Ethics and the Law: Child Abuse Residential Course Assessment and Treatment
This Boy’s Life (1993)
View the film and write a four-page paper discussing the presenting issues relevant to child abuse, including some discussion of presenting symptoms, family dynamics, the role of outside institutions/agencies, the role of individuals outside the family who have an impact on the abused child’s life, and the role of resiliency and healing in the film
A. Content – Major elements of course content included as applicable. These might include assessment, intervention, treatment, cultural context, ethical and legal responsibilities, as well as your lived experiences relating to this topic.
B. Organization – The introduction clearly provides background on the topic and previews major points; structure is clear, logical, and flows smoothly; narration and text support the central theme; conclusion follows logically from the body of the paper
C. Synthesis and application – Student should demonstrate an understanding of how to move from course content to application in clinical practice.
D. Writing Style – Papers must be typed, double-spaced, utilizing Pacifica/APA style guidelines and referencing format. Citations and reference page included.
Course Description:
The objective of this course is to present a comprehensive overview of the ethics and laws regarding child abuse assessment, reporting responsibilities, and interventions pertaining to clinical practice. This course integrates an understanding of various cultures and the social and psychological implications of socioeconomic status as well as the principles of mental health recovery-oriented care and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented practice environments.Students will:
1. Distinguish the definitions and manifestations of child abuse, including: neglect, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.
2. Demonstrate competency in the skills necessary to identify and assess child abuse through acquiring knowledge of: physical and behavioral indicators, parental attitudes or behaviors, and multicultural differences.
3. Develop and demonstrate familiarity with immediate interventions, treatment strategies, treatment plans, and adjunctive services available to victims and families.
PACIFICA GRADUATE INSTITUTE M.A. Counseling Psychology Program
Ethics and the Law: Child Abuse Residential Course Assessment and Treatmen
4. Integrate an understanding of family systems, cultural diversity, and the psychosocial implications of socio-economic status in the treatment of child abuse.
5. Integrate an understanding of the principles of mental health recovery-oriented care and methods of service delivery in recovery-oriented practice environments.
6. Identify the legal responsibilities of the therapist according to the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, the law under which all issues regarding child abuse are addressed within legislation. [A number of Penal Codes address who needs to report and the guidelines for reporting specifically California Penal Code Sections 11164-11174.3. The Welfare and Institutions codes relevant for child abuse are WIC 300 subsections (a) through (j). The Welfare and Institutions Codes specify different kinds of child abuse. (physical, sexual, abandonment, etc.).
7. Determine the array of potential therapist issues such as countertransference and vicarious traumatization and how they might impact the therapeutic work.
8. Identify and evaluate immediate interventions, available treatment strategies, national and local resources, and adjunctive services available to the professional psychotherapist.