A Refresher on Florida Laws, Rules, and More: Essentials for Chapter 491 Licensees

A Refresher on Florida Laws, Rules, and More: Essentials for Chapter 491 Licensees

Presenter: Mercedes ter Maat, Ph.D., LPC, ATR-BC, HLM
Friday, January 31, 2025 ♦ 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
ZOOM Webinar

This session is designed to fulfill the laws and rules education requirements for licensure renewal in Florida. With emphasis on group activities and case studies identifying ethical dilemmas, participants will review ethical principles, laws, and rules specific to clinical mental health counselors in an effort to solve them. In particular, discussion will focus on HIPAA, FERPA, their corresponding updates, Florida’s licensure Chapters 456 and 491, and Florida Administrative Rule Title 64B4. Dilemmas related to competent counseling of multicultural populations in diverse environments, in relation to ethical and legal practice will also be addressed.
 

---

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Mercedes ter Maat, Ph.D., LPC, ATR-BC is a professor in the Department of Counseling at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Psychology in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Prior to joining NSU, she was the director of the school counseling graduate program at George Washington University, Alexandria, VA campus and an assistant professor at Virginia Tech. She has 38 years of combined working experience as a counselor educator, mental health counselor, school counselor, and art therapist. Dr. ter Maat participates in local, state, national, and international leadership undertakings for the fields of mental health counseling, school counseling, and art therapy and frequently presents on topics related to multicultural counseling, ethics, motivational interviewing, and the use of art in counseling and therapy. She actively participates in humanitarian work, most recently in Peru, Argentina, and Lebanon, and her research interests are in enhancing the quality of life of immigrant, minority families in crisis by identifying risk and promoting protective factors. She is a past-president of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association, and a past-president and Honorary Life Member of the American Art Therapy Association. Dr. ter Maat is a licensed professional counselor and a board-certified/registered art therapist.
 

---

PROGRAM AGENDA

09:00 am – 10:00 am  Review of Florida Statutes Chapters 456 & 491, Florida Administrative Rule 64B4, and rules related to telehealth counseling

10:00 am – 11:00 am  Federal laws that govern counseling: A review of HIPAA, FERPA, and the latest updates

11:00 am – 12:00 pm  Ethical codes that govern counseling: A review of ACA and AMHCA ethical codes as they relate to the laws and rules that govern the                                           practice of clinical mental health counseling; Case studies involving confidentiality and     
                                     privacy, diversity perspectives, boundary issues, multiple and dual relationships, sexual relationships, and criminal behavior
 

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Participants will be able to:

• Define the legal mandates that govern the practice of clinical mental health counseling as stated in Florida Statue Laws and Regulations
• Discuss the legal mandates that govern the practice of clinical mental health counseling as stated in HIPAA and FERPA laws
• Apply the ethical codes as they relate to the legal mandates in solving ethical dilemmas involving confidentiality and privacy, diversity, boundary issues, multiple and dual relationships, sexual relationships, and criminal behavior

For additional information on continuing education policies, please visit our web site at http://psychology.nova.edu/ce.

---