Description
On a recent statewide poll of 137 counselors in Florida, 95% of counselors who were providing direct client services reported that they were providing telehealth sessions, whereas only months earlier only a small percentage of counselors offered telehealth. About 31% of counselors were providing in-person services, despite the potential risk for COVID-19 infection. The pandemic, and the resulting shift towards telehealth, has generated a number of questions for counselors, such as:
- Should I keep seeing clients in my office?
- How can I protect myself from infection?
- How do I conduct evaluations while still practicing social distancing?
- Am I an "essential worker" during a quarantine?
- How do I treat clients with OCD and anxiety disorders during a pandemic?
- What platforms am I allowed to use for telehealth?
- What are some of the unique clinical, ethical, and legal considerations for telehealth?
- What should a telehealth consent form include?
- How can I make telehealth sessions more personal, engaging, or interactive?
- What happens if my client is in another state and wants to do a telehealth session?
- How do I bill insurance for telehealth?
In partnership with the Emerald Coast Mental Health Counselors Association NBFE is providing this 3-hour webinar (3 CEU’s 2 Telehealth hours, 1 Ethics hour), which seeks to answer these questions and more!
Learning Objectives
1. Articulate reasonable precautions to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Review current changes in laws and standards affecting mental health professionals, COVID-19 response, and telehealth.
3. List several resources for continued COVID-19 updates for mental health professionals.
4. Summarize ethical considerations for telehealth as depicted in the AMHCA 2020 Code of Ethics.
5. List several telehealth platforms and describe the unique characteristics of each.
6. Bill insurance for telehealth.
Cost
Free to all members of the Emerald Coast Mental Health Counselors Association (ECMHCA).
Free to all non-ECMHCA members who do not want CEs.
$30 for all non- ECMHCA members who want CEs.
About the Presenter
.PNG)
Aaron Norton
is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy serving as Executive Director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, Adjunct Instructor at the University of South Florida, Southern Regional Director for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, and President of the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. He has nearly 20 years of clinical experience at Integrity Counseling, Inc., was awarded Mental Health Counselor of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association and Counselor Educator of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Researcher of the Year by Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2020, and has been published in several social science journals and professional magazines in clinical mental health counseling.
Continuing Education Information
The National Board of Forensic Evaluators (NBFE) has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6189. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NBFE is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.
This webinar has been approved for 1.0 ethics/professional boundaries and 2.0 telehealth contact hour(s) with the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, & Mental Health Counseling, and 1.0 ethics/professional boundaries and 2.0 general contact hours the Florida Board of Psychology, CE Broker Tracking # 20-710619 (CE Broker Provider #50-15823).
NBFE is recognized and endorsed by the American Mental Health Counselors Association.
Click here for NBFE Cancellation/Refund Policy.
