Author: Randolph K. Sanders

Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Vol 25(1), Spr 2006. pp. 63-67

Abstract:

The legal and professional risks involved in providing psychological and counseling services are higher today than ever before. The likelihood of being a defendant in a malpractice is estimated to be somewhere between less than 0.5% and 2%. The probability of having a complaint filed with a state licensing board is higher. Risk management focuses on helping therapists decrease the probability of having a suit or complaint filed against them. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. One area highlighted for special consideration by attorneys and mental health professionals is the treatment of certain populations and situations thought to be at particularly high risk of filing board complaints or legal actions. While not denying the risks of modern practice, some believe that the fear of serving certain patient groups will cause many therapists to opt out, leaving some troubled groups of patients without adequate care opportunities. Others worry that such a dominant concern for protecting the interests of the practitioner could hurt the success of the therapeutic endeavor. The Christian therapist is called to serve and at times that service entails a cost to the therapist. Sacrificial giving and openness to challenges is one mark of the Christian disciple and is one mark of a devoted therapist. In professional mental health service, however, such self-sacrifice is not an impulsive decision devoid of care for one’s health and personal constitution, one’s competence in dealing with the presenting problems at hand, or the ability to maintain service to all those in one’s care over a lifetime of one’s service.