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". . . but everybody does it !"
A Workshop For Developing Ethical Policies Of Your Own
Instead of Following the Crowd

Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
Whose advice are you hearing as you develop your own policies for clinical pracice?
Who are your ethical models for deciding how to handle such important things as
billing for third party reimbursement, clinical boundaries, or informed consent?
What policies protect your clients in the "double/multiple relationships" of couple/family cases?
What is your policy about disclosing information if you don't have the client's explicit consent?

OUTLINE
Friday, April 4, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Richmond DoubleTree (Airport)
Friday, May 2, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m - Lynchburg Holiday Inn Select
Monday, May 19, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Charlottesville DoubleTree
Saturday, June 7, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Falls Church Marriott


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Working With
Separating or Divorcing Families
Ethical & Legal Issues for Therapists
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
Do our Ethics Codes have anything special to say about working with families
that are separating, facing divorce, or already divorced - or about contested child custody issues?
Does Virginia law have anything in particular to say that affects how we work with these families,
or what we explain in advance about our rules and policies about confidentiality?
Are there particular ethical or legal risks for mental health professionals who work with families,
and if so, how can we avoid or minimize those risks?
OUTLINE
Monday, February 4, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Fairfax Hilton Garden Inn
Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 1:00 pm. - 4:00 p.m. - Williamsburg Ramada 1776
Monday, March 10, 2008 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Charlottesville DoubleTree
Monday, June 9, 2008 - 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn (Innsbrook)


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What If You (or Your Records) Go To Court?
Ethical
Pitfalls, Legal Rules, & Confusing Roles
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
Whether you provide records or testimony voluntarily or involuntarily,
some important ethical standards and legal rules will apply.
Things become even more complicated if you are not clear in advance about your role(s).
OUTLINE
Saturday, January 12, 2008 – 11am OR noon - Richmond
Monday, January 28, 2008 – 1pm - 4pm OR 5pm -- Charlottesville
Monday, February 4, 2008 – 8am - 11am OR noon-- Fairfax
Monday, February 18, 2008 – 8am - 11am OR noon - Williamsburg
Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 1:00 - 4:00 - Newport News Omni


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Establishing Ethical Relationships With Colleagues:
Collaboration, Consultation, Consolation, Confrontation
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
What do our mental health Ethics Codes have to say about relationships with colleagues?
What might be the complications that arise in collegue relationships, whether in
consultations, case referrals, or other collaborative situations?
What are our ethical obligations if a colleague's behavior is putting clients at risk?
How do our Ethical Standards fit together with Virginia's laws on these matters?
OUTLINE
Monday, January 28, 2008 - 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Charlottesville
Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon - Newport News Omni ---- (1.5 Ethics/Laws CEUs)
Friday, May 2, 2008 - 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lynchburg Holiday Inn Select -(2 Ethics/Laws CEUs)
Monday, June 9, 2008 - 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 pm - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn ---- (2 Ethics/Laws CEUs)

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Virginia Minors & Confidentiality:
Integrating Ethical Standards and Laws
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
Ethics Codes have some important things to say about minors' confidentiality rights
,
but how do those fit together with the legal provisions in Virginia statutes?
Because Virginia law gives minors of any age the right to consent to outpatient treatment,
HIPAA regulations therefore give Virginia minors almost the same rights as adults;
but what are the legal limitations of those rights? How do they fit together with the ethical standards?
And how does all this fit together with the Federal statutes protecting substance abuse records?
This workshop represents our best attempt to integrate all these ethical and legal mandates.
OUTLINE
Monday, January 28, 2008 - 10:30 a.m. - noon - Charlottesville --- (1.5 Ethics/Laws CEUs)
Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Newport News Omni ---- (1.5 Ethics/Laws CEUs)
Fri., May 2, 2008 - 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Lynchburg Holiday Inn Select -- (2 Ethics/Laws CEUs)
Saturday, June 7, 2008 - 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Falls Church Marriott ---- (2 Ethics/Laws CEUs)

Monday, June 9, 2008 - 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn ---- (2 Ethics/Laws CEUs)

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Managing Your
Managed Care Contracts
Ethical & Practical Implications of Provider Contracts
Mary Alice Fisher,
Ph.D.
Each provider contract you sign will have slightly different terms;
each managed care company will have different policies and impose different limitations.
We will review some implications of various written and unwritten understandings,
consider their ethical implications,
and use case examples to discuss how we can avoid some of the potential pitfalls.

OUTLINE
Monday, October 8, 2007 - Charlottesville DoubleTree Hotel
Saturday, November 3, 2007 - Falls Church Marriott
Saturday, Novewmber 10, 2007 - Richmond
Hilton Garden Inn (Innsbrook)

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Ethical Complications of Conditional Confidentiality:
Deciding What to Disclose to Whom and When
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
This workshop considers the ethical and legal complications that arise
when confidentiality is "conditional" rather than absolute.
How clear are your policies about exactly what you plan to disclose to whom -- and when?

How ready are you to describe those policies to patients and answer their "what if...?" questions?
OUTLINE
Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 10:30 am - noon - Williamsburg
Friday, April 4, 2008 - 8:00am - 11:00 a.m. OR noon - Richmond DoubleTree (Airport)
Monday, May 19, 2008 -
8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. OR noon - Charlottesville DoubleTree

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"Beginnings & Endings:
Ethical Issues and Practical Implications"

Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
What are our ethical and legal responsibilities at each end of a clinical relationship?
What are our ethical and legal obligations when beginning a reltionship?
How can the beginning help to create a better ending?
How might a "professional will" protect clients in the event of unexpected endings?

OUTLINE
Saturday, May 5, 2007 - Newport News Omni
Monday, June 4, 2007 - Charlottesville DoubleTree Hotel

Friday, June 22, 2007 - Fairfax Hilton Garden Inn
Saturday, November 10, 2007 - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn (Innsbrook)

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Maintaining Ethical Practices
Under Virginia's Laws
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
Clinicians in every state must follow both their profession's Ethical Standards and their state's laws.
How do Virginia's laws fit together with mental health professionals' Ethical Standards?
What ethical issues might arise for clinicians under Virginia's specific combination of laws ?
[[[ We are offering this workOUTLINEshop at a reduced fee ]]]

Monday, March 10, 2008 - 9am - noon - Charlottesville

Saturday, January 12, 2008 - 1:00 - 4:00 - Richmond

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"HIPAA, Ethics Codes, & Virginia Law:
How Do They Really Fit Together?"
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
When it comes to privacy and confidentiality,
how do the legal standards (state laws & regulations, or federal HIPAA regulations)
compare to the Ethical Standards of our own profession?
These three types of standards impose overlapping obligations.
How can we integrate them? What are our ethical obligations if they differ?
OUTLINE
Saturday, April 14, 2007 - Fairfax Hilton Garden Inn
Saturday, April 21, 2007 - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn (Innsbrook)
Monday, May 14, 2007 - Charlottesville DoubleTree Hotel
Saturday, October 13, 2007 - Newport News Omni

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"Who Is The Client?"
How Do You Decide? Who Must You Tell?
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
How we conceptualize, define, and explain "client"
can sometimes have wider consequences than we expect.
This workshop is designed to explore some of the
ethical, clinical, legal, contractual, and financial implications
of how we answer the question, "Who Is The Client?"

OUTLINE

Saturday, April 14, 2007 - Fairfax Hilton Garden Inn
Saturday, April 21, 2007 - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn (Innsbrook)
Saturday, May 5, 2007 - Newport News Omni

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"Deliberate Dual Relationships:
Ethical Responsibility to Anticipate Harm"
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
Ethics Codes specify that not all dual relationships are unethical.
When must we say "no?" When do we have no choice? When are we free to say "yes?"
Before we voluntarily create a dual relationship,
or if we enter one "involuntarily" because required by law or by agency policies,
what are our ethical responsibilities for evaluating/anticipating
the potential for harm - or the perception of harm?

OUTLINE
Friday, May 4, 2007 - Virginia Beach DoubleTree Hotel
Monday, June 4, 2007 - Charlottesville DoubleTree Hotel
Monday, June 11, 2007 - Richmond Hilton Garden Inn (Innsbrook)
Friday, June 22, 2007 - Fairfax Hilton Garden Inn

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"Promises Kept, Promises Broken"
Ethical Implications of Our Inevitable
Loyalty Conflicts & Conflicts of Interest

Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
This workshop explores some of the loyalty conflicts and conflicts of interest
inherent in clinical work and considers ways of reducing their impact.
We will explore ethical, legal, clinical and personal implications of denying them,
as well as resources for helping us respond to them.

OUTLINE
Monday, January 15, 2007 - Charlottesville
Monday, February 19, 2007 - Fairfax
Saturday, March 3, 2007 - Richmond
Saturday, March 31, 2007 - Virginia Beach
Friday, May 11, 2007 - Williamsburg Hilton Garden Inn
Saturday, June 2, 2007 - Roanoke, Hotel Roanoke

Monday, October 8, 2007 - Charlottesville

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"Can You Keep A Secret?"

Using an Ethical Practice Model
to Protect Patients' Confidentiality Rights

[See copy of the Ethical Practice Model on this website.]
Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
OUTLINE

July 1, 2004 - Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, Virginia
November 12, 2004
- Omni Hotel, Newport News, Virginia

March 12, 2004
- DoubleTree Hotel, Charlottesville, Virginia

February 19, 2005 -
The Place at Innsbrook, Richmond, Virginia
September 16, 2005 - DoubleTree Hotel, Charlottesville, Virginia

May 6, 2006 - Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, Virginia
June 26, 2006 - Hilton Garden Inn, Innsbrook, Richmond, Virginia

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"Ethical Planning & Decision Making:
Anticipating & Responding to Ethical Dilemmas"

Mary Alice Fisher, Ph.D.
A workshop about facing the problematic ethical aspects of clinical practice,
reducing the risks to patient and clinician by avoiding the avoidables,
and using an Ethical Decision-Making Model to resolve the unavoidables
!

OUTLINE
December 3, 2004
- Harrisonburg, Virginia Clinicians
May 26, 2005 - DoubleTree Hotel, Charlottesville, Virginia

June 13, 2005
-
Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, Virginia

December 12, 2005 -
The Place at Innsbrook, Richmond, Virginia

June 16, 2006 - Stratford Inn, Danville, Virginia
Friday, May 11, 2007 - Williamsburg Hilton Garden Inn

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