Washington Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Clinicians

This 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 heath professional in Washington. This unique blend of clinical and ethical concerns allows for a more meaningful understanding and interpretation of the rules that govern mental health practice and allows the attendee to identify specific state laws that affect and govern their practice.

Through lecture, a review of references including the APA “Ethics Code” and the seminar manual with state specific policies and regulation; Dr. Lewis will prepare you for litigation issues which can put your client, your license and your practice at risk. You will learn how to structure your practice to limit exposure of risk, as well as discover record keeping practices that may help protect you in the event of a compliant. Susan will provide you with the following take-home tools to minimize risk:

• Updates on HIPAA and Washington laws and regulations
• Risk management strategies
• How to minimize litigation dilemmas, complaints and malpractice actions
• Best practices in the professional relationship, informed consent and office policies

You will learn through problem solving discussions that are representative of actual ethical decisions you encounter in your clinical practice. The blending of Susan’s experience as a lawyer, work within the court system and extensive clinical experience makes her a hands-on, knowledgeable instructor!