It is critical that you know the ethical and legal requirements regarding confidentiality, mandated reporting, age of consent for intimate relationships, and age of consent for treatment for the states in which you will practice. Your post for this module has two parts, ethical and legal requirements for confidentiality and the adjudication process for counselors found in violation of ethical and/or legal guidelines. Both of these issues pertain to laws and statutes in your individual state regarding mental health services. Moreover, understanding consequences of unethical practice are essential to being a competent licensed professional. This module's assignment has been divided into two parts, which will help you further develop competence in both of these areas. Although this is a two-part assignment, you will submit one assignment that includes a logical transition from one part to the next.

Tasks:

On the basis of your readings and research, discuss the following in a minimum of 250 words:

Part 1:
Research the ethical and legal requirements for confidentiality, mandated reporting, and age of consent for individuals to be considered legally competent to consent to sexual acts and for mental health services in at least one state (preferably one in which you would like to work one day as a professional counselor). You should be able to locate state laws and requirements on the Internet. (Note: This also serves as excellent practice for finding essential information concerning your practice when you are "on your own" as a counselor, so make your experience count.) After briefly describing these requirements, identify what requirements surprised you, frightened you, and pleased you. Be sure to provide appropriate, scholarly references for relevant ethical and legal requirements in your state.

Part 2:
Describe your state's process for adjudicating professional counselors who may have violated a regulation or law. Your answer will likely include the process for someone filing a complaint and the state's investigation and disciplinary process, as well as what happens when a civil or criminal action is needed. It may be helpful to look up actual cases in your state and the outcomes of filed complaints.

Support your discussion with resources from professional literature in your response. Professional literature may include the Argosy University online library resources; relevant textbooks; peer-reviewed journal articles; and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu or .gov).