Ethical Principles in the Practice of California Mental Health Professionals – Allan M Tepper

Ethical Principles in the Practice of California Mental Health Professionals – Allan M Tepper

Description:

This intermediate level program focuses on ethical, legal, statutory or regulatory policies, guidelines and standards that impact psychological practice and explores the manner by which clinical and ethical issues affect the everyday practice of the mental health professional in California.

A licensed and practicing psychologist and attorney, Dr. Allan Tepper’s blend of clinical and legal experience allows for a deeper understanding and interpretation of the rules that govern mental health practice in California and allows the attendee to identify specific state laws that affect and govern their practice. Through lecture, real case examples, a review of references including the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and the seminar manual with state specific policies and regulations; clinicians attending the course will be able to write policies for their practice, explain the content of medical records requirements and analyze their practice’s compliance with state specific ethical and legal requirements. This course will help the practicing clinician to evaluate their record keeping practices and determine which notes and documents are required for medical records to be compliant. Finally, attendees will discuss the provider’s responsibilities related to confidentiality and duty to warn with both adult and minor populations.

Outline:

Understand the Legal System

Statutes
Rules and regulations
Case law
Finding the law
Legal Exposure

Criminal liability
Civil liability
Licensing complaints
Organization complaints
Establish the Treatment Relationship

The professional relationship
The legal and ethical principle of informed consent
Informed consent as part of the treatment modality
Use of and reliance upon written consent forms
Record-Keeping Practices

Record-keeping regulations
Items which constitute the record, personal notes vs. charting, raw data, computer printouts and third-party records
Access to records by written requests, subpoenas and court orders
The Ethics of Duty to Warn

Duty to warn potential third-party victims
Review of specific California case law governing danger to others
A clinical approach to the duty to protect
Treatment of Minors

Age of majority
Consent to treatment and access to records
Clinical implications in the treatment of the older adolescent
Treatment of minors in situations of family separation and divorce
Non-Sexual Boundary Violations

Email correspondence and cell phone contacts
Treatment vs. advocacy for patients
Professional contacts with attorneys and the legal profession
In-court expert testimony
FITNESS – HEALTH – MEDICAL Course

More information about Medical:

Medicine is the science and practice of establishing the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.

Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease,
typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.

Medicine has been around for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge) frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture.

For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher and physician would apply bloodletting according to the theories of humorism.
In recent centuries, since the advent of modern science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science).

While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice.

The knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.