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Using Law and Ethics in Behavioral Health Decision Making

Andrew Israel, MSW, JD, the webmaster of this site, received his Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law where he served as lead articles editor of the Syracuse Law Review. He is Associate Dean and Associate Professor at New Mexico Highlands University School of Social Work. Dean Israel is a past director of the State Bar of New Mexico Section on Public Law. He presently teaches courses in law and ethics and community organizing and has published in this field.

The purpose of this website is to promote the discussion of legal and ethical dilemmas in the behavioral and mental health professions, including social work, psychology and counseling. We welcome the posting of specific practice questions in these fields, and we will attempt both to post examples of troublesome dilemmas and to respond to individual questions from users.

What We Offer

For the behavioral health clinician facing practice dilemmas, this is the place to be. In discussing and answering questions about legal and ethical problems in social work, psychology, counseling, nursing, and other behavioral and mental health professions, we aim to foster discussion of practice dilemmas. In doing so, we will not use the disjointed approach so common to law and ethics treatises. Rather, we will try to consider the law, ethics, cultural context, and pragmatics of dilemmas posted on this site. We hope to increase visitors' understanding of their own responsibilities to their clients in the resolution of common practice problems.