Legal Issues In Mental Health Care

I. OVERVIEW Legal Issues in Mental HeaIth Care is aimed at the mental health clinician who provides services on either an inpatient or an outpatient basis. It is written for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and other therapists to help them understand and manage legal issues in their daily practice. The issues covered apply to therapists who work for an agency or hospital as weil as those who work independently. The book is meant to serve as a handbook, but it also provides a quick resource as legal questions arise which are related to the obligations of the therapist. It ad dresses the legal issues that confront the clinician. It is not aimed at the clinicianwho specializes in forensie mental health issues, because the information provided does not reach that level of detail or sophistication. Nor is it aimed at the scholar, because our goal is to provide practical information in a clear and concise format. Wehave not addressed the wide array of laws protecting the mentally disabled from discrirnina tion-most notably, the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)and the Fair Housing Act. Most states also have laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, services, and housing. These issues are beyond the scope of this book because we are address ing the legal issues that arise in providing care, rather than the rights of mentally disabled persons. 11. ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK The book consists of eleven chapters and a Glossary of Legal Terms.

Provides practical solutions for ending coercion in mental health care and realizing the universal right to legal capacity.

Legal issues in Social Work, Counseling, and Mental Health presents clearly and comprehensively what mental health and other direct practice professionals need to know to respond to the legal issues that surround practice. This volume covers a wide range of topics including providing testimony, responding to subpoenas, dealing with an attorney, influencing the legal system, and understanding the legal side of the business of psychotherapy. The author also discusses various direct practice and human service issues, incorporating some of the everyday legal questions these professionals encounter and using case material.

This book provides a systematic and interdisciplinary study of occupational mental health legislation in seven countries. The work presents a study of the laws, policies, and legal interpretations to help prevent mental health problems from occurring in the workplace and appropriately address problems once they do occur. With a view to improving provision in Japan, the author examines the legal issues relating to workplace mental health and stress in the USA, UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Germany. In presenting a comparative discussion of mental health issues in the workplace, this book seeks to establish a minimum for legal rights and duties that contribute to prevention and not just compensation. With its detailed comparative and descriptive coverage of legal and related provisions in a range of countries, the book will be a valuable resource for academics, policy-makers and practitioners working in labour and employment law, social welfare, occupational health and human resource management.

Stay up-to-date on the ethical and legal issues that affect your clinical and professional decisions! Ethical and Legal Issues for Mental Health Professionals: A Comprehensive Handbook of Principles and Standards details the ethical and legal issues that involve mental health professionals. Respected authorities with diverse backgrounds, expertise, and professional experience discuss contemporary theories emphasizing professional ethics, the ramifications of professional actions and decisions, and ethical standards on teaching, training, research, and publication. This informative handbook provides invaluable up-to-date information and guidelines vital for every mental health professional. This book is a thorough examination of ethical behavior which can be used as a reference source for the professional or a textbook for graduate students. The handbook itself is divided into five sections. The first section is a detailed introduction of ethics, law, and licensing. The second section presents general ethical principles like competence, integrity, and respect for individual rights and dignity. The third section examines confidentiality, privilege, consent, and protection. The fourth section focuses on general ethical standards in practice, including sexual contact, multiple relationships, and bartering. The fifth section presents the ethical principles and standards in teaching, training, and research. Appendices include the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (American Psychological Association, 2002) and the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (National Association of Social Workers, 1999). Ethical and Legal Issues for Mental Health Professionals: A Comprehensive Handbook of Principles and Standards discusses: the history of basic approaches and issues in ethical philosophy five fundamental areas in the process of developing competence the necessary ingredients for the mental health professional’s practice of integrity aspirational versus enforceable standards of ethics concern for the welfare of others as a core ethical principle the notion of social responsibility in the ethics codes of psychologists and social workers ethical principles, statutes, and case law protecting privacy and confidentiality issues involving the therapist-patient privilege the “duty to protect” doctrine and relevant legal issues the dynamics of multiple relationships and boundary violations sexualized dual relationships between psychologists and patients possible conflict of interest in bartering for services the requirements and implementation of maintaining patient records to avoid ethical and legal problems possible ethical dilemmas involving referrals and fees much, much more This Handbook is an essential resource for all mental health professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, therapists, and graduate students in mental health and the related fields. Ethical and Legal Issues for Mental Health Professionals: A Comprehensive Handbook of Principles and Standards is the first of three volumes under this title. The following volumes will focus on forensic settings and special populations/special treatment modalities.

Examining the legal structure of the mental health system, this book explains the legal principles. It places them in the context of their practical application, the realities of patient life, and the complexities of organising care. This edition gives an analysis of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 and the Draft Mental Health Bill.

The Medical-Legal Aspects of Acute Care Medicine: A Resource for Clinicians, Administrators, and Risk Managers is a comprehensive resource intended to provide a state-of-the-art overview of complex ethical, regulatory, and legal issues of importance to clinical healthcare professionals in the area of acute care medicine; including, for example, physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and care managers. In addition, this book also covers key legal and regulatory issues relevant to non-clinicians, such as hospital and practice administrators; department heads, educators, and risk managers. This text reviews traditional and emerging areas of ethical and legal controversies in healthcare such as resuscitation; mass-casualty event response and triage; patient autonomy and shared decision-making; medical research and teaching; ethical and legal issues in the care of the mental health patient; and, medical record documentation and confidentiality. Furthermore, this volume includes chapters dedicated to critically important topics, such as team leadership, the team model of clinical care, drug and device regulation, professional negligence, clinical education, the law of corporations, tele-medicine and e-health, medical errors and the culture of safety, regulatory compliance, the regulation of clinical laboratories, the law of insurance, and a practical overview of claims management and billing. Authored by experts in the field, The Medical-Legal Aspects of Acute Care Medicine: A Resource for Clinicians, Administrators, and Risk Managers is a valuable resource for all clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals.