Maintaining Appropriate Professional Boundaries: Exploring Ethical Obligations of Mental Health Professionals
Live Event

Maintaining Appropriate Professional Boundaries: Exploring Ethical Obligations of Mental Health Professionals

Fri, Oct 4th, 2024
11:00am – 2:15pm US Eastern Time
Skip to Event Registration Info

About the Event

Can mental health professionals work with clients who 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, including telehealth and social media domains. 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 IS DESIGNED TO MEET THE NYS REQUIREMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO RECEIVE 3 HOURS OF TRAINING ON MAINTAINING APPROPRIATE PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES (effective April 2023)

THIS COURSE IS NOT NEW YORK STATE SPECIFIC, AND CAN SATISFY ETHICS AND BOUNDARIES TRAINING REQUIREMENTS FOR ANY STATE.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Kathryn Krase

Kathryn Krase

Kathryn Krase, Ph.D., J.D., M.S.W., is a social worker, lawyer, researcher, educator, and expert on professional ethics. She has significant experience as a family law practitioner, social work supervisor, along with more than 20 years of experience in faculty and administrative roles in undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level social work programs in and around New York City.

Dr. Krase is the Principal Consultant for Krase Consulting, in Brooklyn, New York, where she focuses on educating mental and physical health professionals on their general legal and ethical obligations.

She is an expert on the professional reporting of suspected child maltreatment. She has authored multiple books and articles on the subject. She has years of experience consulting with government and community based organizations to develop policy & practice standards.

Target Audience

This live interactive webinar is intended for mental health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFT's and Addiction Professionals. This course is designed to meet the NYS requirement of Mental Health Professionals to re

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Describe the ethical and legal responsibility of mental health professionals to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with their clients.
  2. 2 Define dual relationships.
  3. 3 Apply a framework to avoid dual relationships whenever possible.
  4. 4 Apply a framework to minimize potential harm to clients and the professional whenever dual relationships are not avoidable.
  5. 5 Explain how to demonstrate that a client has not been exploited or coerced, intentionally or unintentionally.

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended effective June 1, 2010, and January 1, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

American Counseling Association. (2014). 2014 ACA code of ethics. https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/2014-code-of-ethics-finaladdress.pdf

Barsky, A. E. (2017). Social work practice and technology: Ethical issues and policy responses. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 35(1), 8-19.

Boddy, J., & Dominelli, L. (2017). Social media and social work: The challenges of a new ethical space. Australian Social Work, 70(2), 172-184.

Bryan, V., Sanders, S., & Kaplan, L. (2021). The helping professional’s guide to ethics: Theory into Practice. Lyceum Books.

Kelly, E. M., Greeny, K., Rosenberg, N., & Schwartz, I. (2021). When rules are not enough: Developing principles to guide ethical conduct. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14, 491-498.

Lustgarten, S. D., & Elhai, J. D. (2018). Technology use in mental health practice and research: Legal and ethical risks. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(2), e12234.

National Association of Social Workers. (2020). NASW code of ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Pozgar, G. D. (2023). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Pozgar, G. D. (2019). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Reamer, F. G. (2020). Boundary issues and dual relationships in the human services. In Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services. Columbia University Press.

Reamer, F. (2018). Ethical standards in social work: A review of the NASW Code of Ethics (3rd ed.). NASW Press.

Van Stekelenburg, L. H., De Ruyter, D., & Sanderse, W. (2021). ‘Equipping students with an ethical compass.’What does it mean, and what does it imply?. Ethics and Education, 16(1), 91-107.

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

Use our CE Approvals tool to look up your state requirements and how can help you meet them, or log in to your member account to show approvals relevant to your licensure.

Joint Accreditation (JA)

3 Psychologist CE credit hours
3 Social Worker CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems, LLC, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
More Info
Logo: Jointly Accredited Provider (tm) - Interprofessional Continuing Education

American Psychological Association (APA)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
More Info
Logo: American Psychological Association

Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, CE Learning Systems LLC is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 3 continuing education credit(s).
More Info
Logo: ASWB ACE approved continuing education

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
CE Learning Systems has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5951. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CE Learning Systems is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 3 NBCC hour(s) awarded.
More Info
Logo: Approved Education Provider - NBCC

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
This course has been approved by CE Learning Systems, service provider of Impact CE, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #192243, CE Learning Systems is responsible for all aspects of their programming.
More Info
NAADAC Approved Education Provider

Florida Certification Board (FCB)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
Impact CE, a service of CE learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Certification Board (FCB) to offer continuing education programs (Provider # 5069A).
More Info

Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
AddictionCounselorCE is an approved provider of the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (Provider #101). AddictionCounselorCE maintains responsibility for this course and its contents.
More Info

New York Education Department Board of Social Work

3 contact hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
CE Learning Systems, LLC, (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. Provider #0060.
More Info

New York Education Department Board of Creative Arts Therapy (NYSEDCAT)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
CE Learning Systems (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0008
More Info

New York Education Department Board of Mental Health Counseling

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.
More Info

New York Education Department Board of Psychologists

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
CE Learning Systems, LLC, (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for psychologists, # PSY-0016.
More Info

New York Education Department Board of Marriage and Family Therapy

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0045.
More Info

Virginia Certification Board (VCB)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Oct 4th, 2024
Virginia Certification Board educational provider # 106
More Info

Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 8:00am US Pacific Time.

11:00am - 11:05am Introductions

11:05am - 11:35am Revisiting Ethics in Professional Practice 

11:35am - 12:20pm Understanding Professional Boundaries  

12:20pm - 12:30pm Drawing the Lines (Case Introductions)

12:30pm - 12:45pm Break

12:45pm - 1:45pm Drawing the Lines (Case Examples)

      • Conflict of interests
      • Dual Relationships
        • Family Relationships
        • Sexual Relationships
        • Other Relationships
      • Complicated Financial Interactions
        • Bartering for services
        • Other financial interactions

1:45pm - 2:05pm Protecting Yourself from Ethical & Legal Liability

2:05pm - 2:15pm Conclusion, Q&A


Policies

If a grievance arises pertaining to your participation in our continuing education activities, please contact our support team immediately. See our full grievance policy for more information.

ADA accommodations will be made in accordance with the law; please indicate your special needs when you register by contacting us.

Up to 30 days prior to the event, live event registrations may be canceled for a refund via the current courses tab in your member account. Less than 30 days prior to the event, live event registration purchases are not eligible for a refund, but can be transferred to a different event. Please contact our support team for assistance with changing your registration.

  • This is a live event, hosted via Zoom Webinar. you may be prompted to download or upgrade your Zoom app if using a mobile device. A strong WiFi/internet connection will be required for best quality.

  • We recommend clicking your "Join Webinar" button early and checking that your speakers are on before the event begins. Please do not worry about being seen or heard! Attendee video feeds and mics are turned off by default when entering a webinar. You will be able to ask questions via the Q&A feature. You may test your Zoom connection prior to the event at the Zoom Test page .

  • Please respect that no copying, recording, or distribution of live session content is allowed.

We report all course and event completions to CE Broker. If your licensing board uses CE Broker for CE tracking, please be sure to enter your correct license information in your account.

If you need to cancel your registration for a webinar, please contact our support team for assistance prior to the event. Please note our refund policy, above.

If the activity must be cancelled by the provider, all attendees will receive an email notifying them of the cancellation. The email will also provide details about transferring the registration to another educational activity or receiving a refund of the registration fee. As always, you can contact our support team if you have questions or concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once you register, you'll receive an email with the link and instructions to join the live event. The event will be hosted via Zoom. You may test your Zoom connection prior to the event at the Zoom Test page We recommend logging in 10-15 minutes early to be sure your connection is ready.

Most live events are recorded and made available to registered participants for a limited time after the event. Check your event materials for specific details about recording availability.

Certificates for live events are typically available within shortly after the event concludes, as soon as attendance verification is completed. You'll receive an email notification when your certificate is ready to download.

If the event is recorded, you may be able to access the recording after the live session. Contact support for information about makeup options for your specific event.

If you need to withdraw 30 or more days before the event, you can do this your self from your current courses tab.

Start your CE Journey now - complete your first course today, on us.

Try for free - no commitment required.

Start a Free Trial Course

Continuing Education

Copyright © 2026 CE Learning Systems LLC

Please Confirm