GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION

Informed Consent is one of the most basic ways by which therapists protect their clients' rights to be informed and to make decisions based on relevant information. This is the consent by a client to a proposed psychotherapeutic procedure or for participation in a research project or clinical study. It not only protects the client but also protects the clinician. In order for the consent to be informed the client must first achieve a clear understanding of the relevant facts, risks and benefits involved.

This course provides the following most basic (ready-to-use and easily personalized) forms that most therapists should have in their practice:

• Office Policies & Informed Consent for Psychotherapy and Counseling
• HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices

In addition, the course reviews the nuts and bolts of Informed Consent, reviews the codes of ethics on the topic and provides dozens of resources and reference links to various samples of informed consents for psychotherapy, counseling, forensic, assessment, research and other settings.

 
Educational Objectives:

This course will teach psychotherapists to
• Identify the components of Informed Consent.
• Review the kinds of information required for a client to provide Informed Consent.
• Recognize when a client has been provided with sufficient information to provide Informed Consent.
• Specify situations in which Informed Consent may not be achieved.
• Describe the position that their professional organizations hold regarding Informed Consent.

Course Syllabus:

• Defining Informed Consent
• Components of Informed Consent
  • Capacity to provide Informed Consent (Competency)
  • Clear understanding of proposed treatment or intervention, and the pros and cons associated with it
  • Awareness of alternatives to proposed treatment
  • Documentation of consent
• Coming to clarity about Informed Consent
  • Determining whether a client is sufficiently informed
• Informed Consent and the Codes of Ethics
• Sample forms and documents for Informed Consent
• Ready-To-Use forms:
  • Office Policies & Informed Consent
  • HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices
• Resources and References

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