Law & Ethics: Practicing Counseling in California – Sept 18

Logistics & Scheduling

Preferred date or timeframe:
Proposed length: 3.25 hours
Requested fee:

Curriculum & Content Plan

Content/curriculum: The entire curriculum is focused on law & ethics

Online class experiential components: slides (PowerPoint, Google Slides), chat, poll or survey

Learner experience level: Novice/Beginning Learners: No advance knowledge required

NBCC Content Area: Counseling Theory/Practice and the Counseling Relationship, Counselor Professional Identity and Practice Issues

Program Description:

This 2-hour, 2-CE continuing education course breaks down the essentials of complying with HIPAA privacy laws. California practice requirements for confidentiality within therapy are also discussed. This training takes a practical approach to demystifying what these privacy laws are meant to do, and how to implement them in every day situations. The three levels of safeguards described by HIPAA will be laid out so that mental health clinicians can understand the best ways to meet their obligations for protecting sensitive data. We will warn about AI use in therapy, and go into details on texting and emailing clients, and debunk many commonly-held misunderstandings about who therapists can talk to about their clients and when.

Educational Goals:

This course covers BBS-required topics of recordkeeping, client access to records, state and federal laws relating to confidentiality of patient health information, and considerations for telehealth, emailing, and texting your clients

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss federal and California requirements for medical providers including counselors and therapists for protecting client information.
• Describe the 3 levels of safeguards that mental health clinicians should be taking to protect sensitive client information.
• Implement psychotherapy notes as a defensible way to protect clients’ most sensitive information from disclosure.
• Explain privacy-sensitive practices for using email and for texting clients.
• Name at least 4 obligations and responsibilities that all mental health clinicians in California have concerning privacy and confidentiality.

Equity Focus:

This training is designed to break down barriers in licensure by providing quality training on a BBS requirement for licensure at low cost.

References:

Presenters

Presenter Name: Lisa Wenninger, PhD, MBA, LPCC/LPC/LMHC, NCC, BC-TMH

Pronouns: she/her
Email: lisa@myriadsites.com
For this training, this presenter’s background and expertise qualifies them for this NBCC Presenter Category: Category 1: Graduate degree in mental health field, and qualified by education, training, or authorship for this specific subject
Presenter CV/Resume : https://resonantequity.org/wp-content/uploads/formidable/3/WenningerLisa-CV-Nov2024-2-2-1-1-3-2.pdf

Education:

• Doctorate: CES Antioch University 2024

Relevant experience/training related to topic :

Doctorate degree in Counselor Education and Supervision. Five years as an active participant in California BBS Board and Committee meetings on regulations.

Professional licenses (including state), and/or specific certifications that are related to this topic.:

CA LPCC #14315
WA LMHC #61478356
VA LPC #0701015452

Presenter Bio (to be included on promotional materials):

Dr. Lisa Wenninger (she/her) has a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Antioch University Seattle. She is a National Certified Counselor and is licensed in California, Washington, and Virginia, with a telehealth-only social justice counseling practice working with individuals with marginalized identities who are navigating a complex and difficult world. Dr. Wenninger serves on the Board of Counselors for Social Justice to promote advocacy and allyship within the counseling profession and help nurture development of the professional identity of counselor-advocate in colleagues. Dr. Wenninger makes a point to attend the meetings of the California Board of Behavioral Sciences and in other ways stay on top of laws and regulations affecting counselors and our clients. She regularly provides continuing education courses on topics such as law and ethics of telehealth, culturally informed diagnosing, and antiracism in counseling, and consults with organizations interested in building more inclusive and welcoming cultures.

Does presenter have special needs or require any accommodations?: none
Permission to Record I give my permission to record my presentation for use by Resonant Equity in creating an on-demand version of my training content.

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Respect for Intellectual Property – All presenters attested that: The content to be presented does not infringe upon or violate intellectual property or privacy rights of any other party, including copyright, trademark, and license rights, The presenters attest that they either own the materials to be presented, and/or are permitted by law to use the materials in the proposed program.