Welcome to the section of the SVC-CAMFT newsletter, Legal Beagle written by Darlene Davis, LMFT. The chapter thought it would be helpful to keep you updated on new laws, legislative pursuits or actions, as well as ongoing legal and ethical dilemmas we all face in our career as Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Interns, and Trainees. Please feel free to ask questions that you have and I will do my best to investigate and post your answer in the newsletter. Please note that articles are based on information from CAMFT and/or the BBS and have been researched to the best of my ability. This is not meant to be legal advice.  Please contact CAMFT or Board of Behavioral Sciences for any legal matters you need assistance for.

Writing reports:

At HOPE Counseling Center the question of writing reports for clients happens on a regular basis. Besides giving my usual answer, “it depends” I have created parameters for writing reports that I speak to in this article. There was also a recent article in The Therapist magazine (March/April 2013) edition worth reading from an attorney’s perspective. Most of the time these requests are from a parent of a child but we also receive requests from the adult client that may need the report for probation, work, disability, etc. I try, as a supervisor, to balance the FEAR of “oh my gosh court is involved”, with the REALITY that, “oh my gosh court is involved”. How do we address the fear in a way that changes it to awareness and address the reality into responsibility?

AWARENESS is being conscious, knowing, and realizing your situation. If I am in this knowing and conscious state than I am in control of making a decision. If a client or parent of a client asks for a report I decide what I would say, whether it’s in the best interest of my client, and whether I am qualified to say anything at all. In my private practice I state in my consent form the following:

I will not voluntarily participate in any litigation, or custody dispute in which client and another individual, or entity, are parties.  I have a policy of not communicating with client’s attorney and will generally not write or sign letters, reports, declarations, or affidavits to be used in a legal matter unless agreed upon at beginning of the therapeutic relationship.  I will generally not provide records or testimony unless compelled to do so. 

Does this mean I never write a letter? No. I have over the years written letters that follow these parameters:

• 1.     Name of client
• 2.     Date and number of sessions attended (I may list sessions missed if important)
• 3.     My credentials
• 4.     Goals agreed upon with client
• 5.     How we have addressed these goals. This included what client reports and what I observe in session.
• 6.     If a diagnosis is mandatory such as for disability reports I will include. I need to be sure of the diagnosis and be able to substantiate if needed.
• 7.     If there is a need to respond to prognosis and if I decide to comment I will include substantiated research in the letter so that it is not my opinion.  

RESPONSIBILITY is the part of my job in supporting my client in meeting their goals and improving functioning in their daily lives. This does not include making opinions on custody issues, work abilities, or whether they are “cured of their anger” to name a few. On the other hand I remember a colleague stating she was terrified to write a report on behalf of her minor client(s). The minors were reporting fear of a parent. Other colleagues began to share their fear of writing reports and I began to think about who would be the voice of these minors if not us? Of course if it meets the threshold of child abuse reporting laws then there is no question. In cases of a minor needing a voice then I use the same guidelines as mentioned above if I decide to write a report. I make sure I am factual and objective based only on what is reported in session. I make no opinion on whether a parent is “good” or “bad” or whether a child should live with one parent or another.

Michael Griffin, staff attorney for CAMFT wrote in the March/April edition of The Therapist magazine a list of questions to ask yourself before considering writing a report. They include:

• 1.      What is the specific nature of the request?
• 2.      What does the requesting person want from you?
• 3.      Are you reluctant to respond to the request? Why?
• 4.      What does the request have to do with your role as a therapist?
• 5.      Are there any reasons that you should not honor the particular request?
• 6.      Do you feel pressured or compelled to honor the request? Is so, why?
• 7.      Is it appropriate to provide the information that is being requested?
• 8.      Are you qualified to address the particular issue?

These are great questions that will bring forth the awareness and responsibility that can take the place of fear and reality. 

Darlene Davis, LMFT
Executive Director HOPE; Healthy Outcomes for Personal Enrichment
MFT Stipend Coordinator for Greater Sacramento
Instructor of University of Phoenix
www.darlenedavismft.com
www.hope-counselingcenter.org

Submitted by
Patricia Allison MFT

NAMI Walk

I truly enjoyed the NAMI Walk, and I am so happy that so many of you all participated in some way. Whether you donated money, solicited donations, or walked with us, your involvement is very much appreciated!!

Our SVC-CAMFT Team more than doubled our participation and donations from last year!
We are looking forward to having an even larger presence at next year's NAMI Walk. Here's to 2014!!

Hope to see you at our next Sac Valley CAMFT Meeting!
Thank you again,
Catherine Zanzi

The work in Personal Creation, or as others may call attraction, is not a selfish work, it is the work of a servant first.  It is through service to others that the self is most elevated, expanded and given the opportunity for evolution.

If you want to bring abundance to you in order to be happier, help others achieve abundance first; yours will follow.

If you want to bring healing to your life so that you may be more healed, help others find healing first, yours will follow.  I so know this to be true.

"We are all connected. All living things are connected. Nothing in the universe happens without affecting everything else in the universe in some way. Everything you do matters, everything."

If every living being treated every other living being as if it were the divine creation that it is, we would all be treated divinely. There would be no more war or suffering. BIG thought I know; but not too big for you. Treat others divinely and treat yourself the same. It is a start toward something big, something needed.

You were made to make manifest the glory of God through who you are. God is good, the divine creator of all things, God is the creator, the energy, the infinite power that caused us to be, and is waiting for you to get Happy so you can bring Happy to others. 

When we make God into a religious or specific spiritual deity, we lose touch with the God who is infinitely wiser, bigger and more graceful than any one religion or spiritual belief would have you adopt. God is much bigger than any of us or any group of us.

You cannot give away that which is not yours to give. If you are not happy, you cannot bring happy to another~God needs you to be Happy and in Peace so that you can continue to do God’s work~

What you do for another you do for yourself. What you fail to do for another, you fail to do for yourself.

Until all members of our profession become willing to undergo this evolutionary transformation to a mindfully based and trauma informed paradigm to bring Peace and Happiness, we cannot proclaim to be capable of helping others get there.

As we each deliberate into the depth of who we are, mind/body/spirit, and proclaim our own spiritual need for healing and cognitive need for understanding the true impact of trauma to the human psyche we will continue to offer a biochemical remedy to what ails parts of us untouched by medications.

You CAN get Happy and you CAN find Peace. If you need help, reach out; not any differently than each of you would gently encourage your clients to do.

Peace, Love, Healing and Happiness,

Jules

Juli Alvarado, MA, LPC, NCC is the Founder/Director of Coaching for LIFE!, LLC
For more on our mindfully based and trauma informed paradigm for healing visit her at
www.coaching-forlife.com.
Coaching for Life provides monthly teleconferences in Integrative Healing of Trauma for no charge. You can register at the website.

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