Peer Consultation Group Guidelines
Purpose: The goal is to provide a safe and confidential platform for licensed mental health professionals to discuss cases, collaborate, and share resources in a peer consultation format.
“Lifelong learning and nurturing a “beginner's mind” to remain open to surprise, wisdom, and wonder. " Openness to alternative perspectives. " Living a life that is present, open, and authentic. " Making this work more manifest in our own lives and in teaching it to those who also care to learn about it” (B.L. Thompson et al., 2015).
Group Sessions: Consult sessions are limited in participants to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to speak. Ideally, each person will have up to 15 minutes to present a case and get feedback from the group. You do not have to present a case but being present to give feedback is helpful for fellow colleagues.
Format: Sessions will be via Zoom’s HIPAA compliant software. An email with the link will be sent prior to the session(s).
Guidelines
Groups will start on a bi-monthly basis. You can be a member of more than one group at a time if you so choose. The cost of groups are individual of each other.
Group Etiquette: We are a community of licensed mental health professionals. Each member shall be respectful of the views/methods of each other. As in consulting sessions, please refrain from issuing judgement towards each other and cases presented. It is all of our responsibility to report unethical practices either to admin, directly to the individual involved, or lastly, the licensing boards. Feel free to initiate a conversation with the group admin(s) if unsure about the ethical standards.
Confidentiality: It is our ethical obligation to maintain the highest standards of confidentiality to protect client information. Group members agree to hold the content of what others say in the consultation groups confidential out of respect to the attendees and the individuals with whom we work – this is important both with respect to the sharing of difficult clinical cases and for experiential exercises that may occur in the group.
Group members also agree to practice radical respect for one another and to realize that they are in the “same soup” with one another – just as we strive to do with clients in therapy.
No personally identifiable information (name, address, etc.) shall be released. It is your responsibility to monitor the information you present. The admin or any other group member may stop the release of such information. It is also your responsibility to ensure you have the client’s consent to present the case.
Please keep in mind that we are still obligated to release information as we would with clients, (those related to potential self-harm and/or harm of others, court orders requiring release, etc.)
Participation & Attendance: It is extremely helpful to group members that you are consistently available at regularly scheduled meetings as your group members count on you to help provide insight, feedback, and support.
For Waitlisted Groups: If you miss 3 times without advance notice to the group then you will be removed from the group and the next person added to the waitlist. True emergencies do happen and will be taken into consideration. You can get on the waitlist again if you wish but you will be put on the end of the waitlist.
Wait list: The waitlist will be in order of interest expressed (first come, first served).
Initially we will start out with one group and then add other groups after this one is running smooth and any unforeseen issues are worked out. Each individual group will target a specific population such as children only, adults only, etc.
Participant cost: Varies by group.
Peer Consultation Group Disclaimer
I am agreeing to a peer consultation group hosted by Evan Woodall, EdS, LPC.
I understand that these consultations do not constitute clinical supervision and that I remain completely responsible – ethically and legally – for the decisions I make in my own clinical case situations. My consultant(s) will provide me with an opportunity to discuss clinical cases and issues about which s/he may have some expertise, and s/he may help me consider options for responding, but the comments made for my consideration are not supervisional mandates.
I understand that the information obtained in the group is not to be considered legal or financial advice as Evan Woodall, EdS, LPC is not an attorney, financial adviser, or medical doctor. I remain completely responsible to seek legal, financial, and/or medical advice from the appropriate experts.
I also understand that although we may sometimes need to discuss personal issues that may be relevant to my clinical work, these consultation services do not constitute psychotherapy.
I understand the potential limits of the confidentiality of this relationship. To the extent possible, my case presentations will provide no identifiable patient information. However, I understand that if I provide identifiable information about a situation regarding which my consultant has an ethical or legal obligation to report confidential information, s/he will inform me at the time and will give me the opportunity to make the report myself.
I understand that if the consultants become aware that s/he knows or has a prior relationship with the presented client(s), or if s/he believes she has a potential conflict of interest in his/her relationship with me, s/he will notify me of that fact immediately and will cooperate in helping me find a different consultant.
I agree to the cost per up to a 90-min group consultation session, payable at each meeting.