Inland Empire Chapter of CAMFT

Seminar title:

Law & Ethics 2019: Tough calls, moral dilemmas, technology, and more

Level of Learning:

All levels

Seminar description:

Our morals and values inevitably influence our work. When we have clear legal and ethical standards to guide us, we defer to those standards. But often, when faced with difficult decisions, our standards offer conflicting guidance, or none at all. This can confuse clients, who wonder whether their therapist will truly understand or support their choices.  Through the use of case examples, this workshop will show how our individual morals and values influence therapy work even when we seek to appear neutral; how to identify your own morals and values relevant to your practice; and why owning those values matters.

Seminar goals:

Goals for this workshop include (1) Assisting therapists in understanding the role that their own morals and values play in clinical and ethical decision-making; (2) Encouraging therapists to think critically about that role and its implications for therapy; (3) Informing therapists about recent developments in court cases and ethical standards related to the personal values of the therapist; and (4) Encouraging therapists toward transparency with clients about the therapist’s values, in accordance with ethical standards and the therapist’s theoretical orientation.

Seminar objectives:

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• 1.       Identify at least two personal morals and values most relevant to their psychotherapy practice
• 2.       Differentiate between a personal opinion, a clinical opinion, advice-giving, and imposing personal values
• 3.       Construct a framework for clinical and ethical decision-making that integrates personal morals and values in a manner that is within professional ethical boundaries and appropriate to their clientele
• 4.       Identify three common frameworks for making value-based decisions
• 5.       Identify at least two implications from court cases involving mental health students’ moral decision making.

Speaker bio:

Benjamin Caldwell is the author of five books, including Basics of California Law for

LMFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs, and Saving Psychotherapy. He serves as adjunct faculty for California

State University Northridge. In his role as Chair of the Legislative and Advocacy Committee for the

California Division of AAMFT, he was directly involved in California’s first-in-the-nation ban on

reparative therapy for minors, and drove the change in title from “intern” to “associate” for pre-licensed

MFTs and PCCs. For his advocacy work, he was awarded the AAMFT Division Contribution Award in

2013. He maintains a private practice in Los Angeles, specializing in working with couples.

Law and Ethics 2019-Morality Eval Summary.xlsx