A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the Counseling Webboard at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/graduate/webboards/

This course is designed to provide the helping professional with the knowledge of the major ethical and legal issues in counseling and psychotherapy today. Students will be exposed to such topics as ethical theory, laws and court decisions, incompetence, malpractice, licensure and certification, privileged communications, DSM IV and Family Therapy, legal liabilities affecting psychologists, and legal obligations of psychotherapists. Ethical standards for individual practitioners will be examined in detail. Participants will be involved in case research, group discussions, group reports, and individual presentations of ethical and legal issues in the field of counseling and psychotherapy.

The profession of counseling is both sanctioned and censured by aspects of the individual practitioner, the professional community, and the broader American society. The overall goal of this course is to acquaint students with moral, ethical, and legal issues that affect the practice of counseling. Such issues include individual moral development, ethical decision-making models, the ethical guidelines for professional practice of counseling described by the American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association, the roles played by counseling experts within the American legal system, family protection laws, legal issues pertaining to regulating mental health treatment, professional licensure, and practice issues.

1. To become familiar with the distinctions between moral, ethical, and legal behavior, as applied to the practice of counseling.
   
2. To acquire experience using ethical reasoning skills to apply professional ethics within case scenarios to resolve potential counseling problems.
   
3. To discuss some of the major professional activities faced by mental health professionals working within the legal system, including their potential ethical conflicts.
   
4. To become familiar with statutory and case law as it impacts the mental health practitioner.

Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:

    A     92%

    B     80 – 91%

    C     70 – 79%

    F     Below 70%

Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade "F" is used to designate academic failure. "FN" is used to designate failure for non-completion.  Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.

This schedule presents 16 units or modules, with each unit corresponding to a regular three-hour weekday meeting, a half-day on weekends, or a full week of DE.

Note: Any written assignment in this course may be submitted to TurnItIn.Com. This statement constitutes prior notice.

The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."

Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.