Understanding the Most Common Violations of Law against Psychologists

MentorHealth
Duration: 60 Minutes
Instructor: Mark Brengelman
Webinar Id: 800615

Recorded

$179.
One Attendee

Overview:

Today's diverse, fast-changing, multidisciplinary mental health care environment involves many mental health care professionals who work together for the common goal of the patient. This includes physicians/psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and others. Nothing in health care is more fractured than in mental health among a multitude of mental health practitioners.

Like physicians/psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses, psychologists as health care practitioners obtained an education, passed applicable examinations, completed professional training, and hold a license to practice their chosen profession of psychology, often by being educated and trained at the doctoral level. The license to practice is issued by the state agency which has exclusive jurisdiction over this health care practitioner.

Thereafter, the state's authority and power over the psychologist often presents challenges to that professional that are not easy to navigate. Their governing state agency routinely handles, investigates, and dismisses- or prosecutes - alleged violations of law that can be career ending for the psychologist if pursued. But that process takes time with many steps necessary for due process of law.

One of the ultimate actions the state may take is to issue a suspension or revocation of the psychologist's professional license. Yet many state actions fall short of such drastic outcomes, but still have serious, permanent consequences for the psychologist as a licensed health care professional.

Learn to identify the legal authority for state agencies to regulate the practice of psychology. Seek to understand and defend against state actions which may result in ruinous practice and career consequences for the health care professional.

This program offers an objective, thorough review of the ethical and legal violations committed by psychologists. This program also reviews defenses with practice tips to defend successfully those common violations. Otherwise, the psychologist likely suffers a fatal blow to his or her professional practice and career.

Why should you attend: Psychologists are some of the most educated mental health care practitioners working in today's diverse, fast-changing, multidisciplinary mental health care environment. The state's authority and power over the psychologist often presents challenges to that professional that are not easy to navigate.

Psychologists must adhere to many standards of state law which govern their professional practices, including the doctor-patient relationship. Yet once a complaint is received and investigated by a state agency, the psychologist is left with an uncertain process to handle the state action.

Learn to identify and understand the most common violations of law against psychologists. This allows the practitioner to defend against such state actions which may result in ruinous practice and career consequences for the psychologist.

This program offers an objective, thorough review of the legal and ethical analysis of state licensure board complaints against psychologists.

Areas Covered in the Session:

  • Sources of legal authority for the state to take disciplinary action against psychologists
  • Administrative procedures applied to the process of disciplinary actions
  • Due process standards for the psychologists
  • Defenses to disciplinary action proceedings
  • Review of the most common ethical and legal violations committed by psychologists
  • Practice tips for successfully handling disciplinary action proceedings

Who Will Benefit:
  • Individual Psychologists
  • Individual Mental Health Care Practitioners
  • Health care Attorneys
  • Corporate Counsel in Health Care
  • University Faculty in Allied Health Care
  • Including Departments of Education and Psychology

Speaker Profile
Mark Brengelman became interested in the law when he graduated with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Philosophy from Emory University in Atlanta. He then earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law. In 1995, Mark became an Assistant Attorney General and focused in the area of administrative and professional law. He represented multiple boards as General Counsel and Prosecuting Attorney.

Mark retired from state government in the summer of 2012. Also in 2012, he became certified as a hearing officer. He then opened his own law practice to focus on government services and consulting, continuing education, and the representation of health care practitioners before licensure boards and in other professional regulatory matters.

Expanding his health law experience, he was a registered legislative agent (lobbyist) for the Kentucky Association of Pastoral Counselors for the successful passage of Senate Bill 61 passed by the Kentucky General Assembly and signed by the Governor into law on April 9, 2014.

Mark is a frequent participant in continuing education and has been a presenter for over a dozen national and state organizations including the Kentucky Bar Association, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, and the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute.

He is the founding presenter for "Navigating Ethics and Law for Mental Health Professionals," a continuing education training approved by five Kentucky mental health licensure boards, which was presented at Midway College with a licensed clinical social worker in 2013 and 2014.

Since October 2013, Mark has practiced law with the firm of Hazelrigg & Cox, LLP, as partner - an established law firm tracing its history in Frankfort, Kentucky, over one hundred years.


You Recently Viewed