BH& 330: Ethics in Behavioral Healthcare

Credits 5 Lecture Hours 55

This course provides an overview of ethics, legal standards, and professional responsibilities in behavioral healthcare. Students will explore behavioral health professionals’ obligations to clients, colleagues, society and themselves. The course emphasizes ethical standards, ethical decision-making, professional boundaries, confidentiality, and the application of federal and state laws to specific situations and populations in behavioral healthcare.

Prerequisites

Quarters Offered
Winter
Course Outcomes

1. Synthesize common themes in professional associations’ ethical standards or codes of conduct

2. Practice use of inclusive communication that supports health equity

3. Articulate how to support the rights of clients, including their rights to confidentiality, informed consent, self-determination, and least-restrictive treatment options

4. Determine when and how to report suspicions of abuse, exploitation, neglect, danger to self or others

5. Create a strategy for the ongoing practice of self-care

Program Outcomes

PO3: Exhibit integrity by consistently practicing ethical behavior, developing a meaningful self-care routine, maintaining confidentiality, engaging in self-reflection, and approaching work with cultural sensitivity and humility

Course Content Outline

1. Ethical Standards
2. Ethical Decision-making
3. Professional Boundaries
4. Confidentiality
5. Federal and State Laws
6. Behavioral Health Professionals’ Responsibilities to Themselves
7. Special considerations for North Central Washington