Laws, Codes, and Ethical Decision-Making
Behavioral health practice requires more than good intentions. This 1.0 CE hour on-demand course offers a practical overview of legal and ethical frameworks that guide behavioral health practice.
On-Demand Course
at your pace for only $9.95.
Earn one continuing education hour while exploring how legal and ethical responsibilities intersect in areas such as confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, documentation, mandatory reporting, boundaries, and client welfare. Gain access to downloadable resources, including practice briefs, handouts, and infographics that you can save and revisit any time.
Why Take This Course
Legal compliance alone is not always enough for ethical practice. At the same time, ethical intentions must be grounded in applicable law, board rules, and professional standards. This course will help you:
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Build a stronger foundation for navigating ethical and legal questions in clinical practice. Rather than focusing on one discipline or one state, the course introduces broad concepts that apply across behavioral health disciplines.
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Develop a clearer understanding of how to approach ethical questions involving confidentiality, privacy, informed consent, mandatory reporting, documentation, professional boundaries, and overlapping legal and ethical duties.
What You'll Learn
By the end of this course, you will be better able to:
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describe relationships between state and federal laws related to the practice of behavioral and mental health;
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identify major professional ethics codes relevant to behavioral health providers; and
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apply a structured ethical decision-making approach that integrates legal requirements, professional ethics, client welfare, consultation, documentation, and ongoing professional responsibility.
Who Developed This Course
Senior Instructor Teresa McDowell
Teresa McDowell, EdD, LMFT is professor emerita at Lewis & Clark, where she served as department chair and co-founded the college’s Problem Gambling Services. With over 40 years of experience as a clinician, educator, administrator, and consultant, Teresa focuses on workforce development, equity-based clinical practice, integrated treatment for problem gambling, and clinical supervision. She is a social researcher, program evaluator, and consultant with Partners in Social Research and Senior Instructor for ACORN. Dr. McDowell has authored more than 50 scholarly publications and is lead author of Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy: Applying Third Order Thinking to Theory and Practice (3rd Ed., 2026).
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What About CE Hours
A certificate of completion will be available on the Student Dashboard after you complete all required course activities and the course evaluation survey.
ACORN is approved by the Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO), Provider ID: 26-0044, to provide continuing education courses. Additionally, ACORN is approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7274. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. ACORN is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Who This Course Is For
Behavioral health professionals across the United States, including:
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mental health counselors (MHC / LPC), marriage and family therapists (MFT / LMFT), art therapists (AT / LAT), social workers (SW / LSW / LCSW), psychologists;
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Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors (CADCs) and Certified Gambling Addiction Counselors (CGACs);
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Qualified Mental Health Associates (QMHAs) and Qualified Mental Health Professionals (QMHPs);
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peers and behavioral health supervisors.
Start Learning Today
at your pace, 100% online
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Enroll
$9.95
1.0 CE Hour
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Important Disclaimer
The information provided in this course is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Laws, rules, regulations, and professional codes may change, and information presented in this course may not reflect the most current requirements at the time it is reviewed. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based solely on information provided in this course without reviewing current laws, administrative rules, professional codes, and board guidance, and seeking legal advice from qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction when appropriate.
