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 decades. As a result, many practitioners are “running scared”, fearful of complaints. In point of fact, very few of these legal actions are successful; while going through them is unpleasant, if a mental health practitioner adheres to a few basic principles of risk management, the likelihood of a successful suit is vastly diminished. This webinar will present these basic principles within a framework of the fundamental legal concepts involved, and how these concepts may be easily incorporated into practice guidelines. Special attention will be paid to confidentiality and privilege, the nature of malpractice claims, informed consent, documentation, consultation, the most frequent areas of litigation, and concrete steps to take to minimize the risk of litigation.