In this 1.5 hour Live Zoom class, participants will learn the most important legal and ethical considerations for high-risk situations that clinicians can confront in their practice. Course objectives include: 

1. Learn current and basic ethical and legal backgrounds for treatment of at-risk patients 

2. Plan and prepare to implement record-keeping and documentation requirements for such patients 

3. Learn about mandatory and recommended reporting requirements for such patients.. 

4. Apply risk management principles without compromising clinical integrity. 

5. Utilize tools taught to make clinical decisions in accordance with ethical, legal and risk-management guidelines.


*This class is suitable for all levels of practitioners and providers of mental health including Psych, LMSW, LCSW, LMFT, LCAT, LMHC, LP and related fields. 

Led by Bruce Hillowe, JD, PhD

Bruce V. Hillowe,J.D., Ph.D.

Bruce V. Hillowe, J.D., Ph.D. is a mental healthcare attorney with a law practice in Garden City, New York. A graduate of Binghamton University, Duke University School of Law, and Adelphi University Derner Institute (Clinical Psychology and Postdoctoral Programs), he formerly practiced as a psychologist-psychoanalyst, including as a coordinator of clinical training and director of a forensic mental health service. He was a teaching attending psychologist in law and ethics at a major teaching hospital for 15 years. He currently teaches courses in ethics and law as adjunct faculty at the Derner Institute. He is legal counsel to numerous mental health facilities, institutes, and practitioners and sponsors legal plans for professional associations. He has written articles and book chapters including for law reviews and healthcare publications and is the author of a HIPAA compliance manual for New York mental health practices. He is a featured "SuperLawyer" in the New York Times Magazine.

Course curriculum

  1. 1

    • Information - Legal and Ethical Considerations of High-Risk Clients

    • Instructor Information - Requirements - Rules - Refunds - Policies
  2. 2

    • Documents for Legal & Ethical Considerations in Working with High-Risk Clients
  3. 3

    • Information to Keep
  4. 4

    • Legal and Ethical Considerations of High-Risk Clients
  5. 5

    • Survey Scale

    • Course Evaluation For Legal and Ethical Considerations of High-Risk Clients

System Requirements: 
 Windows XP or higher, MacOS9 or higher, Android 4.0 or higher Internet Browser: Internet Explorer 9.0 or higher, Google Chrome, Firefox 10.0 or higherBroadband Internet Connection: Cable, High-speed DSL & any other medium that is internet accessible. 

Course Completion Requirements:
 To earn CE credit, social workers and mental health clinicians must log in at the scheduled time, attend the entire course and complete both the online posttest and course evaluation. Upon completion of the live course, you will be immediately prompted to complete the posttest and then the course evaluation. Once you receive a passing score of 80% or above (you will have an unlimited number of attempts to take the posttest), you will be prompted to complete the course evaluation. Participants will have a 24-hour time window from the end of the live course, within which both the posttest and the course evaluation must be completed in order to receive credit. A certificate of completion will appear within your bhava-therapy.thinkific.com account and you will receive an email congratulations message and link to your Certificate of Completion as well.

Refund Policy

Refunds for live in-person courses are offered up to 1 week in advance of the course start date. Refunds for live online courses are offered up to 24 hours prior to the start of the course. Refunds are issued in the original form of payment used.  Any cancellations or requests for refunds after the 1 week or 24 hour window respectively are reviewed on a case by case basis. Requests for refunds or cancellation after the 1 week or 24 hour window, if granted, may qualify only as a credit for future courses not as a refund of the original payment used.

If you are unable to attend the class you registered for, please email Veronica Vaiti to request your credit.

Grievance Policy

The Bhava Therapy Group Continuing Education Program (BTGCEP) aims to provide an educational experience that meets and exceeds the highest standards for professional continuing education. The BTGCEP strives to address and meet each participants’ learning needs in an easy to use, transparent, supportive and openly communicative manner with substantive and quality content and instruction.  

If at any time, a participant experiences a difficulty or grievance of any kind such as access to CE course, delivery of courses, attendance to courses, quality of or level of instruction of the courses, receipt of certificates of completion and the like, the BTGCEP team commits to respond promptly and in a timely manner with as much clarity, respect for the request or expressed grievance and work to resolve the grievance in a satisfactory and integrous manner.

In-Service/On-Site Training & Workshops

The Bhava Therapy Group CE Program is also available to provide our continuing education courses and training on-site at your organization. If you or the members of your organization are unable to make it to one of our training or if your organization has a specific request for a training in a particular area of expertise that you don’t see listed as part of our posted curriculum, please email Veronica Vaiti to discuss further. 


Bhava Therapy Group, #1782, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Bhava Therapy Group maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: 12/09/2022 – 12/09/2025.

Bhava Therapy Group has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7242. 8/4/22-8/1/25.

Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Bhava Therapy Group is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

For questions, concerns, or to request accommodations, please email [email protected] or call 646-389-5801