CA Law and Ethics for Mental Health Professionals

This course is also offered as part of a Pre-licensing Savings Package

Content from this course is contained in other courses on law and ethics

Fulfills pre-licensing requirements for CA LPCCs

Includes a special section on California laws.

This 18-credit hour course is one of the most extensive courses offered on the ethics of psychotherapy and counseling. The course covers a wide range of topics, including the standard of care, ethical decision-making, codes of ethics, HIPAA, and more specific ethics concerns with confidentiality, consent, recordkeeping, termination, and fees and insurance. The course then reviews the important developments in digital ethics and the impact of technology on the delivery of mental health services. Next, it reviews specific concerns with ethical boundaries, such as dual relationships, bartering, gifts, touch, and out-of-office experiences. Finally, the course covers how to navigate difficult situations such as subpoenas, abuse and threats, and unprofessional conduct. Throughout the course, there is specific attention to the California laws and regulations that relevant to LCSWs, LPCCs, and psychologists.

This extensive course consists of four sections.

The first section of the course reviews the ethical/legal topics of the standard of care, confidentiality, consent, recordkeeping, termination, and fees and insurance considerations. It also attends to issues relating specifically to California law. The second section reviews the ethical and legal issues resulting from the impact and utility of modern digital technologies in mental health services. The third section defines therapeutic boundaries, differentiates between boundary crossings and boundary violations, and discusses the specific boundary issues of dual relationships, bartering, gifts, touch, and out-of-office experiences. The fourth section outlines the issues involved in navigating certain difficult situations, including responding to subpoenas, California laws and regulations related to child abuse, elder and adult dependent abuse reporting, spousal and partner abuse, duty to warn, and unprofessional conduct.