____________________________________________ Professional Ethics and Law in California, 2nd Edition
(a) Misrepresenting one’s license or permitting the misrepresenting of one’s professional qualifications or affiliations (b) Impersonating a licensee or allowing another person to use one’s license (c) Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person who is engaged in conduct requiring a license (d) Intentionally or recklessly causing harm (physical or emotional) to a client (e) Engaging in a dishonest, corrupt, or fraudulent act related to one’s qualifications, functions, or duties as a licensee (f) Having sexual relations with a client, or soliciting sexual relations with a client, or committing an act of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct, or committing an act punishable as a sexual related crime if such an act or solicitation is substantially related to professional qualifications, functions, or duties. (g) Attempting to perform services outside of one’s field of competence, based on education, training, or expe- rience, or claiming to be able to perform such services (h) Permitting a subordinate to perform outside of his or her field of competence or to claim to perform outside of his or her field of competence (i) Failing to maintain confidentiality, except when permitted or required by law (j) Failing to disclose to the client the fee for profes- sional services or the basis on which the fee will be computed (k) Advertising in a false or misleading manner (l) Reproducing or describing a psychological test or other assessment device to anyone but those with a professional interest who will safeguard their use, so as to keep from invalidating the instruments (m) Committing an act or omission that qualifies as gross negligence (n) Paying for client referrals or accepting any kind of payment for referrals; charging a fee for collaboration with a colleague without prior disclosure to the client (o) Failing to report suspected child abuse (p) Failing to report elder or dependent adult abuse (q) Failing to provide copies of records to the board within 15 days upon request, or within the time limit given by the board, whichever is later, except when there is good cause for being unable to do so
(r) Failing to cooperate or participate in a board investi- gation, provided that such cooperation or participa- tion does not violate the individual’s Constitutional rights (s) Failing to report to the board within 30 days convic- tion of certain felonies or misdemeanors (including a verdict of guilty, a plea of guilty, or a plea of no contest; failing to report any disciplinary action taken by another licensing entity or authority in California or any other state or by the federal government or the U.S. military (t) Failing to provide documentation of an arrest within 30 days of a request, except in certain circumstances (u) Failing or refusing to comply with a court order, issued to enforce a subpoena, mandating the release of records to the board (California Board of Behavioral Sciences, 2023) Regarding (n) in the foregoing list, one aspect of Califor- nia law that is not found in every state is that the admonition concerning payment for referrals holds even for colleagues working for the same organization. This part of the law is aimed at something called “fee splitting.” According to Caldwell (2018), “in a fee split arrangement, the employer and employee agree to divide any client fees brought in by the employee in a proportional manner.” Caldwell notes that “this protection appears to be in state law to ensure that referrals from one health professional to another are based solely on the best interests of the client, and not on what is financially best for the referrer.” Here is one scenario that illustrates how law can interface with mental health practice. • A licensed mental health practitioner believes a foster teen’s allegations of abuse toward her foster father merely represents counter coercive behavior related to her adjustment within a more stable, rule-enforced environment and chooses not to report it. He rationalized that this family had successfully helped many children before without incident. As pointed out earlier, criminal law and professional and ethical guidelines are not one and the same—they may complement each other or be in opposition of one another, depending on the issue and on the state. For example, a minor legal offense may result in a small fine but could then lead to loss of a professional license. Licensed mental health practitioners have not just an ethical responsibility but also a legal responsibility to learn and follow any and all regulations in the jurisdiction within which they practice.
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