Unprofessional Conduct & Other Trouble Spots for Psychotherapists
presented
by
David Jenson, JD, CAMFT Attorney
(6 CEU Hours)
Course Description: Dave Jensen will review the ten fundamentals of the psychotherapy profession and he will also address the following laws: advertising; business entities therapists can use for their practices; patient access to records; unprofessional conduct; and, what makes a valid termination of the therapist-patient relationship different from an abandonment of such relationship.
Learning Objectives:
This workshop is designed to help you:
1. Identify the ten fundamentals of practicing legally, ethically, safely and confidently.
2. Learn the rules pertaining to advertising.
4. Learn the business entities that therapists can use for their practices.
5. Learn the rules pertaining to patient access to records.
6. Describe the concept of unprofessional conduct.
7. Distinguish valid terminations from patient abandonments.
Describe legal and ethical issues which commonly arise during termination.
Describe legal and ethical issues which frequently arise when writing letters for clients.
Describe legal and ethical issues related to fees and insurance and measures for avoiding problems in this area.
Describe key considerations in the documentation of treatment.
Dave Jensen has been a Staff Attorney with CAMFT since April 2002. He was born in Flint, Michigan, but was raised in Tustin, California. Dave graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor’s Degree in History, and he received his law degree from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. Dave passed the California bar examination in February 1999, and he did it on his first try! Before joining CAMFT, Dave worked for Foley & Lardner, a large national law firm, where he regularly established and advised nonprofit organizations. As an attorney with CAMFT, he consults with its members regarding their legal and ethical dilemmas, and he is a regular contributor to The Therapist magazine. Dave gives numerous law and ethics presentations to chapters, schools, and agencies, and his popular What Does the Law Expect of Me? series, which includes Parts I, II, III, and IV, have helped therapists to better understand their legal and ethical obligations.