Legal Requirements and Ethical Considerations

Video Transcription

[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome. In this lesson, we will discuss the legal and ethical mandates and considerations in having a practice. It may be surprising how many legal requirements surround owning or renting office space. And requirements include federal, state, and local mandates. In addition to obeying and complying with legal mandates, a counselor will want to aspire to the highest degree of ethical conduct regarding his or her space. So, in this lesson, we'll cover the following-- legal requirements regarding a counseling license, legal requirements regarding a business license, accountability.

So anyone practicing counseling will need to have a counseling license with application through their state. There are two types of licenses-- independent and non-independent. A non-independent license is typically one-term provisional or limited, meaning non-independent and unable to practice without supervision.

Independent licenses allow the counselor to practice autonomously and without supervision or oversight. A counseling license is held by an individual counselor and not by a business. And whether the license is independent or non-independent, the counselor is required to pay for the license through their state, and the license needs to be renewed. Now, note that a stipulation of renewal tends to be mandatory regarding continuing education.

So businesses typically need a business license and will need to pay the fee to the state in order to hold the business license. The counselor will need to check with their state and local government to determine if a sole proprietor and independent contractors need to apply for a business license. So LLCs, partnerships, and non-profits and corporations definitely need business licenses.

But these business licenses are also paid to the state, and they need to be renewed as well. Counselors who want to have a practice in their home will specifically need to consult with their city regulations office and possibly an attorney because filing for a business license at a home address could have some zoning violation restrictions. Counselors who practice under a fictitious name-- doing business as, for example-- also may need to register the name. An additional legal requirement necessary in order to practice counseling will be malpractice insurance, also called professional liability insurance.

It's critical to have an awareness of the many different regulatory bodies to whom the counselor is accountable. There are many. Regulatory bodies include local and municipal, state, and national bodies. Regulation will partly be determined by the type of practice owned by the counselor. There are varying domains of regulation that include the following-- the domain of the counselor, the domain of the practice, and the domain of a building.

So let's explore a bit of the regulations in the domain of the counselor. So as a counselor, you'll need to acquire and maintain a counseling license, which will require strict adherence to state laws and your professional organization's code of ethics. You'll also need to complete the required number of hours of continuing education. You'll also need to carry a liability insurance in order to qualify for acceptance to all insurance panels. You'll also have to have a disclosure statement containing limits of confidentiality, billing information, client contact information, the practice of record keeping, limits of confidentiality with minors, et cetera.

OK, so in the domain of practice, let's go through the regulation areas. A copy of HIPPA regulations, or the Health Insurance and Portability Accountability Act will need to be provided to clients. The Health Information Technology for Economic in Clinical Health, or HITECH Act, is something that you'll need to be familiar with regarding storage and transfer of information electronically.

Tied to this are online security policies that will need to be in place to ensure safety of all transactions and file storage. Office policies and procedures are often spelled out in part in the intake information provided to most clients. Now this can entail billing practices, missed appointment fees, court costs, if the counselor is brought into a legal case, hours of operation, and things like that.

So remember that disclosure statement that I mentioned earlier? Well this is certainly a part of the practice domain regulations. The disclosure statement contains limits of confidentiality, billing information, client contact information, the practice of keeping records, limits of confidentiality with minors, et cetera. You will also have to have policies in place regarding continuity of care, referral sources, and case termination. Lastly, you'll need to spell out plans for advertising and use of social media. Rent payments and landlord agreements will also need to be monitored regularly and up to date.

So the last domain pertains to regulations around the office building. So how does the Americans with Disabilities Act affect your law office location? You'll need to know that.

Do you meet the standards of this act? How about local code such as fire, water, and electric? If remodeling or doing repairs, how about permitting issues? Does landscaping and parking lot maintenance pertain to you?

You may need to consider advertising to fill empty space or to share your office space if finances determine this. Lastly, bank loans or mortgages need to be monitored and attended to regularly. OK, so while all of this can sound awfully overwhelming, it's really not. Many of these areas overlap, and you'll find that you address many steps as you take larger steps along the way.

Also, once the initial work is done in setting up your practice, management is not nearly as consuming as you may anticipate, especially if you're smart about how you set up your practice. So if you've been working through our series on how to start and run a private practice, then you most assuredly will be well on your way to a fun career in private practice. So in this lesson, we covered the following-- legal requirements regarding counseling license, legal requirements regarding business license, accountability.

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