California State University

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Department of Counselor Education

Fall semester 2006

EdC 296x (3 units), Tuesdays 7:00 - 9:50 p.m.

Mary K. Stroube

Office hours: by appt

email: lawethics@AOL.com, 530/666-1624

Web page: www.lawandethics.info

LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES FOR COUNSELORS

Course Objectives:

1. Knowledge of contemporary professional ethics and statutory, regulatory, and decisional laws that delineate the profession's scope of practice. (Standard II. K. 1,e,f; Standard II.K.5,g; Standard II.K.6,g: Standard II.K.7,g; Standard II.K.8,f; Business and Professions Code §4980.41(a)(1))

2. Understanding of the therapeutic, clinical, and practical considerations involved in the legal and ethical practice of marriage, family, and child counseling, including family law. (Business and Professions Code §4980.41(a)(2))

3. Familiarization with the current legal patterns and trends in the mental health profession. (Business and Professions Code §4980.41(a)(3))

4. Understanding of the psychotherapist-patient privilege, confidentiality, the patient dangerous to self or others, and the treatment of minors with or without parental consent. (Business and Professions Code §4980.41(a)(4))

5. A recognition and exploration of the relationship between a practitioner's sense of self and human values and his or her professional behavior and ethics. (Standard II.K.1,d,h; Standard II.K.8,f; Business and Professions Code §4980.41(a)(5))

6. Students will develop a sound theoretical foundation and process for ethical decision making enabling them to move from theory to practice in real-life situations. (Standard II.K.2, .1)

7. Students will become acquainted with, understand, and be able to use professional codes of ethics in decision-making. (Standard II.K. 1, d, h; Standard II. K., 8, f)

8. Knowledge and understanding of the assessment and method of reporting of sexual assault, neglect, severe neglect, general neglect, willful cruelty or unjustifiable punishment, corporal punishment or injury and abuse in out-of-home care, including physical and behavioral indicators of abuse, crisis counseling techniques, community resources, rights and responsibilities of reporting, consequences of failure to report, caring for a child's needs after a report is made, sensitivity to previously abused children/adults, and methods of treatment for children/adults. (Standard II.K.3, e; Business and Professions Code §'4980.41(b))

9. Knowledge of practical aspects of independent counseling practice, legal and ethical issues and business operation.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

American Counseling Association (2005). Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

http://www.counseling.org/Resources/CodeOfEthics/TP/Home/CT2.aspx

American Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (2001). Ethical Standards.

http://www.aamft.org/resources/LRMPlan/Ethics/ethicscode2001.asp

Stroube, M. (Fall 2006) Readings in laws and ethics in counseling. Online at www.lawandethics.info (Scroll down the home page and click where indicated for EdC296x.)

REQUIRED READING:

Corey, G., Corey, M.S., & Callahan, P. (2006). Issues and ethics in the helping professions (7^th ed.). Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

SUGGESTED READINGS:

Conidaris, M.G., Ely, D.F., & Erikson, J.T. (Eds.). (2006). California laws for psychotherapists. Gardena, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Legal and Professional Publications, Inc.

REQUIREMENTS/EVALUATION CRITERIA:

1. Attendance and participation in class discussions/activities (200 points).

2. Midterm exam (take home, you receive it 10/31). Due: Nov. 7 (250 points)

3. Ethics quiz. (In class) November 14 (150 points)

4. Final exam (take home, you receive it 12/5). Due: December 19 (400 points)

TOPICS TO BE COVERED:

REQUIRED ACTIVITIES:

1. Class participation: It's quality, not necessarily quantity, that counts! Much of the class is interactive and requires your participation to help you understand the concepts presented. The periodic sharing of relevant experiences is appreciated. Sharing simply for the sake of trying to increase your score for class participation is not as appreciated. Your regular attendance is required. If you miss more than two classes without the instructor's PRIOR consent, your grade will be reduced two grade levels, e.g., from "A" to "B+". If you miss more than three classes, your grade will be reduced one full grade. Four absences, excused or unexcused, will result in your being dropped or receiving a failing grade. If you are having trouble with attendance, see the Dept. Office or the instructor about taking a leave or withdrawing.

2. Exams: The midterm and final exams are both take-home exams and usually consist of four to six questions, including hypothetical situations, to which you are asked to apply the information you have learned regarding your legal, ethical and professional responsibilities as a counselor. You may utilize class notes, texts, handouts and discussions with classmates to assist you in preparing your answers. (Phone calls to the Community Counseling Center, C.P.S., local therapists, etc., do not usually result in reliable information for you and are an inconvenience for them.) The papers must be typed and double-spaced.

NOTE: Any exam paper turned in late will lose 20% of the total points possible for each day that it is late. Papers will not be accepted which are more than 72 hours late and the student will receive no points for that particular assignment. If you must turn in a paper late, you must have prior approval from the instructor.

3. Ethics quiz: You are to write for no more than 30 minutes addressing the ethical problems/issues of dealing with one of the types of clients listed below. This should be the type of client that would be a problem for you personally. The client should be the type of person or exemplify the type of problem that you would least want to deal with. You must include in your paper the following three components/parts:

1) what some of the ethical issues would actually be for you personally if you were counseling such a client (be detailed and thorough)

2) what it is about this type of client that would create an ethical challenge generally for a therapist; and

3) your proposal about how you would handle the ethical issues raised by having such a client to treat. (You may not satisfactorily deal with the issue by simply saying, "I would refer the client.")

Sample types of clients you might consider:

A. Ethnic minority: Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, other

B. Disabled: physically, developmentally

C. Child

D. Family

E. Chemically dependent individual (drug, alcohol) or addictive personality

F. Lesbian/gay

G. Victim or perpetrator of child abuse

H. Victim or perpetrator of rape

I. Victim or perpetrator of domestic violence

J. Terminally ill; person with AIDS

K. Client of differing religious belief/perspective

L. A person with a certain type of diagnosis or problem

4. Reading assignments: You are expected to have read the assigned material for each class session and be prepared to discuss it. It is difficult if not impossible to get much from the class sessions without having read the material. Please bring all previous weeks' readings with you to class each time since we often refer back to materials we've already covered.

Most readings are online at www.lawandethics.info. Scroll down to the section referencing readings for EdC296x, click and go to the syllabus and click on the appropriate item in the reading list. Most readings are provided in both .html and .pdf formats for your use. In some instances, you may be directed to go to another website for materials.

Class Date	Stroube readings (www.lawandethics.info)	File type
9/19	Tarasoff v. Regents	html	.pdf
9/26	Evidence Code: Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege	html	.pdf
10/12	Welfare and Institutions Code: Involuntary Detention (skim)	html	.pdf
10/17	Farrell v. Superior Court; James W. v. Superior Court (Goodfriend)	html	.pdf
10/24	People v. Stockton Pregnancy Control Medical Clinic	html	.pdf
10/31	Penal Code: Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act Welfare and Institutions Code: Reports of Abuse -- Elders & Dependent Adults (skim)	html html	.pdf .pdf
11/7	Professional Therapy Never Includes Sex	http://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/proftherapy.pdf
11/14	Online reading re: minors and confidentiality	html	.pdf
11/21	Online reading re: records	html	.pdf
11/28	ACA Ethical Standards http://www.counseling.org/Resources/CodeOfEthics/TP/Home/CT2.aspx AAMFT Ethical Standards http://www.aamft.org/resources/LRMPlan/Ethics/ethicscode2001.asp
12/12	Business and Professions Code: MFT Licensing; MFT Disciplinary Guidelines	html	.pdf