Teletherapy in COVID and Beyond: Borders, Tech Choices, and Standards of Care

In 2020, the need to reach self-quarantined therapy clients during the COVID-19 pandemic made teletherapy explode across the United States--both in terms of practice and in terms of changes to applicable law and ethics. Many states opened up practice to clinicians licensed elsewhere. HHS softened rules regarding HIPAA-appropriate telehealth software. Clients who may not have been seen as candidates for teletherapy before COVID-19 suddenly had much less choice in the matter.

Since then, we have adjusted thoroughly to the new normal of teletherapy, and it is likely here to stay in one form or another. As we gradually exit the public health emergency, however, what changes to the landscape can mental health clinicians expect to see? Will we be able to work with clients in other states? What tech will be legal or ethical to use? What kinds of standards of care should we be preparing to meet so as to ensure we are delivering competent care via the video conferencing medium?

In this 2-hour legal ethical continuing education webinar, Roy Huggins will explore those questions with both legal-ethical citations and practical world examples.

This introductory continuing education webinar is designed to help mental health professionals:

1. Describe the essential professional and legal-ethical issues that arise in practicing via telemental health.
2. Use freely-available lookup tools to discover licensure board rules and COVID-19 emergency rules in foreign states and how they impact work with clients in those states.
3. Comply with HIPAA when using telemental health technology tools.
4. Use the office environment and service delivery software and hardware to create a clinically effective visual and auditory connection with telemental health clients.
5. Prepare for changes to practice procedures based on legal-ethical shifts that will occur when the US federal COVID-19 public health emergency is declared over.

Statement of program material’s accuracy, utility, and risks: This presentation may not include information on all applicable state or national laws. Misapplication of the materials, or errors in the materials, could result in non-compliance with applicable laws or ethics codes.

Declaration of conflicts of interest and commercial support: None.

If you have any questions or would like information regarding disability accommodations, please contact us here.

Continuing Education (CE) Information

2 CE legal ethical contact hours will be provided by GoodTherapy for attending this web conference in its entirety. To receive CE credit hours for an archived recording, you will need to complete a survey as well as a 15-question exam, verifying that you listened to or watched the event in its entirety. Archived CE events are generally considered "homestudy" by licensing boards.

GoodTherapy is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements.

GoodTherapy.org, provider #1352, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 3/30/2022 – 3/30/2025. Social workers completing this course receive 2 ethics continuing education credits.

GoodTherapy is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

GoodTherapy, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0395. GoodTherapy, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0022 and for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0031.

To receive CE credit hours for an archived event, you will need to complete a survey as well as a 12 or 15-question exam, verifying that you listened to or watched the event in its entirety. Archived CE events generally are considered "homestudy" by licensing boards.

Registration Information

Premium and Pro Membership with GoodTherapy includes access to this web conference at no additional cost, as well as other member benefits such as a profile listing in GoodTherapy's Therapist Directory. Not yet a member? Sign up for a Premium or Pro Membership, here.

Just want CE credits? Sign up for a monthly or annual CE Subscription with GoodTherapy to get unlimited access to our CE Program, including this event, other live CE web conferences, and hundreds of hours of homestudy courses.

Mental health professionals who are not members can access the homestudy recording for $15.50. Sign up here to purchase this CE course and earn a CE certificate.

If the event is canceled by GoodTherapy, registrants who purchased the event will be notified and the charge for the event will be refunded

If you have any questions or would like information regarding disability accommodations, please contact us.

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