It’s The Law: What Every Alberta Therapist/Counsellor Needs To Know (Calgary Location)

October 18th, 2024 9am-4:30pm

In-person in Calgary (Holiday Inn & Suites Calgary South)

Lunch is included

Prices

Early Bird (before September 16th): $335 (lunch included)

Regular Price: (after September 16th): $355 (lunch included)

About The Workshop

The legal environment governing mental health, psychotherapy, and counselling is far more challenging than before. However, contrary to what is becoming the conventional wisdom, Canadian law is supportive of treatment, counselling, and care professionals who have acted reasonably and in good faith. This workshop will provide participants with a working understanding of the key legal principles governing their professional lives and with the ability to identify and avoid common legal problems.

Reference will be made to leading Canadian cases and relevant materials. Professor Solomon will cover the following topics: consent and competency; negligence and expected standards of care; record-keeping, ownership, and access to records; confidentiality and privilege; and disclosure of client information. The workshop will also examine mental health workers' overlapping common law and statutory privacy obligations. In the conclusion, some common-sense rules will be suggested for anticipating and avoiding legal problems.

Robert Solomon is an experienced and thoroughly engaging speaker.

You will find yourself both entertained and informed. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions throughout the workshop. Information based on Alberta Law.

You will learn the general legal principles governing —

  • Consent, competency to consent, and substitute consent to treatment, counselling, and care
  • Negligence liability and the standards of care expected of mental health counsellors and service providers
  • Record-keeping, record retention policies, liability for negligent record-keeping, the use of computer records, and client access to and ownership of records
  • Confidentiality, privilege, and disclosure of client records with and without client consent
  • Privacy

About The Speaker

Robert Solomon is currently on the Faculty of Law at Western University, where he holds the rank of Distinguished University Professor. He is also the National Director of Legal Policy for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada. He has been involved in research and teaching on health care, civil liability, education, and criminal law for over 45 years. He has served as a consultant to Health and Welfare Canada, the Law Reform Commission of Canada, the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, and the Commonwealth of Australia Health Department. He assisted the Ontario Addiction Research Foundation in developing a provincial substance abuse program for schools, and has advised numerous school boards and community colleges on legal issues in discipline and counselling.

Professor Solomon has travelled throughout Canada and Australia presenting legal programs in his fields of expertise. One of his major areas of concern has been the increasingly challenging legal environment facing social workers, educators, health practitioners, addictions staff, and youth workers. He is widely published in his fields of expertise and is the lead author of A Legal Guide for Social Workers, 3rd ed., which the Ontario Association for Social Workers published in 2014.

Sponsors

Sponsored by Talk Therapy, Growing Minds Psychology, and Theralist



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