Course fulfills the ethics and law requirements for psychologists in California and for psychologists, social workers and counselors in other states. Course may qualify for insurance discount. Check with your insurer
1. Sign up securely online.
2. Read the articles via online links.
3. Submit online evaluation & post-test.
4. Print your certificate.
GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an intermediate level review of the ethical, clinical and management complexities of fees in psychotherapy and counseling. Money, like time and sex, are the most focused upon concepts in our culture. Most people agree that we can know a person by simply learning about their attitude and practices regarding money, time and sex. Freud observed more than half a century ago, money is even a bigger taboo than sex. This statement rings even more true now, at the beginning of the 21st century. The relationships to money and time have been closely linked to people's construction of meaning. Most therapists have very poor attitudes towards money. They primarily ignore the topic both in themselves and too often with their clients, especially with clients who are more financially successful then they are. Many therapists believe in the notion that care and profit are inherently incompatible. Along the same lines, therapists have been equated with prostitutes as both are paid to provide love. The obvious fact that therapists chose to go to graduate school to study psychology or counseling rather than business administration, law or economy seems to be indicative of the inclination and motivation of most psychotherapists. As a result, setting, charging and collecting fees in psychotherapy becomes a burdensome chore for many psychotherapists, which is often not handled well clinically and ethically.
This course consists of eight articles. The first is an introductory article, which discusses the meaning of money in our culture and identifies ways of charging clients. The second article, "A Century of Fees," discusses therapists' attitudes towards fees. The third article discusses the complexities of handling fees issues in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. The forth article explore the complexities that managed care systems have introduce in regard to fees and 'cheap' drug solutions, The fifth article reviews gender differences in attitudes towards money as it apply to clients and potentially to therapists. The sixth article provides an extensive review of the history and practice of bartering in therapy. The seventh article details different billing options and identifies some of the relevant HIPAA guidelines to billing. The eighth article reviews the section of major professional associations codes of ethics on fees and billing. It also includes a review of an update on California law on fees in psychotherapy. The ninth article provides the sections relevant to fees for the Office Policies form. It also provides a few questions to help therapists better understand their relationship to money and includes a bibliography on the topic. Finally, the last article gives a detailed summary and resources for fees in therapy.
Educational Objectives:
This course will teach psychotherapists to
List the types of fee arrangements and their applications.
Analyze the importance of handling money issues clinically and ethically.
Utilize informed consents regarding fees.
Summarize the ethics of fees (including California law).
Describe billing options and HIPAA on billing.
Course Syllabus:
Meaning and importance of money in our culture
Types of fee arrangements
Full fee
Sliding scale
No fee - Pro Bono
Bartering
Flexible fee schedule
Analytic/Psychodynamic view on the meaning of fees
Money and Psychoanalysis
Managed Care, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
Gender differences in regard to attitudes towards money
Codes of Ethics on Bartering
Bartering:
Evolution of bartering
Types of bartering: goods, services, etc.
Ways of arranging bartering
Bartering and the codes of ethics
Case studies & guidelines
California regulations on bartering
Ethics code on bartering
Informed Consent and Office Policies in regard to fees
California law on fees in psychotherapy
Therapists' attitudes towards money and fees (self-assessment)
Guidelines
References
To receive clinical and practice updates, add your name to our confidential e-mail list. CLICK HERE