2010 APAIT Workshop - Los Angeles, CA

For the last ten years, there has been a major increase in the number of lawsuits, licensing board complaints, and ethics committee complaints against clinical psychologists. As managed care continues to dominate third party reimbursements in both the private and public sectors, any adverse disciplinary event can make it difficult, in not impossible, to me credentialing requirements. The changes in the economic system have led to changes in therapeutic approaches and business organizations that, in turn, have increased the complexity of the legal and regulatory environment. In these difficult times, a risk management strategy is an essential element of professional practice.

After providing a basic introduction to identifying legal and ethical risks involved in working with high risk patients and situations, this workshop will focus on three specialized areas of practice: working with couples and families, involvement with lawyers and the legal system, and working with potentially suicidal clients.

The primary workshop goal is to allow practitioners to identify potential legal and ethical problems in these areas so that risks of lawsuits and disciplinary complaints can be minimized. Dr. Younggren will suggest strategies which will make it more likely that a psychologist will prevail if she/he is unfortunate enough to be the target of these sometimes unavoidable events. The program will describe how and when practitioners can utilize the Trust Advocate 800 Risk Management Consultation Service as part of their own risk management strategies.

OBJECTIVES

 After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Learn basic strategies for identifying high risk situations and managing professional practice risks.
• Learn how to manage interactions with lawyers and the legal system, including responding to subpoenas and other information requests, providing testimony at depositions and in court, and using strategies for interacting with attorneys.
• Learn about managing potential conflicts in conjoint treatment with couples and families, with particular emphasis on the special risks associated with divorce.
• Learn essential risk management strategies for identifying and managing outpatient suicide risk.
• Learn ethical and legal standards governing these areas of practice.