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Title:  The Human Rights and Ethical Issues of Involuntary Commitment 

Presenter:  Tara Bohley, MPA, LMFT

Date:  November 4, 2015, Wednesday, 10 am – 12 pm

Description:  What is involuntary commitment and how does it happen in North Carolina?  What happens to a person after being committed?  This session will introduce participants to the history of the use of involuntary commitment, describe examples of conservative use and broad application of the action, discuss more recent approaches and share perspectives from the clinical and advocacy fields regarding the debate of safety versus freedom. This workshop is intended only as an introduction to the topic and to stimulate discussion and further thinking about the ethics of mandatory treatment. NOTE:  This program may be counted towards ethics requirements for license renewal.

Objectives:

Participants completing this event will be able to:

  1. Identify the types of involuntary commitment in North Carolina.
  2. Learn a brief historical context for the current debate regarding involuntary commitment.
  3. Examine perspectives from various advocacy groups regarding individual rights vs. community welfare.
  4. Discuss the importance of the issue for human service professionals.

Presenter Bio:  Tara Bohley, MPA, LMFT is a Clinical Assistant Professor and the Behavioral Healthcare Resources Program Coordinator at UNC Chapel Hill School of Social Work.  Her previous direct services work has included Child Protective Services, Juvenile Justice, and Children’s Mental Health.  Her program management experience has been in the areas of nonprofit leadership, quality improvement, and clients rights.

Continuing Education Credit:

Each UNC School of Social Work Clinical Lecture Series event provides the following credit:  2.0 Contact Hours from Northwest AHEC, 2.0 contact hours of (Category A) continuing education for North Carolina psychologists, 2.0 contact hours from the North Carolina Substance Abuse Professional Practice Board. This program does not provide specific NBCC credits. However, per LPC licensure guidelines, you may submit up to 15 contact hours of continuing education by attending programs by affiliates of the National Area Health Education Center Organization (NAO). Northwest AHEC is a member of NAO.

Cost: $25/event including CEU (through NorthWestAHEC)

Register Here