Psychotherapy and the Law Questions and Answers for Counsellors and Therapists

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ISBN: 9781861564191 | 1861564198
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 4/9/2004

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This book provides an accessible and informed outline of the law relating to counselling and psychotherapy, for use by trainees, therapists, trainers, supervisors and managers. At a time when concerns about record keeping, confidentiality and litigation are rising, this book provides an essential and user-friendly point of reference for practitioners. Based on a question and answer format, the book covers key areas such as legal context of therapy, liability, data protection, training, research and supervision.In this way, the book addresses the very real practice concerns now facing therapists, such as implications of keeping records, using contracts, and facing complaint or legal action. Limits of confidentiality are covered, with regard to child abuse, duty to warn others and working with clients who self-harm or use drugs. This is an essential source for reference and professional updating, written by three experts in the field.

Contributors

The law: friend or foe?

(3)

Therapy and the law: contracts and liability

(27)

How much (or how little) do I need to know about the law as a therapist to avoid problems and to provide a decent service for my clients?

(3)

Is a contract for therapy the same as a legal contract or is it something different? What do I need to be aware of in drawing up and using a contract with a client?

(3)

I provide analytic psychotherapy for students taking a local diploma in psychotherapy. My problem is that one trainee has had the last year's therapy on account but has now moved away suddenly and is reluctant to pay up. I don't want to resort to legal action, but I do want to be paid for my work!

(1)

Are there any legal problems in accepting gifts or legacies from clients?

(3)

Could a therapist be sued for failing to do something (for example not setting a clear contract) rather than by actively harming a client (for example by exploiting them in some way)?

(4)

Can I be sued if a client objects that my therapeutic approach was inappropriate for their particular problem (for example by my providing psychodynamic psychotherapy rather than behavioural counselling for panic attacks)?

(3)

Can I be sued by the parents of my (adult) client? They are claiming that I am responsible for implanting in her mind false memories of sexual abuse as a child

(2)

If I follow my common sense, keep reasonably up to date and stick to well-established professional boundaries, how likely is it that I will ever be sued by a client?

(3)

What level of protection should I be looking for in a professional indemnity insurance policy?

(4)

The law in specific contexts

(19)

As a counsellor working for an Employee Assistance Programme, I am required to give out basic legal information, which I feel ill-equipped to do, even though it comes from a manual with a disclaimer for any liability. Should I really be doing this?

(2)

My counselling agency will only let me work with children under 14 with their parents' permission. I feel that this actually puts many young people off, when they desperately need someone to talk to. What is the law on this issue?

(3)

I work as an employee of an NHS Trust in one primary-care setting and also do private counselling work in a second primary-care team. Am I right in assuming that I am covered by the Trust's insurance for both types of work?

(2)

My agency, an Employee Assistance Programme, requires that brief written reports be sent to the personnel department on each client -- indicating the nature of the work undertaken and the outcomes of the counselling -- on completion of their counselling. Do I have to comply with this practice?

(2)

I work as a volunteer counsellor for a charitable organization. There is a new management committee in post, which is insisting that all counsellors, including volunteers and students on placement, have to take out their own insurance cover, which works out as being rather expensive. They are saying we are apparently not covered by the agency's own insurance for its own employed members of staff. Is this right?

(3)

My employer is a college of further education with, apparently, little regard for counselling confidentiality. Senior management is now requiring counsellors to report all child abuse within two hours to a `named person' or face disciplinary measures. Can they do this?

(3)

My client is considering giving up her well-paid job because of workplace stress. Can she sue her employers for this, and, if so, would I be called upon to support her case as her current counsellor? This prospect causes me some concern as I work in occupational health and am employed by the same organization as my client

(4)

Risk and responsibility

(23)

Are there any legal concerns in using your own home for doing counselling and psychotherapy in private practice?

(3)

Can I be sued if one of my clients commits suicide? (I work with a high-risk client group, who frequently self-harm.)

(3)

I work with couples in the context of domestic violence. If I feel that one partner is at risk of violence from another, what can or should I do to protect them?

(2)

Are there any legal issues involved in using touch with my clients?

(4)

My former client refuses to accept that the therapeutic work has come to an end. She continues to write, leave messages on my work answerphone and to send me unwanted gifts. I feel very pressured and unhappy about this. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

(3)

What legal responsibility might I have if my HIV-positive client tells me he is practising unsafe sex without telling his partners?

(2)

My supervisor is adamant that all child abuse has to be reported because of the Children Act. My tutor, on the other hand, says it depends on the code of ethics. Who is right about the legal position?

(3)

Are there any particular legal issues involved in working with clients who use illegal drugs?

(3)

Record-keeping

(18)

As a client, how can I get hold of my own counselling records? And what can I do if I am not happy with what they say about me?

(3)

How long should I keep my therapy records for?

(3)

Besides my agency records, I also keep my own personal records for supervision and ongoing personal development. Is there a way of protecting these from disclosure or future use by the courts?

(4)

I have been called to court as a witness concerning my client in a case of sexual abuse alleged against her father. I don't want the defence solicitor to have access to these very detailed therapeutic notes. Is the safest thing just to keep them with me at all times in the court room?

(1)

My client has asked me to write a report in support of his claim for criminal injuries compensation. If I were to agree to this, can it go wrong for him, or for me, in a legal sense?

(2)

Can a therapist act as an expert witness in court? Do I put myself at risk in any way if I take on this role?

(1)

The local police are putting me under pressure to hand over my case notes on a client, where they are gathering evidence for a criminal prosecution for child abuse. Do I have to give in to their requests?

(2)

Can a therapist decline to give evidence in court against their client if this is really a matter of conscience? How would I claim this right if I were ever to face this situation?

(2)

Training, supervision and the law

(12)

The fact that I am gay seems to be a barrier to my being accepted onto a particular, very traditional, psychoanalytic training scheme. Is there anything I can do about this?

(2)

Where do I stand in the law if, as a workshop presenter, one of the workshop participants claims to have been psychologically damaged by the experience (for example by taking part in a regression exercise as a form of experiential therapy)?

(2)

What could happen to me if my client were to recognize herself in a published case study, even if heavily disguised (she left therapy before I could get her permission)?

(2)

My current client is in counselling for sexual problems, including indecent exposure -- for which, incidentally, he has never been caught by the police. To my dismay, he now proudly tells me he has been accepted onto a local diploma in counselling course. Should I do something to alert the course tutors, as I feel strongly that future clients would be at risk?

(2)

As a supervisor, my approach is that I take clinical responsibility for my supervisee's therapeutic practice. Does it follow that I could be sued if they were found to be professionally negligent?

(4)

Professional activities and the law

103

(20)

Where do I stand if I come across bad practice in therapy within the NHS Trust where I work? How could I report such practice without running the risk of being disciplined or even dismissed?

103

(3)

What is the legal protection provided to a counsellor or psychotherapist in following their professional code of ethics? Would this be sufficient defence in a legal dispute over standards if this ever came to court?

106

(3)

What can I do as a therapist if I find out that my client, or a colleague, is spreading libel or slander about me?

109

(2)

I am starting up a counselling service via email. Are there any legal issues I need to be aware of?

111

(3)

I have been the subject of a complaint by my professional association, and I feel that I have been unfairly treated in the process. I depend upon my counselling practice for my livelihood, so this is very important to me. How do I go about clearing my name?

114

(2)

When is the government going to regulate counselling and psychotherapy to protect clients from unqualified and dangerous practitioners?

116

(3)

Is there any way of getting good legal advice cheaply or even for free?

119

(4)

Resources

123

(16)

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Psychotherapy and the Law Questions and Answers for Counsellors and Therapists

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

FREE SHIPPING

Rent More, Save More! Use code: BBRENTAL

5% off 1 book, 7% off 2 books, 10% off 3+ books

Psychotherapy and the Law Questions and Answers for Counsellors and Therapists

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials

Digital License