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  • TeleBehavioral Health Webinar, August 15, 2025

    NRTRC
    Hel:

    The NRTRC partners with the University of Washington, Harborview Behavioral Health Institute, to offer the 2025 TeleBehavioral Health Training Series.

    Clinician's Duty to Protect in an Era of Telehealth: Legal and Clinical Considerations in Washington State

    Please join us on Friday, August 15, from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (PT) for our next TeleBehavioral Health CME/NASW/CEU-accredited 2025 series presentation.

    Overview

    The mental health clinicians' "duty to protect" others from violent acts of our patients is complicated and raises legal and clinical questions. This talk will review the standard in Washington, which is an outlier compared to other states. The talk will discuss practice pointers and consider a variety of clinical settings, including telehealth.

    REGISTER HERE

    Jennifer Piel, MD, JD

    Jennifer Piel, MD, JD is an Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Mental Health, Policy, and the Law in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. In addition, Dr. Piel is a Staff Psychiatrist and Director of the Disruptive Behavior Evaluation Clinic at the VA Puget Sound, Seattle Division. She is Board Certified in general psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, and brain injury medicine.

    Dr. Piel is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the Ethics and Research Committees of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL). Dr. Piel twice earned the prestigious Young Investigator Award from AAPL. She is the Legal Digest Editor for the Journal of the Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

    Dr. Piel regularly consults on clinical and legal cases locally and nationally. She represents the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law as its delegate to the American Medical Association. She has served as an expert witness or consultant in cases involving criminal and civil competencies; criminal responsibility; malpractice; violence risk assessment; sexual and gender harassment; and fitness for duty, among others. She speaks locally and nationally on topics related to behavioral health and the law.

    Objectives

    1. Understand the legal basis for mental health clinicians' duty to protect
    2. Describe Washington law on the duty to protect
    3. Approach the duty to protect from a clinical perspective across practice settings ​​​​​​

    Event Information:

    The Zoom webinar will be held on Friday, August 15 at 11 a.m.-12 p.m. (PT)

    If Interested:

    If you are interested in CME/CEU credits or would like to view all past presentations in the TeleBehavioral Health series, please visit our TeleBehavioral Health web page.

    We look forward to you joining us!

    The TeleBehavioral Health Training Team

    Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center
    “This publication was made possible by grant number UiUTH42531-03 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS”

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