This is the first of a two-part course, which addresses professional and personal issues that can lead to ethical and legal violations. It explores situations where licensed mental health practitioners have frequently committed legal and/or ethical errors. To illustrate these points, the author uses case vignettes, which are derived from published cases of disciplinary actions by licensing and regulatory boards and his professional experience on an association ethics review committee. The goal of the content is to help readers become more confident in dealing with a broad scope of legal and ethical issues that occur during practice.

Part I is focused on exploring the scope of practice, the scope of competency, along with legal and ethical issues related to the crisis or imminent danger including: duty to warn and protect, suicidality, child abuse, elder or dependent adult abuse, and domestic violence.

Part II is focused on exploring legal and ethical issues related to the following: confidentiality, consent to release and exchange information, confidentiality and subpoenas, child treatment, professional conduct, and cross-cultural treatment.

Upon completion of this course:

1. Readers will better understand a variety of ethical issues related to the license’s scope of practice and scope of competency.



2. Readers will better understand a variety of ethical issues related to crisis issues such as duty to warn and protect, suicidality, child abuse, elder abuse, and domestic violence.



3. Readers will review specific California laws related to child abuse, elder abuse, and domestic violence as applicable to mandated reporters.



4. Through the use of case vignettes, readers will learn about common legal and ethical errors made by therapists, along with strategies for overcoming these vulnerabilities.