Ethics for New Jersey Mental Health Professionals By Allan M Tepper
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 New Jersey.
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 New Jersey 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 watching 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.
- Identify specific state and administrative laws that are pertinent to establishing and maintaining an ethical clinical practice.
- Write policies on ethical issues such as restraints, seclusion and informed consent that are consistent with state laws and requirements.
- Explain which notes, documents, reports, forms, and clinical data constitute an official medical record.
- Evaluate your current record-keeping practices in order to ensure compliance with ethical and legal requirements.
- List the treatment provider’s responsibilities relating to mental health issues and duty to warn law.
- Analyze the legal and ethical considerations for the treatment of minor populations with regard to age of consent, confidentiality and custody concerns.
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 New Jersey 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
What is health?
In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source defined health with a phrase that modern authorities still apply.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
In 1986, the WHOTrusted Source made further clarifications:
“A resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.”
This means that health is a resource to support an individual’s function in wider society, rather than an end in itself. A healthful lifestyle provides the means to lead a full life with meaning and purpose.
In 2009, researchers publishing inThe LancetTrusted Source defined health as the ability of a body to adapt to new threats and infirmities.
They base this definition on the idea that the past few decades have seen modern science take significant strides in the awareness of diseases by understanding how they work, discovering new ways to slow or stop them, and acknowledging that an absence of pathology may not be possible.
Ethics for New Jersey Mental Health Professionals By Allan M Tepper
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