Susan Lewis – Indiana Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Clinicians

Description

Susan Lewis – Indiana Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Clinicians

Description
In this recording, Susan Lewis, psychologist and attorney, will prepare you for litigation issues which can put your client, your license and your practice at risk. You will learn how to structure your practice to limit exposure of risk, as well as discover simple records, notes and actions that will protect you in the event of a complaint. Susan will provide you with the following take-home tools to minimize risk:

Updates on HIPAA and Indiana laws and regulations
Risk management strategies
How to avoid litigation dilemmas, complaints and malpractice actions
Best practices in the professional relationship, informed consent and office policies
You will learn through problem-solving discussions that are representative of actual ethical decisions you encounter in your clinical practice. The blending of Susan’s experience as a lawyer, work within the court system and extensive clinical experience makes her a hands-on, knowledgeable instructor!

This recording will help to prepare you for when and if you are faced with litigation.

Handouts
Manual – Indiana Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Clinicians (1.29 MB) 43 Pages Available after Purchase
Outline
Clinician-Client Relationship

Law vs. ethics
Elements of legal informed consent
Nuts and bolts of office policies
Records vs. psychotherapy notes
What to put in a record
Limitations on confidentiality
Indiana case law & danger to others
Indiana duty to warn potential victims
HIPAA
The latest updates you need to know
Practical Approach to Risk Management

Elements of consent
Competence & scope of practice
Boundary violations/crossings
Issues with modern technology
Texting, cell phones, e-mail, video psychotherapy
Perils of supervision
Litigation

Licensing complaints & malpractice lawsuits
Indiana specific statutes
Indiana rules and regulations
Case law and how to find it
Navigate the Legal System

Roles of attorneys
Confidentiality/privilege
Subpoena & disclosure of confidential information
Depositions, interrogatories, expert testimony
Treatment of Minors

Indiana age of majority
Consent to treatment
Privilege/confidentiality
Separation & divorce
Case Studies

Faculty
Susan Lewis, Ph.D., J.D.
Susan J. Lewis, Ph.D., J.D., is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist and lawyer. She has over 25 years of experience in clinical practice with unique populations that have included female sexual offenders incarcerated at a woman’s prison, self-injurious individuals, forensic patients and individuals who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. In addition to clinical practice, Dr. Lewis has served in leadership roles as clinical director, program manager, and supervisor for psychiatry residents and post-doctoral psychologists.

Currently, Dr. Lewis teaches courses on Law and Ethics in Mental Health that are state specific to the laws of each state. She has also lectured nationwide on the DSM-5® and differential diagnosis. She taught courses at Harvard’s Extension School and Northeastern University on The Psychology of Criminal Behavior. She is the author of Legal and Ethical Issues for Mental Health Clinicians: Best Practices for Avoiding Litigation, Complaints and Malpractice (PPM, 2016) and her latest book From Deep Within: A Forensic and Clinical Psychologist’s Journey (2018).

A sought-after consultant, Dr. Lewis works with attorneys on controversial issues such as dangerousness, competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility evaluations, and civil and criminal commitment. She works with attorneys on strategies of how mental illness might impinge on legal decision-making. Dr. Lewis has been adjudicated an expert in almost all of the district and superior courts in Massachusetts.

Her extensive clinical experience makes her a hands-on, knowledgeable instructor. She is engaging and has a wonderful sense of humor, which she brings to her seminars.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Susan Lewis is in private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.

Non-financial: Susan Lewis is a member of the American Psychological Association.