As someone who is working towards becoming a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), you already know how much time and effort you've put into meeting the undergraduate and graduate educational requirements necessary for you to receive a state MFT license to practice.
Most MFT master's programs will include significant internship components, where you can expect to work in a clinical setting under the close supervision of a licensed MFT, learning how to apply your classroom learning in a practical setting. During your internship, you'll be expected to meet the standards that apply to every other professional and employee that you work with. Your clinic will very likely provide you with written guidelines describing its policies and procedures. It's important that you review and understand these before you begin working so that you don't inadvertently find yourself accused of misconduct because you accidentally breached one of the clinic's rules.
Because mental health practitioners deal every day with some of the most intimate details of their patient's lives, it's particularly important that you pay close attention to instructions about how you record your therapy sessions and how you maintain the privacy of information patients share with you or that you learn from patient records or other therapists. If you are not careful about how you interact with patients and co-workers and how you treat patient information, you can easily find yourself the subject of a disciplinary complaint. The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team has put together this information to help you understand the types of disciplinary actions that can happen to MFT interns and what steps to take if you find yourself accused of misconduct in connection with your work. Call us at 888.535.3686 or tell us about your case through our contact form.
What Kinds of Discipline Can I Encounter During My Marriage and Family Therapist Internship?
Because, in most cases, your internship will be coordinated through your school, you can actually face several levels of discipline if someone files a misconduct complaint against you. These include the following:
- Workplace discipline. The clinical practice, health center, or other workplace setting where your internship takes place will have its own practices, procedures, and rules that relate to the work that you do as an intern and how you interact with patients and co-workers. If you don't follow the correct procedure or don't treat a patient or co-worker properly, a complaint may be filed against you with your employer. Whether and to what extent the clinic investigates the claim made against you and how it handles the discipline if the complaint is substantiated will vary from one place to another. It's important to take complaints like this seriously because if you lose your internship, it can delay or derail your degree. And that can make it much more difficult for you to complete your studies and eventually become a licensed MFT. The experienced attorneys at the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you defend yourself in cases where you are facing a disciplinary investigation as part of your MFT internship.
- School discipline. When your internship is coordinated by your college or university, workplace disciplinary issues can easily become school disciplinary issues. Every school has its code of conduct or student manual that applies to undergrads and graduate students alike, and depending on the nature of the complaint against you, your school may decide that it has the right to do its own investigation and impose its own discipline on you. Schools typically have a wide range of potential sanctions available when they discipline students, from verbal warnings to written admonishments to suspensions or even expulsions. If you are being investigated by your school in connection with an internship misconduct complaint, you need to take it very seriously and get the help of an experienced student-defense attorney. The attorneys who are part of the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team have that experience and can help you face and defend against disciplinary investigations and allegations brought by your school. Practical skills experience will happen after you earn your graduate degree; you can expect to be subject to the same sort of discipline as any other employee or therapist who is working in the same clinical setting that you are.
- Professional organization discipline. Students working on their MFT degrees can often join professional organizations such as the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), which is an education and advocacy organization for MFTs. The AAMFT has its own code of ethics and an ethics complaint investigation and review process that applies to all members, including student members. Sanctions can include a variety of penalties, including loss of membership, but may also include a requirement that the member take certain courses or practice under supervision for a period of time. If you are facing discipline from the AAMFT or another professional organization, the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you understand the process and defend against the allegations.
What Kinds of Conduct Can Result in Discipline?
Because as an MFT intern, you'll be working in a mental health care setting, there are more types of disciplinary issues that you may face than if you work in a less-regulated field. Some of the common types of disciplinary issues involve the following:
- Failure to follow important protocols. This is particularly important where patient privacy is concerned. Healthcare providers are required by law to protect the confidentiality of a wide range of information about their patients, and if you fail to follow these rules, you could be disciplined. Even simply chatting with a co-worker about a patient session in a casual way may be considered a violation of that patient's rights. You also need to make sure that you understand and follow workplace guidelines for making records in connection with patient sessions or treatment. This is why it's vital for you to understand what your obligations are as someone working as an intern in a mental health clinical setting.
- Sexual harassment or abuse. Making suggestive comments about a patient or co-worker or touching a patient or co-worker without consent or in an inappropriate manner can result in a complaint for sexual harassment or abuse. As an intern in a mental health care setting, you will be expected to treat everybody with respect, co-workers and patients alike. Even dating a co-worker can, in some cases, be a violation of your workplace policies. That's another reason for you to read and understand what those policies are before you begin your internship.
- Fraud. A fraud claim might be made for a number of reasons. If you claim to have been at your internship when you weren't, or if you prepare an insurance claim form that incorrectly describes the treatment given to a patient and the result is that the insurer reimburses your workplace for more than what it should have under the circumstances, you could be accused fraud. Again, making sure you understand and follow your internship workplace's guidelines and procedures is the best way to avoid being accused of fraud.
- Working while under the influence. As a student healthcare intern, you will be expected to be at your best every day. If you are at work while under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or any prescription or non-prescription drug that affects your ability to perform, you may be facing a disciplinary complaint. In some cases, it's inadvertent – if you have an unexpected reaction to a drug properly prescribed by a doctor, for example. In others, it's something you arguably should be able to control.
How Are Misconduct Allegations Resolved?
Each employer, school, and professional organization will have its own way of investigating and resolving misconduct complaints. While these can obviously vary considerably, there are some typical steps that you can expect to encounter.
- Investigation of the complaint. The misconduct complaint will be reviewed to determine if it's the kind of complaint that can result in discipline. A complaint that the patient had to wait too long for a session, for example, may not result in further action. If further investigation is warranted, however, the process might include an interview with you and your co-workers, a review of relevant documents from your workplace, and a follow-up interview with the person who made the complaint. Not all investigations are as thorough as they should be, however, and attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team frequently will conduct their own investigation of misconduct claims to try to uncover information that can be helpful in defending against it if things move forward.
- Charges. If the complaint is substantiated, you may be notified of specific charges being filed against you and the facts that support those charges. You may also be given an opportunity to end the matter at that point by agreeing to accept the facts alleged against you and the proposed disciplinary action. As attractive as it might sound to end things at this stage, whether it makes sense to do so depends on the facts of your particular situation. The experienced attorneys at the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help you evaluate a proposed settlement and decide if it's in your best interests to accept it or, to try to negotiate for changed terms or to continue to fight against the charges.
- Hearing and decision. If you don't accept a proposed settlement, there will likely be some sort of hearing before a hearing officer or panel. This will look and feel somewhat like a court proceeding and can involve live witnesses who will give testimony and be cross-examined, written evidence that can be introduced and objected to, and oral arguments at the close of the proceedings. The hearing panel may ask for follow-up documents to help with their decision. At some point, a decision will be issued, and if it's against you, you may have the right to appeal it. At the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team, our attorneys have years of experience with hearings of this type and understand how to vigorously and effectively defend our student clients against misconduct charges.
The Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team Can Help
Being accused of misconduct can be an intimidating and stressful experience. It's not one you should face alone. Finishing your education and being able to move on toward earning your MFT license is simply too important to leave to chance. That's where the experienced attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team can help. We understand these kinds of cases and have helped students from all over the US resolve them and move on with their studies and their careers. We will take much of the day-to-day burden off of your shoulders and will help with investigating the claims made against you, negotiating with the organization that is bringing the disciplinary charges, helping you decide whether to accept any settlement that is offered and, where necessary providing you with a strong and effective defense at any hearing that occurs.
If you are facing misconduct charges in connection with your MFT internship, call the Lento Law Firm Student Defense Team today at 888.535.3686 or use our convenient online contact form to set up your confidential consultation. We know how difficult this is for you, and we are standing by to listen and to help.
