reporting File a Complaint Self-Assessment DOJ & Domestic Violence
Section 01
The APA Ethics Code Violations — Using Their Own Standards Against the Failure
The APA Ethics Code is the professional standard that every licensed psychologist in the United States is bound by. The following standards — taken directly from the APA Ethics Code — establish the professional obligations that clinicians working in family court settings have violated by failing to recognize, document, and report Child Psychological Abuse under DSM-5 V995.51.
2.01a
APA Ethics
Standard 2.01(a)
Boundaries of Competence
What the standard requires: Psychologists provide services, teach, and conduct research with populations and in areas only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience.

A clinician who works with children and families in high-conflict custody settings and cannot identify Child Psychological Abuse under DSM-5 V995.51 is practicing outside the boundaries of their competence. The diagnostic standard exists. The clinical framework exists. Ignorance of both is a competence failure — not an excuse.
The Ethics Exposure
Every clinician who conducts custody evaluations, provides reunification therapy, or works with children in high-conflict custody proceedings without training in DSM-5 V995.51 and the Childress three-indicator framework is practicing outside their competence under Standard 2.01a. This is not a gray area. This is the APA's own standard applied to the APA's own diagnostic code.
2.03
APA Ethics
Standard 2.03
Maintaining Competence
What the standard requires: Psychologists undertake ongoing efforts to develop and maintain their competence. DSM-5 V995.51 was published in 2013. The APA's own research confirming that childhood psychological abuse is as harmful as physical or sexual abuse was published in 2014. Any clinician who works with children and families and is not current on DSM-5 V995.51 has failed to maintain their competence in a directly relevant clinical area for over a decade.
The Ethics Exposure
Not knowing that DSM-5 V995.51 exists — twelve years after it was published in the APA's own manual — is a documented failure to maintain competence under Standard 2.03. A clinician who encounters Child Psychological Abuse in their practice and does not recognize it because they have not maintained currency with their own profession's diagnostic standards has an active ethics violation.
2.04
APA Ethics
Standard 2.04
Bases for Scientific and Professional Judgments
What the standard requires: Psychologists' work is based upon established scientific and professional knowledge of the discipline. A clinician who produces a custody evaluation that dismisses Child Psychological Abuse without applying the Childress three-indicator framework — which is grounded in the established research of Bowlby, Minuchin, and Beck — is not basing their professional judgment on established scientific knowledge. They are producing an evaluation that is scientifically unsupported.
The Ethics Exposure
Custody evaluations that do not assess for DSM-5 V995.51 using an established clinical framework — and that instead use non-DSM terminology such as Child Psychological Abuse — DSM-5 V995.51, which does not exist in the DSM — are not based on established scientific and professional knowledge. They violate Standard 2.04 and may constitute grounds for an ethics complaint and license review.
3.04
APA Ethics
Standard 3.04
Avoiding Harm
What the standard requires: Psychologists take reasonable steps to avoid harming their clients/patients, students, supervisees, research participants, organizational clients, and others with whom they work, and to minimize harm where it is foreseeable and unavoidable. A clinician who produces an evaluation that gives clinical cover to an abuser — who declares that a child's complete rejection of a loving parent is a normal preference rather than a clinical symptom of Child Psychological Abuse — is causing documented harm to the targeted child and the targeted parent.
The Ethics Exposure
A clinician who fails to identify Child Psychological Abuse and instead provides a clinical opinion that supports the continuation of the abusive family dynamic is not avoiding harm — they are facilitating it. Every report that gives clinical cover to Child Psychological Abuse is a document that enables continued abuse of a child. That is not a neutral professional act. It is an ethics violation under Standard 3.04.
4.05
APA Ethics
Standard 4.05(b)
Disclosures — Mandatory Reporting Exception
What the standard requires: Psychologists disclose confidential information without the consent of the individual only as mandated by law, or where permitted by law for a valid purpose such as to protect the client/patient, psychologist, or others from harm. Mandatory reporting laws in every state require disclosure of suspected child abuse. DSM-5 V995.51 — Child Psychological Abuse — is child abuse under those laws. Standard 4.05(b) explicitly acknowledges and supports mandatory disclosure for child protection purposes.
The Ethics Exposure
A clinician who encounters Child Psychological Abuse in their practice and does not file a mandatory report — citing confidentiality as a reason — is misapplying the confidentiality standard. Standard 4.05(b) explicitly provides for mandatory reporting disclosures. Confidentiality does not protect child abusers. Filing a mandatory report is not an ethics violation. Failing to file one is.
9.01
APA Ethics
Standard 9.01(a)
Bases for Assessments
What the standard requires: Psychologists base the opinions contained in their recommendations, reports, and diagnostic or evaluative statements, including forensic testimony, on information and techniques sufficient to substantiate their findings. A custody evaluation that does not include assessment for DSM-5 V995.51 using an established clinical framework does not have an adequate base for its conclusions about the presence or absence of Child Psychological Abuse.
The Ethics Exposure
Any custody evaluation that renders an opinion about a child's relationship with a targeted parent — without assessing for DSM-5 V995.51 using the Childress three-indicator framework or an equivalent established clinical methodology — lacks the adequate informational base required by Standard 9.01(a). Evaluations that dismiss Child Psychological Abuse without applying established clinical criteria are professionally and ethically indefensible.
Section 02
US Psychology Organization Professional Standards
Every US Psychology Organization member and certified professional is bound by the following standards — standards that build on the APA Ethics Code and extend it to specifically address the clinical and ethical obligations that the APA's own code requires but that no institution has enforced.
USP STANDARD 01
Competence in Child Psychological Abuse Recognition
Every USP member who works with children and families in custody or family court settings must maintain current competence in the recognition of Child Psychological Abuse under DSM-5 V995.51 and the Childress three-indicator framework. This competence must be demonstrated through USP certification and maintained through annual renewal requirements.
USP STANDARD 02
Mandatory Reporting Without Exception
Every USP member who encounters the clinical presentation of Child Psychological Abuse in their professional practice is required to file a mandatory child abuse report with the appropriate state agency. Failure to report when the three Childress indicators are present is a violation of USP professional standards and grounds for suspension of certification.
USP STANDARD 03
Independence from the Captured System
No USP certified professional may simultaneously hold a position, appointment, or significant financial relationship with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts or any affiliated organization whose financial interests are served by the continuation of high-conflict family court proceedings without resolution through mandatory reporting and clinical intervention.
USP STANDARD 04
Scientific Foundation of All Assessments
Every clinical assessment conducted by a USP certified professional must be grounded in established peer-reviewed science and the DSM-5 diagnostic standard. Non-DSM terminology that bypasses mandatory reporting obligations — including Child Psychological Abuse — DSM-5 V995.51, which does not exist in the DSM-5 — may not be used as a substitute for the established clinical framework in any USP assessment or report.
USP STANDARD 05
Child Protection as the Primary Obligation
The protection of children from psychological abuse is the primary professional obligation of every USP member. No financial relationship, professional affiliation, court appointment, or institutional pressure may be used to justify the failure to recognize, document, or report Child Psychological Abuse when the clinical indicators are present.
USP STANDARD 06
Transparency and Public Accountability
Every USP certified professional maintains a publicly verifiable certification record at USPsychology.com/verify. Any professional who represents themselves as USP certified without a valid current certification is subject to referral to their state licensing board for misrepresentation of professional credentials.
USP STANDARD 07
Documentation Standards
Every clinical assessment for Child Psychological Abuse conducted by a USP certified clinician must produce a complete clinical documentation package using CAPA or equivalent USP-approved methodology — including encrypted secure storage, tamper-proof documentation, and multi-clinician independent review capability. Clinical opinions without documented assessment methodology are not acceptable under USP standards.
USP STANDARD 08
Whistleblower Protection
US Psychology Organization will document, support, and publicly advocate for any USP member who faces retaliation — including licensing board complaints, court sanctions, or professional consequences — for correctly identifying and reporting Child Psychological Abuse. The documented record of retaliation against Dr. C.A. Childress is the precedent this standard was written to address.
Section 03
Mandatory Reporting — What the Law Requires
Every state in the United States has a mandatory reporting statute requiring licensed professionals to report suspected child abuse. Child Psychological Abuse under DSM-5 V995.51 is child abuse under every one of those statutes. Here is what the law requires — and what happens when it is not followed.
Who Is Required to Report
Every licensed mental health professional. Every physician. Every nurse. Every social worker. Every teacher. Every law enforcement officer. Every attorney in states with mandatory reporting for attorneys. Every court-appointed guardian ad litem. In most states — every adult who has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse.
What Triggers the Obligation
Reasonable cause to suspect — not certainty. Not proof. Not a clinical diagnosis. If you have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is experiencing psychological abuse as defined under DSM-5 V995.51 — you are required to report. The investigation is the responsibility of the receiving agency. The report is your responsibility.
Criminal Penalties for Failure
Failure to report suspected child abuse is a criminal offense in every state. Penalties include up to six months in county jail and fines up to $1,000 — and in states where the failure to report results in death or great bodily injury, up to one year of incarceration and fines up to $5,000. Professional consequences include license revocation and loss of employment.
The Non-DSM Terminology Problem
Child Psychological Abuse — DSM-5 V995.51 does not exist in the DSM-5. It has no mandatory reporting obligation attached to it. The deliberate use of non-DSM terminology to describe Child Psychological Abuse is a mechanism that bypasses mandatory reporting. Clinicians who use this terminology to describe what is clinically DSM-5 V995.51 are — whether knowingly or not — enabling the abuse to continue without triggering the mandatory reporting mechanism the law requires.
When Law Enforcement Refuses
If you file a mandatory report and law enforcement or child protective services refuses to investigate — document everything. The refusal itself is a documented institutional failure. A USP Certified Attorney can file a motion placing the refusing agency on formal notice of their mandatory reporting obligations — creating civil liability for continued refusal. The refusal does not end your obligation. It creates a new one — to document and escalate.
Your Immunity When You Report
Every state provides immunity from civil or criminal liability for mandatory reporters who make a report in good faith. You cannot be sued for filing a mandatory report if you had reasonable cause to suspect abuse. You CAN be criminally prosecuted for failing to file one. The legal risk runs entirely in one direction — toward silence, not toward reporting.
Section 04
Filing an Ethics Complaint — Using Their Own Standards Against the Failure
Dr. Childress is going after the licensing boards using their own ethics codes. This section documents how. Every targeted parent, every clinician who has witnessed this failure, and every professional who has been retaliated against for doing the right thing has standing to file.
How to File an Ethics Complaint
1
Document Everything First
Before filing any complaint gather all documentation — every court order, every evaluation, every email, every correspondence with law enforcement and DSS. The complaint is only as strong as the documentation behind it. US Psychology Organization's accountability archive is a resource for this documentation.
2
Identify the Specific Ethics Violations
Match the clinician's conduct to specific APA Ethics Code standards — 2.01a, 2.03, 2.04, 3.04, 4.05, 9.01. Be specific. Name the standard. Describe exactly how the conduct violated it. Use the language of the standard itself.
3
File with the State Licensing Board
Every state has a psychology licensing board with an ethics complaint process. File with the board in the state where the clinician is licensed. Include all documentation, the specific standards violated, and the clinical basis for the violation — DSM-5 V995.51, the three indicators, and the mandatory reporting obligation.
4
File with the APA Ethics Committee
If the clinician is an APA member file an ethics complaint with the APA Ethics Committee simultaneously. The APA's own committee is bound by the same ethics code. Document the complaint and all correspondence — if the APA's own ethics committee fails to act on a complaint that uses their own standards, that failure is itself part of the documented institutional record.
5
Send to US Psychology Organization
Send copies of every complaint and every response — or non-response — to [email protected]. We preserve every complaint in the permanent accountability archive and document patterns of institutional failure across state lines. Your complaint is not just about one clinician. It is part of the documented record that the DOJ, the UN, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights are reviewing.
6
Document the Board's Response
Whatever the licensing board does — or does not do — document it completely. If they dismiss the complaint without investigation that dismissal is itself evidence of Institutional Capture. Dr. Childress is pursuing this approach directly — using the boards' own ethics codes to establish that the boards themselves are violating their public protection mandate.
File With — APA Ethics
APA Ethics Committee
File ethics complaints against APA member psychologists directly with the APA Ethics Committee. Include the specific standards violated — 2.01a, 2.03, 2.04, 3.04, 4.05, 9.01 — and the clinical basis for each violation.
[email protected] →
File With — Your State
State Psychology Licensing Board
File with the licensing board in the state where the clinician is licensed. Contact US Psychology Organization for your state's specific complaint process and the correct contact information.
Get State Board Contact →
Submit to USP
US Psychology Organization Archive
Send every complaint and every response to USP for inclusion in the permanent accountability archive. Your documentation contributes to the pattern evidence being submitted to the DOJ and oversight bodies.
[email protected] →
The Childress Approach
Going After Licensing Boards Using Their Own Ethics Codes
Dr. C.A. Childress, Psy.D. is pursuing a direct approach — filing complaints against licensing board members themselves for violating their public protection mandate when they strip licenses from clinicians who correctly identify and report Child Psychological Abuse. Using the institutions' own standards against the institutional capture that has corrupted them. US Psychology Organization supports and documents this work.
Read: Institutional Capture →
Section 05
Professional Self-Assessment — Are You In Compliance?
If you work with children and families in custody or family court settings — answer these questions honestly. Your license and the children in your care depend on it.
  • ?
    Can you define DSM-5 V995.51 — Child Psychological Abuse — and explain what clinical presentation triggers the diagnostic code?
  • ?
    Can you identify the three Childress diagnostic indicators and apply them to a clinical case?
  • ?
    Can you identify Shared Persecutory Delusion — Folie à Deux — and Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another in a family court clinical presentation?
  • ?
    Do you know your state's exact mandatory reporting statute number and what clinical threshold triggers your reporting obligation?
  • ?
    Have you encountered what may have been Child Psychological Abuse in your caseload and not filed a mandatory report?
  • ?
    Have you produced a custody evaluation or clinical opinion about a child's relationship with a parent without assessing for DSM-5 V995.51?
  • ?
    Have you used the term Child Psychological Abuse — DSM-5 V995.51 — a non-DSM term — instead of DSM-5 V995.51 to describe a child's rejection of a parent?
  • ?
    Can you distinguish Child Psychological Abuse from legitimate estrangement and from genuine abuse by the targeted parent — using established clinical criteria?
If You Cannot Answer Yes to Questions 1-4
You have an active competence exposure under APA Ethics Standards 2.01a and 2.03. You are practicing in a clinical area without the training your own ethics code requires. Every session with a family in a high-conflict custody situation without this competence is documented exposure. USP certification closes this gap.
If You Answered Yes to Questions 5 or 6
You have a potential mandatory reporting violation and an active ethics exposure under Standards 3.04 and 4.05. The obligation to report does not expire. Consult with a licensed attorney about your state's reporting requirements and consider filing a late report. Contact US Psychology Organization for guidance.
If You Answered Yes to Question 7
Using Child Psychological Abuse — DSM-5 V995.51 — a non-DSM term — instead of DSM-5 V995.51 in a clinical report is a violation of Standard 2.04 — Bases for Scientific and Professional Judgments. Your professional opinions must be based on established scientific knowledge. Non-DSM terminology that bypasses mandatory reporting is not established scientific knowledge. It is a mechanism of Institutional Capture.
🏛️
United States Department of JusticeOffice on Violence Against Women — Domestic Violence Definition
The DOJ Connection
Child Psychological Abuse Is Domestic Violence.
The DOJ Says So.
"A pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship — including... damaging one's relationship with his or her children."
— United States Department of Justice — Office on Violence Against Women — Domestic Violence Definition
Child Psychological Abuse in family court settings is not only abuse of the child. It is domestic violence against the targeted parent — explicitly recognized as such by the United States Department of Justice. The allied parent who conditions a child to reject a loving parent is engaging in a documented form of coercive control that the DOJ classifies as domestic violence. This means that every clinician, law enforcement officer, and mandatory reporter who works with domestic violence victims has a professional and legal obligation to recognize and respond to Child Psychological Abuse as the domestic violence it is.
Read the Complete Clinical Definition →
Your Ethics Code Requires This.
Get Certified. Stay Compliant.
US Psychology Organization certification trains you to meet every ethical obligation documented on this page — and gives you the clinical tools to fulfill your mandatory reporting requirements in every case.
Get Certified → Read the APA Accountability Report