ODL 428: HIPAA: Clearing Up the Confusion You Pretend You Don’t Have 

Created On:  7/23/26                  

Target Audience:

This course is targeted for social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses and case managers.

Instructional Level:

Beginner

Counselor Skill Groups: 

8. Legal, Ethical and Professional Development

Overview:

This training cuts through the noise and finally explains HIPAA in a way that makes sense for real mental health work. Most providers were never properly trained, yet are still expected to follow federal privacy laws that feel confusing, overwhelming, and written for medical systems with compliance departments, not for therapists juggling full caseloads. Most HIPAA trainings are boring, outdated, or designed for hospitals, which leaves mental health providers lost in the jargon, piecing together conflicting advice and hoping they are getting it right.

The truth is that many clinicians don’t know what they don’t know, and that gap becomes a form of Russian roulette with the practice they worked hard to build. This session gets honest about where the confusion comes from and walks you step by step through what the law actually does and does not require, and how to apply HIPAA to everyday clinical situations without guessing. You will learn practical, digestible, real-world steps you can use immediately so you can stop hoping you are compliant and actually feel confident that you are.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the session, the participant will be able to:

• Identify common areas of HIPAA misunderstanding specific to mental health practice.
• Explain the requirements of the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules as they relate to everyday clinical workflows.
• Develop practical step-by-step processes for managing client communication, documentation, electronic systems, and vendor relationships in a compliant manner.
• Differentiate between allowed, required, and prohibited disclosures under the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
• Apply HIPAA principles to real-world scenarios, including records requests, digital communication, telehealth, and standard operating procedures in private practice.

Presenter:

Samantha Schalk, LMSW, CAADC, CIMHP, BCP3 

Samantha is a compliance strategist, administrator, group practice owner, and mental health clinician with nearly 25 years of experience in the field. She has served in supervisory and leadership roles focused on policy development, documentation standards, risk management, and staff training, giving her a deep, real-world understanding of how HIPAA actually plays out in mental health settings. 

Samantha is the founder of Guardian Clinical Essentials, where she helps private practice owners and group practices strengthen their systems through clear, practical HIPAA and digital privacy guidance. She specializes in making complex rules understandable and giving clinicians the tools they need to protect their practice with confidence. For more information about her work or to access free compliance resources for mental health providers, visit www.guardianclinicalessentials.com.