LEGAL VS. ETHICAL Responsibilities

Question 1

The police come to your private practice with an arrest warrant for one of your clients and ask you for their immediate address. How should the TH respond?

Answer 1

PROVIDE NO INFORMATION

An arrest warrant does not constitute an exception to privilege. Providing any information about the client in this situation - including the fact that he or she is a client of yours - would require either a signed authorization from the client or a court order.

• TH must not even acknowledge if they are your CT.
• TH are only required to provide info if the CT signs a release of information OR if TH receives a court order

Question 2

What is Privilege?
and
Is it a legal, ethical or both ?

Answer 2

Privilege is a legal term that refers to a client’s right not to have confidential information revealed in a legal proceeding without the permission of the client or his or her legal representative.

It refers to the “psychotherapist-patient privilege” which is established by EC Section 1014 and includes LMFTs and MFT trainees and interns as “psychotherapists.”

Question 3

In order for a therapist to record a CT session and use it for educational purposes in their class, they must…

Answer 3

Use the recording for educational purposes only AND obtain WRITTEN authorization from CT

CAMFT Ethical Principle 2.6 applies to this situation. It states: “Marriage and family therapists use clinical materials in teaching, writing, and public presentations only if a written authorization has been previously obtained … or when appropriate steps have been taken to protect patient identity.” Since the recordings are video recordings, it would not be possible to disguise the identities of the clients depicted in the recordings, so written authorization from them would be required.

Question 4

If a minor legally consents to their own treatment without parents permission & TH determines parents shouldn’t be involved, but the minors parents call the TH to ask about the minor, the TH should…..

Answer 4

= not provide any information unless client authorizes a release

Parents generally have the right to access their minor child’s records. However, this access is restricted when –
–(a) the minor has access to the records because he/she was legally able to consent to his or her own treatment or

–(b) release of the records would have a detrimental effect on the therapeutic relationship or on the minor’s safety or psychological well-being.

In this situation, withholding information from parents applies since the minor client legally consented to treatment.