BHS 160 - Ethical, Legal and Professional Issues in Behavioral Health and Social Service

1. Ethical codes, legal mandates and professional credentialing
2. Documentation, reporting requirements, and record-keeping among licensed and non-licensed behavioral health professionals
3. Ethics in social and behavioral services

1. Identify the unlicensed and licensed professional regulating bodies, laws, and codes of ethics that govern the behavioral health fields. (1)
2. Identify governing bodies that oversee the practice of behavioral health. (1)
3. Define the ethical, legal and professional responsibilities of helping professionals. (2)
4. Identify the role of supervision in the development of professional practice. (2)
5. Describe clients` rights to confidentiality and situations in which confidentiality cannot be assured, including minors and vulnerable adults. (2)
6. Explain ethical issues related to professional competence and scope of practice. (2)
7. Demonstrate accurate documentation of legal and ethical issues. (2)
8. Identify the role of attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, and personal and professional values that underlie ethical decision making. (3)
9. Demonstrate the ability to apply concepts of ethical decision making to address common issues in social and behavioral services. (3)
10. Predict ways to effectively manage and avoid boundary issues and dual relationships in behavioral health counseling. (2, 3)
11. Explore diversity issues that are relevant within ethical decision making. (3)
12. Describe the unique ethical issues in working with minor clients, including ages of consent in mental health and substance abuse treatment, consent vs. assent for minors, and the involvement of significant others in the treatment process. (3)
13. Demonstrate the ability to apply concepts of ethical decision making with specialized populations, including integrative care. (3)