Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health is a 2-hour online continuing education (CE/CEU) course that satisfies the medical errors requirement of Florida mental health professionals.
When the Florida administrative code first mandated that licensees’ biennial continuing education requirement was to include two hours of training on the prevention of medical errors, there was a considerable amount of grumbling on the part of many licensees in the mental health field. The general sense of it was that – since we do not practice medicine – what is the relevance to our practice? The level of discontent was further amplified by the content requirement proposed by several of the Florida boards, which required specific topics to be included, topics that seemed to be more relevant to medical practice than psychotherapy practice.
Eventually, the courses offered by some accredited providers began to be more closely tailored to the needs of professionals who attend their clients’ psychological and emotional needs rather than to their medical needs. Preventing Medical Errors in Behavioral Health was written to include all of the elements that are required for an approved medical errors course while including topics and case examples that will resonate with both novice and seasoned mental health professionals.
While it remains a required course for Florida licensees and satisfies their biennial requirement, it is also intended to be of clinical interest to psychotherapists in other states who wish to increase their awareness of the ways in which clients can be harmed and the many strategies for avoiding such undesirable outcomes. Its emphasis is on areas within mental health practice that carry the potential for “medical” errors. Examples include improper diagnosis, breaches of privacy and confidentiality, mandatory reporting requirements, managing dangerous clients, boundary violations and sexual misconduct, use of technology, the informed consent process, and competence. Most errors arise from inadequate attention to the various educational, clinical, ethical, and legal resources available. This course will illustrate the kinds of “medical” errors that can occur in psychotherapy practice and will offer strategies for avoiding them.
Also included are sections on root cause analysis, suicide assessment, medical conditions presenting as a psychological disorder, psychotherapy in the digital age, including the use of social networking platforms, the challenges of maintaining and transmitting electronic records, email, text messaging, best practices for teletherapy, and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in practice. Case examples are included throughout. Course #21-68 | 2026 | 37 pages | 15 posttest questions | Mobile-Friendly
This online course provides instant access to the course materials and CE test. The course is text-based (reading), and the CE test is open-book (you can print the test to mark your answers on it while reading the course materials).
Successful completion of this course involves passing an online test (80% required, 3 chances to take) and we ask that you also complete a brief course evaluation.
Accreditation Information
Professional Development Resources, a small Florida nonprofit educational corporation 501(c)(3) organized in 1992, is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Professional Development Resources maintains responsibility for all programs and content. Professional Development Resources is also approved by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP #5590); the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB #1046, ACE Program); the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA #AAUM); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA #3159); the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR Prior Approval Program); the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling, Board of Psychology, Office of School Psychology, Board of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, Board of Occupational Therapy, and Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council; the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0145), State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0135) and marriage and family therapists (#MFT-0100), and the State Board for Social Workers as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW-0664); the South Carolina Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage & Family Therapists (#193); the Texas Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (#114) and State Board of Social Worker Examiners (#5678); and is CE Broker compliant (#50-1635 – completions are reported next business day, currently reporting for 47 boards). Learn more about us.
Target Audience: Psychologists, School Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists (MFTs), Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), Occupational Therapists (OTs), Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs), and Teachers
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