ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the impact of law on mental health practice with sexually abused children. Mental health professionals play a key role in protecting and treating sexually abused children. The chapter also explores that informed consent is a legal and ethical requirement for treatment. Consent should be obtained to audiotape or videotape treatment sessions. A parent's right to consent to treatment for a child derives from parent's right to legal custody of the child. Generally, children under the authority of juvenile court do not have a formal, court-appointed guardian. An emancipated minor may consent to medical and mental health care. The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law's Ethical Guidelines for the Practice of Forensic Psychiatry provide that informed consent of the subject of a forensic evaluation is obtained when possible. Privileges such as the psychotherapist-client privilege apply to confidential communications between children and their therapists. Unlike the ethical obligation to protect confidential information, which applies in all settings, privileges apply only in legal proceedings.
