Professional Informed Consent-Light of Litigation and Keeping the Clinician Safe from Litigation
Part 1
Professional Disclosure Statement and Informed Consent
Welcome, and thank you for allowing me to take part in your life’s journey. This document will inform you of my background, including who I am, my training, expertise in counselling, counselling approaches, what to expect during therapy, and your rights. This document is mandated by law under Texas state administrative laws.
I am a behavioural professional licensed to practice in Texas. I have a master of science in behavioural psychology. I also have certification in couples and family therapy and training in wellness counselling. I have vast experience in behavioural therapy, having practised for over ten years. My experience is in individual, group, and family therapy. I have worked with families and individuals using dialectical behavioural therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy approaches.
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Counselling Services: Activities Clinicians will Conduct During the Session
The counselling process will utilize a collaborative approach, drawing the client and the counsellor into an enabling environment where clients are free to share their feelings and thoughts. The client’s active participation and work outside therapeutic sessions is essential in the counselling process. My role through the counselling sessions will be to discuss the mental health diagnosis as part of therapy. I will also work on developing a therapeutic plan to resolve their mental health issues.
Supervisor and Contacts
If, for any reason, I am not meeting your therapeutic demands, you can feel free to contact my supervisor. My clinical Supervisor is Juan-Toscano Hererra. You can contact him by phone at 336-770- 3288 or by email address: juantoscanohr@gmail. com.
Possible Benefits and Downside to Treatment
Behavioural therapy maintains effectiveness in addressing various mental health illnesses. This therapy identifies and corrects self-destructive behaviours that manifest as mental health illnesses. People with mental health illnesses such as depression, anxiety, panic disorders, and other mental health illnesses can benefit from this form of therapy. Its effectiveness notwithstanding, behavioural therapy has some disadvantages. This therapeutic approach may not be suitable for clients with more complex mental health requirements and learning difficulties. Additionally, as this therapeutic intervention requires that clients confront their emotions, this approach may present emotional discomfort. This therapy’s success also depends on cooperation between the involved parties.
If you require additional consultation, feel free to call for help via my number: 834- 611-3461. You can also reach me via the email: [email protected].
Confidentiality
It is my legal and ethical obligation to maintain the confidentiality of any information shared during therapy except if you direct me to reveal them to somebody else if I determine that you are a danger to others and yourself if ordered by a court of law to reveal such information, and when am working with other caregivers and disclosure of the information is necessary.
Fees
The charge for therapy will be 150 dollars per session.
Informed Consent
I (Name of the Client) do authorize Petersons Kelvin to provide professional counseling services to me. I have read the confidentiality statement and understood the potential benefits and risks of behavioral therapy. I also understand that I am free to ask any questions during therapy, register my feedback on the therapy and seek referral or discontinue therapy in case my needs are not met.
Client’s Signature: __________________________________ Date: ___________
Printed Name: ______________________________________________________
Part 2
Informed consent remains an important aspect of the helping profession. It is a recognition of the client’s rights and autonomy over their decision-making and caregivers’ accountability and responsibility in ensuring their clients take part in the care process. Pietrzykowski & Smilowska (2021) defines informed consent as a communication process between caregivers and their clients that often results in the client granting the caregiver permission for the care service offered. Significant in informed consent are the benefits of the care service offered, its potential risk that may be unknown to the clients, termination of participation, and the costs of the service. Informed consent is required by law for treatment purposes, dissemination of patient information, anesthesia, blood transfusion, discussion of HIPAA laws, and before specific procedures.
Informed consent is ethically and legally bound. Ethically, it is a demonstration of the caregiver’s conformation to the principle of autonomy and informed consent that places due consideration on the client’s role in their decision-making processes. Caregivers have an ethical obligation to allow their clients to make informed decisions about their healthcare choices. Their role, however, is to provide their clients with valuable information regarding the available therapeutic choices, such as potential harmful effects, advantages, and costs (Grant, 2021). The legal basis of informed consent is centered on the recognition of the client’s right of choice.
The Need for Informed Consent in Light of Litigation and Keeping the Clinician Safe from Litigation
The legal basis of informed consent underpins its necessity in light of litigations. The legal elements of informed consent demonstrate its conformation with the client’s right of choice. These are the voluntarism of informed consent, the client’s right to information, and the client’s capacity to provide informed consent. Per these provisions, the validity of informed consent will be based on the client’s functional and mental capacity to acknowledge an understanding of the target procedure and to make a decision regarding the service they are set to receive. It also shows they fully abide by and accept any consequence of the procedure as defined by their caregivers. This demonstration of knowledge that characterizes informed consent and its legal foundations relieves the burden of litigation on caregivers. Caregivers, in this regard, are protected from any form of litigations when informed consent is provided before the initiation of therapy, except in situations where the consequence of the care service or procedure was not stated by the caregiver. It is, therefore, essential that clinicians request informed consent before initiating any therapeutic process. This may shelve them from any lawsuit mounted by the clients that may incriminate them for undertaking the procedure to which informed consent was obtained.
A Case of Litigation against a Treatment Professional
The Canterbury versus Spence case demonstrates the necessity of a legal basis when managing clients with trauma. In this case, Canterbury was advised by the treating professional to pursue a form of treatment to manage physical trauma in his lower back. The caregiver, aware that the procedure sometimes results in paralysis and has been reported in less than 1% of all cases, did not advise the client on the potential harm of this therapeutic approach. The client went on to develop paralysis and pressed charges against the caregiver for failing to inform him of the risk associated with the procedure (Millum & Bromwich, 2021). The caregiver was found not to have fully disclosed valuable information to the client. This case reinforces the necessity of disclosing all essential information to the clients before initiating a procedure on them.
Informed consent remains valuable in the helping profession. It shelves caregivers from litigation against them and is necessary before beginning some care processes and procedures. The legal basis of informed consent is centered on the recognition of the client’s right to health information and the choice of care services given to them. It is thus essential that informed consent be obtained before the initiation of any form of care services.
References
Grant, S. C. (2021). Informed consent—we can and should do better. JAMA Network Open, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10848
Millum, J., & Bromwich, D. (2021). Informed consent: What must be disclosed and what must be understood? The American Journal of Bioethics, 21(5), 46–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2020.1863511
Pietrzykowski, T., & Smilowska, K. (2021). The reality of informed consent: Empirical studies on patient comprehension—a systematic review. Trials, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-020-04969-w
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Question
Assessment Description
Part 1:
Note: Students may assume they are clinicians or case managers for this exercise.
Write a one-page professional disclosure statement and informed consent describing the following:
Professional Informed Consent-Light of Litigation and Keeping the Clinician Safe from Litigation
Your training and expertise
What activities will the student conduct during the sessions?
Who their supervisor is and how they may be contacted
The possible downside to the prescribed treatment
You may use the first person when writing this assignment. An example of this has been provided to you in the topic materials.
Part 2:
Write 350-700 words that discuss the need for informed consent in light of litigation and keeping the clinician safe from litigation. In this paper, the student will cite at least one resource that discusses a case of litigation against a treatment professional treating a trauma patient.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.