Mental Health Professionals and the Law

Credit

Program Information

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Speaker

Michael Kahn, LPC, JD Related seminars and products

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Michael Kahn, JD, LPC, holds a JD from the Dickinson School of Law, and practiced law with the Attorney General’s Office for the State of New Jersey. As a Deputy Attorney General, he represented the Department of Corrections and later the Department of Environmental Protection. Although he left the practice of law in 1991, his work thereafter has kept him involved in the lives of lawyers in various capacities.

Following a stint as assistant director of career services with the Tulane University School of Law, Micheal obtained his MEd in counseling from UNC-Greensboro in 1994, and shortly thereafter became a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of North Carolina. Michael’s areas of focus in his psychotherapy practice have included anxiety, depression, grief/loss, and men’s issues, and he has worked with adolescents and adults in individual and group therapy settings.

In 2012, he relocated to Oregon, where in addition to continuing his speaking career, he served as facilitated bereavement groups for lawyers. Michael currently resides in Vancouver, BC, where he serves part-time on the counseling staff of the Lawyers Assistance Program of British Columbia. He continues to present training seminars and workshops on ethics, grief, wellness, DEIB, and other topics for lawyers and mental health professionals throughout the US and Canada, including for the US military.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Michael Kahn is the co-founder of ReelTime Creative Learning Experiences and has employment relationships with Lumara Grief and Bereavement Care Society and Lawyers Assistance Program of BC. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Michael Kahn has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Chris Osborn, JD Related seminars and products

Additional Info

Program Information

For live CE credit, you must watch the live webcast in its entirety at its scheduled time and complete the CE quiz and evaluation within one week. You will have access for 90 days after the program for review.

Please note: There will be a 70-minute lunch and two 15-minute breaks; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and break times will be announced by the speaker and at their discretion. A more detailed schedule is available upon request.

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.

Objectives

1. Determine how to wisely prepare for testifying in court or at a deposition, and being cross-examined by a lawyer.
2. Identify strategies to implement when you get subpoenaed to testify.
3. Utilize stress management and self-care interventions when interacting with lawyers and the legal system.
4. Determine ethical blind spots and employ strategies to improve your ethical decision-making.
5. Distinguish between boundary crossings and boundary violations.
6. Identify emerging boundary challenges in the digital age.

Outline

• Prepare for depositions
• Court testimony
• Common points of confusion for therapists

• Motivations, objectives, and how they differ from those of a clinician
• Winner take all or zero-sum process
• Differences between fact and expert witnesses
• Expert designations and written reports
• Subpoenas for records, deposition, and trial testimony

• Depositions vs. trial testimony: Key differences and how to prepare
• Why lawyers question experts: Learn their goals and how to prepare effectively
• Handling cross-examination: Tips to stay calm and credible under pressure
• Subpoena survival: Master a simple but effective response process
• Stress-proofing Your experience: Use mindfulness and micro self-care to manage stress
• Ethical confidence: Maintain integrity and demonstrate expertise

• Committing to behave ethically isn’t enough
• Reasons we may not be as ethical as we think we are
• ”Should” selves and “want” selves
• Recollection biases
• Ethical fading
• Motivated blindness
• Case example and Resources

• Narrow the gap
• Give voice to the “should” self
• ”Really?” Evaluate the decision-making process
• Relevant ethics code provisions and standards (PSY, LPC, SW, MFT)

• Self-disclosure guidelines
• When to share personal information with clients
• Therapeutic benefits and risks
• Key considerations when considering a boundary crossing
• Boundary violations in the digital age
• Risk management strategies
• Case examples

• Different types of dual relationships and conflicts of interests
• Determine whether a dual relationship is ethical or unethical
• Dual relationships and boundary crossings
• Formulate an effective ethical decision-making model
• Unique boundary challenges working in small towns, rural areas, and other close-knit communities
• Case examples

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Therapists
• Physicians
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Case Managers
• Other Mental Health Professionals