FGCU Patient Confidentiality in Washington State Discussion

Question Description
Below are the instructions needed for the discussion post

Informed Consent
Describe only the limits of confidentiality as required by your state laws (Washington State). How do these compare to the requirements of the APA ethics code? How would you explain these to future clients in words they can understand?

Support your discussion with specifics and at least one scholarly citation.

Must be at least 300 words.

Respond to the below discussion posts. Each response must be 180 word minimum and be supported by one scholarly citation. For the first post please include how the limits of confidentiality are different or the same in your two states. (Washington and Texas)

1. I live in Texas, where I intend to be licensed as a Clinical Psychologist. In the APA Code of Ethics (American Psychological Association, 2017), confidentiality is discussed as a series of general principles that may also be supplemented with state-by-state rules. The most significant of state-specific confidentiality parameters is in regards to Tarisoff; Texas mental healthcare providers do not have a duty to inform/protect their clients’ known and intended victims, and may choose to inform them only if they are medical or law enforcement personnel (Barbee, et al., 2018). The client’s confidentiality is otherwise protected, even when there are individuals known by the mental health professional to be at risk of harm. This does not apply when there is suspected child abuse (Barbee, et al., 2018). In the APA Code of Conduct section 4.05(b), it states that consent of the individual to reveal private information is required “only as mandated by law or where permitted by law… to protect others from harm,” (American Psychological Association, 2013) so it is made clear that although potential danger is a valid reason for breach of confidentiality, the state’s law supersedes. In Texas, this goes so far as to conceal the names and other identifiers of persons mentioned in the notes for one client if they were to breach privacy of another when released to other practitioners (Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, 2020).FGCU Patient Confidentiality in Washington State Discussion

Informing clients of their rights to confidentiality entails a layman’s-term explanation of their right to know if they’re being recorded, to have their identity concealed for the purpose of case discussion, to give consent before any other specialists are consulted, and to know that if email or teletherapy services are accessed there is always a minor risk (American Psychological Association, 2013). Ultimately, the client’s privacy is priority. Without confidentiality and assurance that one’s most personal and painful of thoughts are concealed, the practice of psychology would not be as effective. To best serve those in need of mental healthcare, we are able to offer as practitioners the reassurance that even with a subpoena, as much of their disclosed information is protected as possible through negotiation or motion for a protective order (American Psychological Association, 2016). The few limits do not come close to outweighing the dedication to privacy all licensed mental healthcare providers adhere to.

2. I have some experience with different psychotherapies. My background in in biopsychology but I work as a social worker. In my work experience I have worked with families that are involved with the Department of Human Services and have confirmed or founded cases of child abuse. I assist families with different techniques to use to help make the families more successful and better able to cope with the stressers in their lives.

I found the video “Getting it Together?” very informative and full of lots of great information. It is amazing to see how far the field of psychology has come and what advances are being made. The video did a good job with explaining the behavioral approach and the steps that are involved such as modeling the behavior that is wanted and developing manageable tasks for the client to perform. One fact that suprised me was that certian medications can actually assist with regenerating neurons. I also liked how the video stated that “people are not all the same”. I feel this is important to remember with working with people in general. What works for one person may not work at all for the next. It is important to work with an individual to find out how to best assist them so they can have the best results (Beaty, 2006).

I am most drawn to B. F. Skinner’s approach. I think this is because this is the style I am most familiar with. I have used and taught operant conditioning techniques for many years. I have used this with parents and I have also used operant conditioning in residental settings (Capella, 2020).

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.FGCU Patient Confidentiality in Washington State Discussion

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th editionFGCU Patient Confidentiality in Washington State Discussion .
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

Question Description
Below are the instructions needed for the discussion post

Informed Consent
Describe only the limits of confidentiality as required by your state laws (Washington State). How do these compare to the requirements of the APA ethics code? How would you explain these to future clients in words they can understand?

Support your discussion with specifics and at least one scholarly citation.

Must be at least 300 words.

Respond to the below discussion posts. Each response must be 180 word minimum and be supported by one scholarly citation. For the first post please include how the limits of confidentiality are different or the same in your two states. (Washington and Texas)

1. I live in Texas, where I intend to be licensed as a Clinical Psychologist. In the APA Code of Ethics (American Psychological Association, 2017), confidentiality is discussed as a series of general principles that may also be supplemented with state-by-state rules. The most significant of state-specific confidentiality parameters is in regards to Tarisoff; Texas mental healthcare providers do not have a duty to inform/protect their clients’ known and intended victims, and may choose to inform them only if they are medical or law enforcement personnel (Barbee, et al., 2018). The client’s confidentiality is otherwise protected, even when there are individuals known by the mental health professional to be at risk of harm. This does not apply when there is suspected child abuse (Barbee, et al., 2018). In the APA Code of Conduct section 4.05(b), it states that consent of the individual to reveal private information is required “only as mandated by law or where permitted by law… to protect others from harm,” (American Psychological Association, 2013) so it is made clear that although potential danger is a valid reason for breach of confidentiality, the state’s law supersedes. In Texas, this goes so far as to conceal the names and other identifiers of persons mentioned in the notes for one client if they were to breach privacy of another when released to other practitioners (Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, 2020).