NASW-CA EmpowerEd Program

Course Description

This is the first module in a two-part series that explores the legal and ethical aspects of the standard of care, scope of practice, scope of competence, therapeutic duty, confidentiality, and unprofessional conduct for California licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) and licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs). The content explores legal and ethical issues related to confidentiality, including the definitions of privacy, privilege, and confidentiality; mandated and permitted breaches of confidentiality; and the risks associated with using electronic devices for psychotherapy services. This first module incorporates online content, three case vignettes, two short web-based video clips, and two reader exercises. The second module explores legal and ethical aspects of informed consent, the therapeutic relationship, and the management of crisis situations. The primary goal of this two-part series is for participants to better understand and apply legal and ethical standards that establish and maintain clinical safety.

Target Audience

The two-part series can be used toward the California pre-license mandated 12 hours law and ethics coursework.

The two-part series can be used toward the ongoing license renewal requirement of six hours of training in law and ethics for California LCSWs and LMFTs.

Learning Objectives

After completing this module, readers will be able to do the following:

• Identify legal and ethical aspects of creating clinical safety within the therapeutic relationship.
• Identify the legal and ethical standard of care for California LCSWs and LMFTs.
• Identify legal and ethical concepts and parameters, including scope of practice, scope of competence, therapeutic duty, and unprofessional conduct.
• Identify legal and ethical aspects and parameters of special issues related to confidentiality including, but not limited to, the difference between confidentiality and privilege, mandated and permitted breaches, releases of information, risks of breaching confidentiality with the use of electronic devices, and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) updates.
• Identify applicable legal standards in state law and case law, as well as applicable ethical standards from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), and American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Codes of Ethics.
• Identify valuable resources for further study and future reference.