Ethical Issues in Counseling and Family Therapy PSY 570 Dr. Lori Barker IMPORTANT LAWS AND LEGAL CASES B.P.C. 729 Sexual Exploitation by Physicians, Surgeons, Psychotherapists, or Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors “(a) Any physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, alcohol and drug abuse counselor or any person holding himself or herself out to be a physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor, who engages in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual contact with a patient or client, or with a former patient or client when the relationship was terminated primarily for the purpose of engaging in those acts, unless the physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor has referred the patient or client to an independent and objective physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor recommended by a third party physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor for treatment, is guilty of sexual exploitation by a physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor.” B.P.C. 4982 Unprofessional Conduct (Marriage and Family Therapists, Sex With Clients) “The board may deny a license or registration or may suspend or revoke the license or registration of a licensee or registrant if he or she has been guilty of unprofessional conduct. Unprofessional conduct includes, but is not limited to, the following: (k) Engaging in sexual relations with a client, or a former client within two years following termination of therapy, soliciting sexual relations with a client, or committing an act of sexual abuse, or sexual misconduct with a client, or committing an act punishable as a sexually related crime, if that act or solicitation is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a marriage and family therapist.” Ev.C. 1024 Patient Dangerous to Himself or Others “There is no privilege under this article if the psychotherapist has reasonable cause to believe that the patient is in such mental or emotional condition as to be dangerous to himself or to the person or property of another and that disclosure of the communication is necessary to prevent the threatened danger.” W.I.C. Involuntary Commitment “When any person, as a result of mental disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, a peace officer, and member of the attending staff… of an evaluation facility designated by the county, designated members of a mobile crisis team…or other professional person designated by the county, may, upon probably cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody and place him or her in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of mental health as a facility for 72 hour treatment and evaluation.” Tarasoff v. UC Regents (1976) Duty to Warn and Protect “A therapist who knew, or by the standards of his/her profession should have known, that his or her client posed a threat to another had a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect the intended victim.” C.C. 43.92 Duty to Warn “…where the patient has communicated to the psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonable identifiable victim or victims…the duty [to warn] shall be discharged by the psychotherapist making reasonable efforts to communicate the threat to the victim or victims and to a law enforcement agency.” P.C. 11166 Child Abuse Reporting “Any health practitioner…who has knowledge of or observes a child in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his or her employment whom he or she knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse shall report the known or suspected instance of child abuse to a child protective agency immediately or as soon as practically possible by telephone and shall prepare and send a written report thereof within 36 hours of receiving the information concerning the incident….For the purposes of this article, ‘reasonable suspicion’ means that it is objectively reasonable for a person to entertain such a suspicion, based upon facts that could cause a reasonable person in a like position, drawing on his or her training and experience, to suspect child abuse.” S.B. 543 Minors: Consent to Mental Health Services (The Mental Health Services for At-Risk Youth Act) …”a minor who is 12 years of age or older may consent to mental health treatment or counseling services if, in the opinion of the attending professional person, the minor is mature enough to participate intelligently in the mental health treatment or counseling services…. The mental health treatment or counseling of a minor authorized by this section shall include involvement of the minor's parent or guardian, unless the professional person who is treating or counseling the minor, after consulting with the minor, determines that the involvement would be inappropriate. The professional person who is treating or counseling the minor shall state in the client record whether and when the person attempted to contact the minor's parent or guardian, and whether the attempt to contact was successful or unsuccessful, or the reason why, in the professional person's opinion, it would be inappropriate to contact the minor's parent or guardian.” W.I.C. 15630(b)(1) Elder and dependent Adult Abuse Reporting “Any mandated reporter who, in his or her professional capacity, or within the scope of his or her employment, either has observed or has knowledge of an incident that reasonably appears to be physical abuse as defined in Section 15610.63, abandonment, abduction, isolation, financial abuse, or neglect, or is told by an elder or dependent adult that he or she has experienced behavior, including an act or omission, constituting physical abuse…shall report the known or suspected instance of abuse by telephone or through a confidential Internet reporting tool…immediately or as soon as practicably possible. If reported by telephone, a written report shall be sent, or an Internet report shall be made through the confidential Internet reporting tool…within two working days:… (then the six different reporting scenarios are detailed).”
