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Court Crash Course for Mental Health Clinicians

Stop living in fear of subpoenas! Court-proof your practice and feel confident in how you handle all things court related! 

If you're like most mental health clinicians, you likely experience varying degrees of worry that someday you're going to be dragged into court by a client, their parent, their angry ex-partner, or their attorney ... and that you're going to somehow mess it up.

We are here to reassure that you are not alone in your fears, that there is support available, and that you CAN prepare both yourself and your practice to manage all things court related with aplomb!

Jill Williams, LCSW spent too much time on the stand while working in community mental health and she is thrilled to report that she has been testimony-free since she opened her own private practice in 2014 ... and she is here to help YOU stay out of the hot seat!

Dr. Brittany Bate, PhD is a licensed psychologist with significant academic and clinical forensic training and experience in what happens when you actually do get called into court ... and she is here to help you maintain your cool if you do have to show up and testify!

Together, Jill and Dr. Bate's overlapping experiences provide a dream scenario for clinicians ...
Learn to keep yourself out of court, AND know hw to handle it if you are called to testify!

What is Included in the Court Crash Course?

Live, Interactive Presentation

Please join us for this 3-hour, interactive, comprehensive presentation outlining how to both stay out of court and how to handle yourself on the stand if you are compelled to testify in a case related to your client.

"Explain it to me like I'm 5" Instructions on How to Respond to a Subpoena

We will provide you with a step-by-step checklist of everything you need to know about receiving and responding to a subpoena, including a PDF download with written instructions to follow so you no longer have to live in fear!

Intake Paperwork Related to Court Involvement

We will show you how to set up your practice policies surrounding court involvement from top to bottom, including informed consent language and a sample fee structure that you can download and use in your own practice today!

Considerations for Working with Minor Children

We will provide you with clear cut practice policies regarding working with minors, language for your informed consent (including a downloadable copy of our consents!), and scripting to talk with parents / guardians about your role as a therapist and your limitations surrounding court involvement based on your scope of practice. 

Subpoenas and Court Orders

We will review a subpoena with attorney annotations to help you better understand how to read a subpoena, as well as tell the difference between a subpoena sent by an attorney and a court order issued by a judge.

Duces Tecum (and Other Legal Jargon)

WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!? Well, we'll tell you what it means (basically "you shall bring with you") and we'll cover other common legalese words and phrases so everything will seem a lot less scary! 

Handling Interactions with Attorneys

We will walk your through how to talk with attorneys, what questions to ask, and what NOT to say. This includes understanding the roles of attorneys and other court involved professionals, as well as learning how to set boundaries with attorneys in a direct, professional manner. 

Recommendations for Screening Referrals

We will walk through how to screen referrals for court involvement, including scripting for what to say during the call, specific questions to ask, and how to refer out with aplomb when you aren't the best fit for a potential client's needs!

Scripting for Maintaining Therapeutic Rapport

We will give you the exact words to use when talking with clients so you can hold firm on your professional boundaries AND maintain solid therapeutic rapport in the event that your existing client becomes court involved.

What's In Your Medical Records ... and Why It Matters

What makes a psychotherapy note different than a progress note? Where should you document your personal opinions about your client's symptoms and experiences? Who has a right to view your client's records? WHAT ABOUT HIPAA?!?!

What If I Have to Testify?

We've got your covered! We will review the different types of witnesses, what you can and cannot say on the stand, how to present yourself as a badass and trustworthy witness on the stand, and how to best prepare in advance.

Can I Just Write a Letter?

Spending a day in the courtroom is kinda crappy (at least for many of us!) and YES, most of the time therapists can avoid providing testimony by providing a Treatment Summary. We will provide you with a template to write your own treatment summaries, as well as review two examples of very different treatment summaries that are court ready!

What If I'm Actually Excited About Being in Court?

Hey, I am so glad that you are out there doing stuff in the world and if you are interested in finding new ways to become involved with court related issues, we can point you in the right direction! We will cover common ways that therapists become involved in court cases and provide information on how you can increase your skills / knowledge working with court-involved populations. 

Ready to Court Proof
Your Own Practice?

What did our most recent attendees love about the Court Crash Course for Clinicians?

reliable resources | real-life scenarios | wealth of information | more confidence

"I appreciated how Dr. Bate and Jill went into great detail about how court subpoenas apply to clinicians. I recall hearing a high-level overview as a grad school student in the past, but nothing to this depth. They provided a lot of information around what to do before ever receiving a subpoena and what to do if one is received ... Connecting real-life scenarios that you two have experienced or knew of was also helpful."
"This training provided me with a enormous wealth of information. It taught me how to proceed in the case of court involvement, and when and how to involve legal support. This training has fundamentally shifted how I view legal issues in therapy."
"Dr. Bate and Jill had a very positive synergy. It's hard to believe that this is their first time collaborating for a training because it seemed very natural! They were thorough, providing legal, ethical, and clinical implications of receiving subpoenas. I also appreciate how they shared some visual aids during the presentation and provided those visual aids as resources for us to take after the presentation. Well done!"

Dr. Brittany Bate, Ph.D, (she/her) has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in forensic psychology and assessment. She has extensive experience in providing mental health assessments in context of custody evaluations, reunification therapy, team-based threat and risk assessments, competency evaluations, and pre-trial capacity evaluations. Dr. Bate also has a significant research and practical background in the intricacies of providing expert testimony.

Dr. Bate currently owns Be BOLD Psychology and Consulting and she also enjoys providing attorney consultation services (i.e., witness preparation, critical analysis of expert reports, etc.). When not working in a clinical setting she assists in conducting small group and survey research as a contract trial consultant. She also offers coaching and consulting services to therapist entrepreneurs who are seeking to grow their solo or group practice! 

Jill Williams, LCSW (she/her) is a therapist, group practice owner, Certified Clinical Supervisor, and owner of a mental health education program with 15 years of direct clinical experience working with children and adults of all ages. Jill has provided testimony in cases involving Child Protective Services, family visitation, young child mental health, and adult guardianship. She has additionally provided team-based assessments and recommendations to determine competency in guardianship cases for adults. 
Jill has developed practice policies, screening processes, and a strong referral base in order to "stay in her lane" professionally and she prides herself on remaining "testimony free" since she opened Flourish Counseling in 2014.

Jill provides consultation, training, and coaching for other mental health clinicians looking to gain more competence and confidence in their role as a therapist. 
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