Law and Ethics CEUs

LAW AND ETHICS CEU COURSE
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(10 Hours/CEUs)© 2009 by Aspira Continuing Education. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, mechanical or electronic without written permission of Aspira Continuing Education.
1. SCOPE OF PRACTICE
1A. MFT SCOPE OF PRACTICE
1B. LCSW SCOPE OF PRACTICE
2. UNPROFFESIONAL CONDUCT, NEGLIGENCE, LAW, ETHICS, AND STANDARD OF CARE
2A. UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND NEGLIGENCE
2B. LAW
2C. ETHICS
2D. STANDARD OF CARE
3. LEGAL ISSUES
3A. PRIVILEGE
3B. CONFIDENTIALITY
3C. EXCEPTIONS TO CONFIDENTIALITY: CHILD ABUSE, DEPENDENT ADULT & ELDER ABUSE , TARASOFF, DANGER TO SELF
3D. TREATMENT OF MINORS
3E. SEX WITH CLIENTS
3F. RECORD RETENTION AND STORAGE
3G. TERMINATION
3H. INFORMED CONSENT
3I. MALPRACTICE
4. HIPAA AND THIRD PARTY REIMBURSEMENT FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
5. CONTINUING EDUCATION
6. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
6A. CAMFT ETHICAL STANDARDS PT II SECTION D
6B. REVISED CAMFT ETHICAL STANDARDS
6C. NASW ETHICAL STANDARDS
7. REFERENCES

1. Scope of Practice
The Attorney General describes scope of practice as the following:
1. MFTs and LCSWs “may practice psychotherapy” as it relates to the treatment of relational issues and social adjustments.
2. MFTs and LCSWs may diagnose and treat mental disorders as it relates to the treatment of relational issues and social adjustments.
3. MFTs and LCSWs may administer psychological tests, as long as the testing instrument used is within a therapist’s scope of competence as established by education, training, or experience and as long as the test is administered within the context of providing therapy. In other words, stand-alone testing of persons who are not psychotherapy clients would be outside the scope of practice for MFTs and LCSWs.
Circumstances exist in which a “special relationship” is presumed by law to exist when one person is particularly vulnerable and dependent on another person who, correspondingly, has some control over the person’s welfare (Kockelman v. Segal, 1998). The relationship between a therapist and his or her patient constitutes this type of relationship. This special relationship imposes an affirmative duty on the therapist to protect others from either the therapist’s own negligence or from the client’s dangerousness towards self or others.

1A. MFT Scope of Practice
MFT scope of practice is defined in Section 4980.02 of the California Business and Professions Code, “For the purposes of this chapter, the practice of marriage, family, and child counseling shall mean that service performed with individuals, couples, or groups wherein interpersonal relationships are examined for the purpose of achieving more adequate, satisfying, and productive marriage and family adjustments. This practice includes relationship and pre-marriage counseling. The applications of marriage, family, and child counseling principles and methods includes, but is not limited to, the use of applied psychotherapeutic techniques, to enable individuals to mature and grow within marriage and the family, and the provision of explanations and interpretations of the psychosexual and psychosocial aspects of relationships.” Pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 4980.08, effective July 1, 1999, the title "licensed marriage, family and child counselor" or "marriage, family and child counselor" is hereby renamed "licensed marriage and family therapist" or "marriage and family therapist," respectively. Any reference in any statute or regulation to a "licensed marriage, family and child counselor" or "marriage, family and child counselor" shall be deemed a reference to a "licensed marriage and family
therapist" or "marriage and family therapist."

1B. LCSW Scope of Practice
LCSW scope of practice is defined in Section: 4996.9 of the California Business and Professions Code, “The practice of clinical social work is defined as a service in which a special knowledge of social resources, human capabilities, and the part that unconscious motivation plays in determining behavior, is directed at helping people to achieve more adequate, satisfying, and productive social adjustments. The application of social work principles and methods includes, but is not restricted to, counseling and using applied psychotherapy of a non-medical nature with individuals, families, or groups; providing information and referral services; providing or arranging for the provision of social services; explaining or interpreting the psychosocial aspects in the situations of individuals, families, or groups; helping communities to organize, to provide, or to improve social or health services; or doing research related to social work. “Psychotherapy, within the meaning of this chapter, is the use of psychosocial methods within a professional relationship, to assist the person or persons to achieve a better psychosocial adaptation, to acquire greater human realization of psychosocial potential and adaptation, to modify internal and external conditions which affect individuals, groups, or communities in respect to behavior, emotions, and thinking, in respect to their intrapersonal and interpersonal processes.”