New Developments in Ethics and the Law 2018 Home Study

“I would like to say that your presentation went way beyond my expectations and, for that matter, beyond my experience in many other courses I’ve taken in the past. The course often gets taught by psychologists and/or lawyers who represent Risk Mgmt with messages of fear that have more to do with helping clinicians avoid problems rather than being a…

Preventing Medical Errors Home Study

Within the past several years there has been an increased emphasis on how complex systems may contribute to diagnostic and treatment failures. When some tragedy occurs such as suicide or violent behavior, the tendency is to pick someone out as a scapegoat. Root Cause analysis seeks to avoid this scapegoating by analyzing the system failures that lead to these unfortunate…

Risk Management in Psychological Practice Home Study

Mental health professionals are affected by the fact that we live in an age of litigation; if clients are dissatisfied with the outcome of an evaluation or treatment, they may file an ethics complaint or a lawsuit with increased frequency compared to the past. Malpractice insurance premiums have increased by more than a factor of 10 over the past few…

What Every Clinician Should Know About Violence Risk Assessment

The ability to predict future violent behavior has long been an issue for mental health professionals.  Initially, it was merely assumed that we could make such predictions accurately based on our clinical skills alone.  Many decisions in the judicial system hinge on an accurate assessment of violence, such as bond, probation, and parole decisions, commitment to and release from psychiatric…