Question/Answer Corner: What’s On Your Mind?
Q: An individual client wants you to see his/her partner in couples session(s) to help with their communication issues. What should you do?
A: Although it is not prohibited, such change in therapy might be considered high risk. What has happened in my experience (when clinicians consult about a problem case) is that the relationship with the individual client sometimes gets in the way of the partner feeling totally comfortable and trusting. Although this may not occur with healthy folks, sometimes you do not know the mental health status of the partner before agreeing to see the couple.
There can also be jealousy with the individual primary client if the therapist points out issues for that person to address. Sometimes it becomes apparent that the individual client wanted his or her therapist to side with him/her and “set the partner straight” in some way. When that does not happen, the primary client can become angry and terminate therapy, sometimes filing a grievance as retaliation. Better to refer the couple to another therapist!
Blog
Transforming Our Relationships with Our Adult Children
I have had the great fortune of spending time with both of my adult offspring, as I now affectionately call them, over the past months. It dawned on me to write this blog about how much these relationships mean to me and to ask readers to write in and share some of your experiences relative to the evolving nature of your roles as parents with your adult kids.
I share with my son (24 years old) and my daughter (20 years old) a great deal of communication, both in frequency and depth. I appreciate and value our talks so much and cannot imagine my life without being close to both of my adult kids.
We discuss relationship issues – theirs and mine. We discuss academic and work concerns and the new aspects of our lives in this regard (all three of us have recently moved to new cities and are in the process of settling in). We encourage each other to grow and seek greater self-awareness as the years progress. We tackle issues that arise between us and with others in our lives. Often, because they know me so well, my son and daughter offer suggestions and insight that give me pause – and help me grow. It is through our continued communication that we keep our relationships strong and rich.
Recent blog posts you might be interested in:
Separation Pondering, Continued
Pondering Separation of All Types
Multi-Career Professionals or Juggling Many Balls
Therapy Office Available For Sublet
Deb’s therapy office in Lakewood (Green Mountain area) is available for subletting – only evenings and one half day left. Please check out her listing on Craigslist Denver or call her for more info or to schedule a time to visit the office. 504.232.8884
You can view photos of the office and read specifics of subletting at:
https://denver.craigslist.org/off/6211714990.html
DORA: What’s On the Various Boards’ Radar?
I try to attend many of the public Board meetings of all the Mental Health Boards: Social Work, Professional Counselors, Psychologists, Marriage & Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Registered Psychotherapists. Each newsletter, this section will address current issues that arise in various Board meetings that may seem helpful for practicing clinicians.
For this month, I attended the LPC Board meeting. Here are some of the issues that were addressed as allegations in the various Complaints presented at the meetings:
- Improper billing alleged – therapist billed under someone else’s name. Board believed that the supervisor was responsible as well for allowing the supervisee to use supervisor’s name for billing.
- Several self-reported issues and the Board looked favorably on the fact that the licensee self-reported (do not self-report without legal consultation though).
- As always, there were several cases involving problems with cases where the parties were involved in contentious divorce litigation and the therapist got dragged into the nastiness and then received grievance. NOTE: good idea to seek consultation if you have a client involved in divorce and custody litigation before the stuff hits the fan!
- Several cases had no Responses filed to the grievance – this is a violation in and of itself, as the Board noted. Always file a Response to the 30-day letter. Best to have representation for this, but even if you do not have legal counsel, file something as a Response, rather than nothing.
- Several cases involved allegations of breach of confidentiality. The facts vary, but one interesting one echoed a similar case from a previous newsletter where there was a revocation filed by the client, but the therapist released records because s/he did not see the revocation in the file. The Board members noted that in the agency practice it is sometimes difficult to locate these revocations, but it is ultimately the duty of the therapist to make sure there is no revocation before releasing records of clients.
- As always, the Board mentioned mandatory disclosures multiple times. One involved a form that did not include all disciplines and their educational, etc. requirements. Remember, even if you list your own discipline’s requirements, you also have to list the other mental health disciplines’ requirements to meet the standard of the new disclosure form. Get a sample on the DORA web site. One form did not include the therapist’s signature, so be sure to sign as well as having your client sign.
- Improper supervision – the supervisor did not ensure that the supervisee was appropriately registered with DORA as a LPCC (or registered as a Registered Psychotherapist, although the latter is now not necessary if you register as a LPCC). Supervisor held accountable along with supervisee.
Additional issues will be listed in the coming newsletters and Deb is always available to consult with your agency, private practice groups, clinical consultation groups, or with you individually to discuss potential high-risk situations.
What people said about my most recent seminars:
- “This seminar was extremely insightful and Deb’s delivery and presentation was right up my alley!”
- “I think Deb is a great presenter.”
- “Great job as usual!”
- “Enjoy your workshops – always so informative and interesting. Time flies!”
- “I always enjoy your trainings. I appreciate your flexibility in regards to discussing audience members’ concerns/experiences.”
- “My third seminar with you — you are great! Keep on teaching this class…”
- “Always great! Thank you! Wish you had more throughout the year… You are engaging and positive.”
- “Excellent! I could not think of anything to improve on this workshop. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
- “Excellent presentation. Very informative and well thought out frame work. Thanks Deb!”
- “Presenter was engaging, knowledgeable, and very thorough.”
- “Nice work! Very interesting, especially when examining specific case studies.”
Training/Consultation For Clinicians/Agencies
Deb has been providing training for high risk clinical situations and legal involvement of the therapist for groups here in Colorado. Deb consults with individual practitioners, small groups of clinicians, and agencies to help therapists prepare for deposition or trial testimony, or to handle a subpoena request for clinical records.
Deb is available to meet with individual therapists who need risk prevention consultation and/or with groups of any size for any type of self-protective, clinical practice in this litigious age. Deb can custom tailor training to your particular agency or small group with questions submitted in advance by participants, if desired.
COLORADO training
On April 17th, Deb presented a 3-hour seminar to Sungate Kids, Colorado Child Advocacy and Abuse Services entitled:
Self-Protective, Ethical Practices for Clinicians to Handle High-Risk Clients and Legal Involvement
Some of the participants had this to say about Deb’s training:
- “Very helpful and informative. Thank you!”
- “Great info – very knowledgeable and great examples. Great reminders as well as some new nuggets.”
- “Could have listened to you all day! Great info. Lots to think about.”
- “Very good! Lively! Engaging! Knowledgeable! Very important information. Perfect timing.”
- “Deb presented excellent information that I feel will help me with my practice. Excellent info! Great workshop.”
- “I attend multiple, legal, ethical practice trainings and Deb is excellent in presentation. Thank you!”
- “Great advice about staying balanced/grounded in testifying.”
- “I appreciate Deborah being both a clinician and an attorney. Frightening possibilities regarding DORA, but [she helped me] know what possible protections I can possibly provide for clients and myself.”
Deb will be scheduling additional trainings concerning The Troublesome Interface of Legal and Clinical Issues in the near future in the Denver area.
LOUISIANA training
Deb will be doing another 3-hour Beyond Ethics training in New Orleans on November 3, 2017 entitled:
Ethical, Clinical Practice in the Electronic Age
Deb’s Clinical Practice
(1) Referrals being accepted for women’s therapy group. Good candidates include women between ages approximately 35 – 60 who are undergoing a significant life transition, such as (a) loss of job, (b) major health issue, (c) divorce or death of partner, or (d) depression/anxiety that you believe group work would help. Client would continue in individual therapy with referring therapist – group would only augment clinical work. Group will meet in the evening at Deb’s Lakewood office.
(2) Deb will be teaming up with a Yoga instructor who offers Trauma Sensitive Yoga for survivors – both a teen group and a women’s group. We will be offering short-term (probably 6-week) groups starting in the New Year. These groups will be structured around providing a safe space for survivors of any type of trauma. Here is the blurb about the group:
Certified Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Instructor Rachel Stroud and Therapist Deborah M. Henson, LCSW are collaborating to offer two 6-week Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Workshops. One workshop is aimed towards teens who have survived or are enduring any type of trauma and the other is geared towards women trauma survivors. We are reaching out to the communities in Denver/Lakewood and surrounding areas to invite trauma survivors to start or continue their healing journey. If you are a trauma survivor or know of someone who could benefit from this type of workshop, we’d love to hear from you so we can come together to find a 6-week slot that works for the majority. Please email Rachel Stroud at [email protected] or call at 405-640-5132 to express interest and to collaborate meeting times.
Rachel & Deb are passionate about helping trauma survivors navigate through their healing journey and offering a safe place for them to heal from the deep places where trauma is held within the body. Trauma-Sensitive Yoga provides survivors with the opportunity to heal from the source, empowering them with renewed relationships with their bodies.
- Learn how to connect with your breath, mind and body to provide calm and safety within
- Learn techniques to help release stress, tension and anxiety
- Find connection, strength and support with others in a safe setting
- Learn to process your trauma & healing through movement, optional group sharing, journaling and mindfulness.
Trauma is different for everyone. The exact same traumatic event can, and likely will, affect individuals differently. Trauma can be, but it not limited to:
- PTSD of any kind
- Childhood trauma
- Sexual trauma
- Surviving a natural disaster
- Surviving/witnessing an attack
- First responders holding trauma from their first-hand accounts on the job
- LGBTQ processing/marginalization/discrimination/questioning…etc.
- Emotional/spiritual/physical abuse or trauma
- Death of a loved one and/or close encounters with death
- Surviving an accident
- Surviving or witnessing anything horrific and/or traumatizing
Again, please email Rachel Stroud at [email protected] or call at 405-640-5132 for inquiries and interest. Thank you!
(3) Deb offers family counseling to those who have a LGBTQ kid or family member of any age coming out. If sufficient referrals come forth, Deb and another clinician will start a multi-family group, which is very potent for families who feel isolated as in these situations. For more info, please call or have the family member call Deb at 504.232.8884. Deb is also a new Board member for PFLAG and will be assisting with the support groups in the near future, including the family and significant other support groups.
(4) Post-Divorce Facilitation – if any of your clients are considering divorce or have recently gotten divorced, I am available to help facilitate the process between the parents with the co-parenting of their children. It takes a new headset to become successful, non-conflictual co-parents, especially when the baggage of divorce litigation is hanging heavy over their heads. If you want more information about the co-parenting facilitation, feel free to email or call me or have the interested client contact me.
Legal Services Offered
- Legal Representation & Consultation for grievances (complaints) to licensing boards and/or malpractice lawsuits
- Training & Consultation for Clinicians and Agencies (e.g., respond ethically to subpoenas while protecting yourself and your clients; identify high-risk clients and situations to avoid client disciplinary complaints and harm to clients or third parties)
Deb Henson is an Attorney and LCSW (Tulane School of Social Work, MSW) in private practice in Denver and New Orleans, specializing in mental health licensing defense. She represents clinicians in DORA grievances (CO) and licensing board Complaints (LA) and regularly consults with clinicians in both states to help them deal with legal and clinical conundrums, such as: (1) the receipt of subpoenas for records or testimony; (2) the escalation of high-risk clinical situations; and (3) other sticky ethical wickets that arise in clinical practice. Deb helps clinicians develop self-protective, clinically sound and legally proper strategies for risk prevention.
Deb also maintains a clinical practice in Denver, with an office in the Green Mountain area of Lakewood. Through that private practice, Deb offers individual and couple therapy, primarily, and will be starting an ongoing women’s therapy group in the Fall (ages 35-65; interviews for group placement will be conducted upon referral). Referrals for the group are welcome – 504.232.8884.
Deb has been presenting half- and full-day seminars on “Avoiding Ethics Complaints and Malpractice Lawsuits” or “Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice” around the country through PESI, Inc. for over 7 years and presenting for many CEU groups in Louisiana and Colorado. She also has lectured for Tulane School of Social Work Continuing Education and the University of Texas School of Social Work (Austin) Continuing Professional Development program, and for many other clinical and counseling groups. Deb started her own training biz — Beyond Ethics, LLC — in 2009. Contact Deb for group presentations to agency staff and/or private practice consultation groups.
Deb can be reached through her law and social work web site: www.deborahmhenson.com or through her training web site: www.beyond-ethics.com. Deb can also be emailed at [email protected] or [email protected]. And, you can use the old tried and true method of calling her at 504.232.8884.
Recent blog posts you might be interested in:
Separation Pondering, Continued
Pondering Separation of All Types
Multi-Career Professionals or Juggling Many Balls
https://denver.craigslist.org/off/6211714990.html
What people said about my most recent seminars:
- “This seminar was extremely insightful and Deb’s delivery and presentation was right up my alley!”
- “I think Deb is a great presenter.”
- “Great job as usual!”
- “Enjoy your workshops – always so informative and interesting. Time flies!”
- “I always enjoy your trainings. I appreciate your flexibility in regards to discussing audience members’ concerns/experiences.”
- “My third seminar with you — you are great! Keep on teaching this class…”
- “Always great! Thank you! Wish you had more throughout the year… You are engaging and positive.”
- “Excellent! I could not think of anything to improve on this workshop. Keep doing what you’re doing.”
- “Excellent presentation. Very informative and well thought out frame work. Thanks Deb!”
- “Presenter was engaging, knowledgeable, and very thorough.”
- “Nice work! Very interesting, especially when examining specific case studies.”
Deb Henson is an Attorney and LCSW (Tulane School of Social Work, MSW) in private practice in Denver and New Orleans, specializing in mental health licensing defense. She represents clinicians in DORA grievances (CO) and licensing board Complaints (LA) and regularly consults with clinicians in both states to help them deal with legal and clinical conundrums, such as: (1) the receipt of subpoenas for records or testimony; (2) the escalation of high-risk clinical situations; and (3) other sticky ethical wickets that arise in clinical practice. Deb helps clinicians develop self-protective, clinically sound and legally proper strategies for risk prevention.
Deb also maintains a clinical practice in Denver, with an office in the Green Mountain area of Lakewood. Through that private practice, Deb offers individual and couple therapy, primarily, and will be starting an ongoing women’s therapy group in the Fall (ages 35-65; interviews for group placement will be conducted upon referral). Referrals for the group are welcome – 504.232.8884.
Deb has been presenting half- and full-day seminars on “Avoiding Ethics Complaints and Malpractice Lawsuits” or “Legal and Ethical Issues in Clinical Practice” around the country through PESI, Inc. for over 7 years and presenting for many CEU groups in Louisiana and Colorado. She also has lectured for Tulane School of Social Work Continuing Education and the University of Texas School of Social Work (Austin) Continuing Professional Development program, and for many other clinical and counseling groups. Deb started her own training biz — Beyond Ethics, LLC — in 2009. Contact Deb for group presentations to agency staff and/or private practice consultation groups.
Deb can be reached through her law and social work web site: www.deborahmhenson.com or through her training web site: www.beyond-ethics.com. Deb can also be emailed at [email protected] or [email protected]. And, you can use the old tried and true method of calling her at 504.232.8884.