California Law and Professional Ethics

Course Format

This course contains downloadable online lessons (PDF) and a practice test. When you're ready, purchase the course by clicking the "Add To Cart" button. This will let you take the test, complete the course evaluation and receive your certificate for CE credits.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss established ethical and legal requirements contained in the Statutes and Regulations Relating to the Practices of Professional Clinical Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Educational Psychology, Clinical Social Work and specified in the ethical codes for the professions identified.
• Recognize common ethical dilemmas.
• Identify elements of licensing law and licensure processes for mental health professionals.
• Define confidentiality, limits of confidentiality, and informed consent.
• Explain relevant California laws governing professional practice, including laws regarding minors’ consent and confidentiality, mandated reporting, Laura’s Law, and laws governing subpoenas.
• Discuss the Tarasoff and Ewing rulings related to the professional duty to warn (now referred to as the duty to protect).
• Explain professional competence and the steps a provider should take to maintain competencies related to cross-cultural practice, self-assessment related to burnout, and competence to provide telehealth.
• Describe the dynamics of and ethical concerns related to dual relationships, including non-sexual and sexual relationships.
• Distinguish between termination and patient abandonment.
• Identify the scope of the problem, including intimate partner homicide, lethality assessment, and nonfatal injuries.
• Explain reasons why victims often fail to report intimate partner violence.
• Describe “mandatory arrest” and “dual arrest” policies and their implications.
• Describe issues related to empowerment and advocacy, ethical and legal issues related to domestic violence, and safety planning.
• Discuss ethical and legal issues related to domestic violence.
• Discuss established ethical and legal requirements contained in HIPAA.
• List the components of HIPAA.
• Explain incidental uses of health information and reasonable safeguards.
• Describe the informed consent procedure, including the Notice of Privacy Practices.
• Describe patient access to information.
• Distinguish between psychotherapy notes and the clinical record.
• Describe research related to the role and effectiveness of telehealth.
• Recognize the ethical principles related to the practice of telehealth (e.g., competence, confidentiality).

Course Syllabus

PART I. CALIFORNIA LAW AND ETHICS

Learning Objectives

Scope of Practice for the Professions

• Content of Statutes and Regulations Relating to the Practices of Professional Clinical Counseling, Marriage and Family Therapy, Educational Psychology, Clinical Social Work
• Ethics vs. Law
• Licensure of Mental Health Professionals
• Confidentiality
• Confidentiality and Minors

Mandated Reporting

• Defining Child Abuse
• Dimensions of the Problem of Child and Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse
• Signs of Elder Abuse
• Good Faith Reporting
• Laura’s Law

Advertising Professional Services

Duty to Protect (Tarasoff and Ewing)

Achieving and Maintaining Competence

• Compassion Fatigue and Burnout
• Properly Identifying Level of Competence to the Public
• Seeking Consultation
• Competence with Cultural/Linguistic Minorities and Non-Discrimination in Providing Services

Multiple or Nonsexual Dual Relationships

• Online Relationships
• Consequences to the Therapist of Boundary Violations
• Physical Contact with Clients

Sexual Relationships with Clients

• Warning Signs of Sexual Inappropriateness
• Consequences of Sexual Boundary Violations

Treatment Termination and Client Abandonment

• Mental Health Parity

PART II. ISSUES IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES

Learning Objectives

Scope of the Problem

• Intimate Partner Homicide
• Assessing Safety
• Other Losses

Reporting Intimate Partner Violence

• Mandatory and Dual Arrest Policies
• Advocacy
• Navigating the Systems
• Ethical Considerations: Confidentiality

Domestic Violence Safety Plan

PART III. THE HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA)

Learning Objectives

Components of HIPAA

• Healthcare Portability
• Protected Health Information
• HIPAA Privacy Standards

Who is a “Covered Entity”?

Incidental Uses and Disclosures of Health Information

Notice of Privacy Practices

Patient Access to Records

• Therapy Notes vs. the Clinical Record
• Forensic Services

HIPAA Security Standards

PART IV. CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE PROVISION OF TELEHEALTH

Learning Objectives

Computer Basics

• Computer Terminology Basics
• Computer Security

Telehealth Technology Basics

Types of Technology

Secured vs. Unsecured Technology

Platforms

Common Telehealth Ethical Encounters

• Creating an Informed Consent Form for Telehealth

Best Practices in Telehealth

• Offer Orientation to the Technology Before Beginning Treatment
• Video Etiquette
• Video Space
• Video Presentation Skills
• Risks of Teletherapy
• Graduate Education and Telehealth
• Multicultural Considerations

Risk Management in Documenting Encounters

Ethical Issues in Telehealth with Children, Couples, and Groups

• Working with Children Virtually
• Working with Couples and Families
• Working with Groups via Telehealth

Supervision Via Videoconferencing

Standards Pertinent to Telehealth

• Practicing Across State Lines
• Telehealth Training

PART V. PREVENTING MEDICAL ERRORS: BEST PRACTICES FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Learning Objectives

Definition of Medical Error

Root Cause Analysis

Competence

• Cultural Competence
• Informed Consent
• Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
• Confidentiality
• Mandatory Abuse Reporting
• Duty to Protect
• Responding to Suicidal Risk
• Failure to Detect Medical Conditions
• Termination of Treatment/Financial Aspects

Summary

References

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