Rules and regulations

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read the required Boldt (2012) article.

A psychology professional must be knowledgeable of the rules and regulations that govern the profession in his or her state of residence. For this discussion, access your state board of psychology's website. Conducting an Internet search for your state’s name and “State Board of Professional Psychology” will likely produce the link to the website (i.e., California State Board of Professional Psychology). Once on the website, look for the state's rules and regulations governing professional psychology. These are often listed as links or tabs with titles such as “Laws and Regulations”, “Rules and Regulations”, “Laws, Policies, and Rules”, “Statutes and Rules”, “Statutes and Administrative Codes”, etc. Review the complete rules and regulations for your state and pay special attention to the sections concerning rules for working with minors. Then, conduct an Internet search for information on consent and confidentiality for mental health treatment for minors in your state of residence. In the discussion, you will address the following case study:

You are a counselor. Twelve-year-old Billy is using drugs without his parents' knowledge and has come to see you for help. Billy wants outpatient treatment for his substance abuse and informs you that his parents do not know about his drug use. He refuses to permit you to share information with his parents. While a person under the age of 18 is often considered a minor and generally most states would require them to obtain consent from a parent or guardian prior to receiving mental health treatment, there are several exceptions to this general rule.

In your initial post, analyze your state’s rules and regulations governing psychology as a profession as well as your state information on consent and confidentiality with regard to minors. Apply these regulations to Billy’s case. Elaborate on how you would approach the case by providing information on your state’s consent and confidentiality laws and assessing any impact these may have on your options for Billy’s treatment. Apply any relevant ethical principles and professional standards of psychology as they relate to this complex situation. Evaluate any personal beliefs that may conflict with legal requirements you have as a counselor within your state. Detail what actions you would take to be true to both yourself and the professional requirements.

Guided Response: Review several of your classmates' posts and respond to at least two of your peers who live in states with different requirements by 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 of the week. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful and interactive discourse. Examine your peer's approach to this case. Do you agree or disagree with how he or she intends to deal with the situation presented? Did your colleague provide enough information on his or her state’s regulations to give you a picture of the potential limitations presented by these statutes? Did your colleague’s detailed actions for dealing with personal conflicts suitably align with the professional requirements presented in the case study? Why, or why not? Support your rationale with evidence from the required readings. Pose any questions that may need clarification. Suggest any changes that might improve the efficacy of your colleague’s approach. Continue to monitor the discussion forum until 5:00 p.m. MST on Day 7 of the week and respond to anyone who replies to your initial post.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.