Workshop Description:

For many social workers, client lethality and mandatory reporting are some of the most difficult topics to navigate. In this workshop we will examine the applicable Washington State and Federal laws regarding mandatory reporting obligations with a specific focus on how these rules apply to behavioral health settings.  We will also discuss the boundaries and standards of clinician liability for client harm to self or others as defined in Washington State case law.  We will apply these standards to case studies specifically applicable to the practice of social work regarding client/patient advocacy.

Participants will gain increased ability to implement strategies to minimize risk and to limit liability to best support their clients and patients. This course is intended to meet ethics CE requirements.

Objectives:

· Identify and apply legal guidelines regarding mandatory reporting obligations

· Identify and apply legal standards regarding duty to warn/duty to protect

· Create and evaluate strategies to meet legal reporting requirements while maximizing client/patient support

· Applies the legal and ethical standards to a range of real-life and hypothetical case studies

· Create strategies to appropriately advocate for client & patient safety

About the presenter:

Eric Ström is an attorney and Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Seattle, Washington. As an attorney, Eric’s practice is focused on providing legal counsel, consultation, and guidance to behavioral health professionals. Eric’s clinical practice is focused on providing counseling services to combat veterans as well as providing supervision and consultation to other clinicians. Eric currently serves on the American Mental Health Counselors Association Ethics Committee, and is the ethics advisor for the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association. Eric has taught a range of courses in counseling and professional ethics at a variety of graduate and undergraduate programs.

Eric earned a PhD in Counseling at Oregon State University, graduated cum laude from Wayne State University School of Law in Detroit Michigan, earned a Master of Arts Degree in Counseling Psychology from the Northwest School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University Seattle, attended the Hague Academy of International Law in the Hague Netherlands, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Linguistics from the University of Michigan.