PCPB 649 Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Marital and Family Therapy

This course focuses on the ethical, legal, and professional issues involved in the practice of counseling and marital and family therapy. COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Ethical Objectives: By the end of the course the student will be familiar with the major ethical issues confronting counselors and therapists. The student will become familiar with the AAMFT, ACA, and the APA codes of ethical principles and standards. Other major topics of instruction will include the therapist's competence, privacy, confidentiality, privileged communication, and informed consent. 2. Legal Understanding: As part of the course, the graduate student will be expected to become more familiar with the relevant legal issues in the practice of therapy. These issues will include: The therapist's responsibilities to clients and other interested parties (e.g. duty to warn), the nature of the legal system and procedures relative to MFT, family law, child custody issues, the therapist as "expert witness, " malpractice and legal liability, and therapy records. Students will learn that laws affecting the practice of professional counseling and marital and family therapy vary from state to state. Students will learn the necessity of consulting text, laws, and professional organizations within the state one chooses to practice. 3. Professional Issues: As part of the course, the graduate student will become more familiar with some of the professional issues in mental health. The student will become familiar with the current graduate education requirements for professional mental health practice, the therapist's continued education and development, supervision; the professionalization process; relationships with colleagues; professional publications; how the therapist's orientation, values, and philosophy of life impact clients; licensure; the legislative process; and therapy research