In these courses we focus on family law matters which are important in the practice of a psychologist or healthcare professional. We place emphasis on the rights of children, because healthcare professionals and psychologists are the safety nets of last resort for children.
POPIA and the Healthcare Practice
Summary
This concise program deals with The Protection of Personal Information Act, No. 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and its application to an healthcare practice.
It will give you an understanding of POPIA and enable you to make the right decisions in implementing the Act.
Application to and by every healthcare practice within this framework will be unique. However certain matters will be the same for all practices, such as appointment of an information officer..
POPIA protects certain basic human rights enshrined in our Constitution, such as a right to privacy, and it brings the South African statutory framework in line with a major piece of regulation in the European Union, namely the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Competent Kids: Competency is not only for Adults
Course Details
Price: R150 – Free for Clients
Author: Dirk Joubert
Duration: 1 hour
Get course access here
Course Summary
The essential issue discussed here, is how does one find a balance between autonomy and nurturance with regard to a particular child? A rigid pursuit of legal certainty (e.g. with fixed ages) will most certainly undermine the nurturance and autonomy of children. In the United Kingdom, in Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority and the DHSS, the House of Lords, deviated from the pursuit of legal certainty with reference to fixed age, and recognised the so-called maturation factor. He held that children under 16 acquired an understanding and intelligence needed to give valid consent, by virtue of age, but also when “[they reach] a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up [their own minds] on the matter requiring decision”.
This test allows for an individualistic assessment of a particular child’s level of maturity and intellectual ability. It is important for psychologists and counsellors to have a basic understanding of legal framework within which they find themselves when they deal with children. Critical to understanding this background, is an understanding of the basic under-lying law. This understanding will enable psychologists and counsellors as the safety net of the last resort, to provide better guidance to clients, whether children or adults, at critical moments for the children concerned.
Note that this course is an overview of the subject matter. Clients should always be advised to seek professional advice from an attorney. Applying legal and financial principles to the factual circumstances of clients are always complex and fraught with risk.
Children: Constitutionally Distinct Persons
Course Details
Price: R150 – Free for Clients
Author: Dirk Joubert
Duration: 1 hour
Get course access here
Course Summary
As Alfred Allen writes, decisions are made in a social context : “Psychologists are influenced by the expectation of their clients and of the systems that their clients belong to – such as their families. Psychologists are also shaped by the systems they themselves belong to.”
In the context of children, this acquires a profound truth for any psychologist or other healthcare professional dealing with children. We are shaped by our immediate context. However we have to internalise the fact that by law children are not in a lesser (negotiating) position when it comes to weighing a child’s interest with that of an adult.
It is important for psychologists and counselors to have a basic understanding of legal framework within which they find themselves when they deal with children. Critical to understanding this background, is an understanding of the basic under-lying constitutional law.
This understanding will enable psychologists and counselors as the safety net of the last resort, to provide better guidance to clients, whether children or adults, at critical moments for the children concerned.
Note that this course is an overview of the subject matter. Clients should always be advised to seek professional advice from an attorney. Applying legal and financial principles to the factual circumstances of clients are always complex and fraught with risk.
