Rights and Responsibilities in Behavioral Healthcare: For Clinical Social Workers, Consumers, and Third Parties

This publication describes the elements of effective behavioral healthcare and the rights and responsibilities of the participants involved in its delivery: the client as consumer, the practitioner, and the third-party entity. After a thorough review of three-party interactions, the Center for Clinical Social Work, Inc., concludes that “client need” should be the driving force in the provision of services; to that end, the ethical means for delivering competent behavioral healthcare are herein identified and discussed.