Events

Past Event

Exploring the Ethical Obligation to Maintain Professional Boundaries

May 2, 2024
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
America/New_York
Online Event

About this event

Live Online Workshop

O pen to the public

3 CE hours are available for select professions. Please continue reading below for more information on the event.

Workshop Description

Can mental health professionals work with clients that they know from outside of the job? Can you barter with clients for your services? Mental health professionals are charged with the legal and ethical responsibility to maintain professional boundaries, but the obligation isn’t always so easy to discern. This course brings real-world context to ethical concerns often experienced by professionals in practice in maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. This course will provide a framework to contemplate ethical dilemmas and make informed decisions that insulate professionals from legal liability while protecting clients from harm. This course aims to bring context to ethical concerns often experienced by behavioral/physical health professionals in practice with individual clients/patients.

Workshop Objectives

At the conclusion of this course, participants will:

  • Understand the ethical and legal responsibility of mental health professionals to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with their clients
  • Define dual relationships.
  • Apply a framework to avoid dual relationships whenever possible
  • Apply a framework to minimize potential harm to clients and the professional whenever dual relationships are not avoidable
  • Understand how to demonstrate that a client has not been exploited or coerced, intentionally or unintentionally.

Workshop Agenda

10:00-10:05: Welcome & Introduction

10 :05 - 10:35: Revisiting Ethics in Professional Practice

1 0:30-11:30: Understanding Professional Boundaries

11:30 - 11:40: Break

1 1:40-12:30: Drawing the Lines (Case presentation)

1 2:30-12:50: Protecting Yourself from Ethical & Legal Liability

1 2:50-1:00: Conclusion & Q&A

Presenter

Kathryn Krase, Ph.D., J.D., M.S.W., (Bio) Principal Consultant with Krase Consultant, is an expert on the professional ethics, and the intersection of ethics with legal responsibilities. She has years of experience consulting with government and community-based organizations to develop policy & practice standards. 

Contact Information

Columbia Social Work Office of Professional Excellence