Termination and Abandonment: Best Ethical Practices for Clinicians
Live Event

Termination and Abandonment: Best Ethical Practices for Clinicians

Sat, Dec 14th, 2024
11:00am – 2:15pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

This workshop will cover an introduction to the basics of ethics as a point of context. Just as it is an acceptable and reasonable practice to screen incoming patients, it is acceptable and reasonable to know when to end patient relationships that are no longer therapeutic or appropriate based on patient behaviors. It is critical, however, that the clinician end the relationship in a manner that will not lead to claims of discrimination or abandonment. This session will address proper termination, proper referral, and risk management practices.

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

Pamela Harmell

Pamela Harmell

Dr. Pamela Harmell, Ph. D. is a national lecturer specializing in legal and ethical issues in clinical practice. She is a Professor at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology and has written extensively in professional publications on ethical practice and has formally studied law. She is the Past President of the Board of Psychology. Dr. Harmell is the former Chair of the California State Ethics Committee and former Chair of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association Ethics Committee. She served on the Board of Directors of the California Psychological Association and is Past President of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association.

Target Audience

This educational activity is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, and MFT's.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Explain the four elements of a proper termination.
  2. 2 List the three elements of a proper referral.
  3. 3 Describe when it is ethically appropriate to terminate the relationship with a client even if the client objects.

Akman, H. (2020). For therapists: What to do when a client no-shows. Good Therapy retrieved https://www.goodtherapy.org/for-professionals/business-management/private-practices/article/for-therapists-what-to-do-when-a-client-no-shows

Barnett, J. E. (2016, October). 6 strategies for ethical termination of psychotherapy: And for avoiding abandonment. [Web article]. Retrieved from: http://www.societyforpsychotherapy.org/6-strategies-for-ethical-termination-of-psychotherapy

Barnett, J. E., & Coffman, C. (2015, June). Termination and abandonment: A proactive approach to ethical practice. [Web article]. Retrieved from: www.societyforpsychotherapy.org/termination-and-abandonment-a-proactive-approach-to-ethical-practice

Good Therapy (2019). How to navigate termination of therapy with a client, retrieved https://www.goodtherapy.org/for-professionals/business-management/private-practices/article/how-to-navigate-the-termination-of-therapy-with-a-client

Guttmacher Institute (2019). Refusing to Provide Health Services Downloaded 3/25/19 https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/refusing-provide-health-services

Hardy, J. A., & Woodhouse, S. S. (2018). How we say goodbye: Research on psychotherapy termination. Retrieved from https://societyforpsychotherapy.org/say-goodbye-research-psychotherapy-termination

Natwick, J. (2017). On the ethics of ending: Termination and referrals, ACA: ct.counseling.org https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/ethics-columns/ethics_may_2017_terminations-and-referrals.pdf?sfvrsn=ea25522c_6

Schmidt, C. & Gelhert, N. (2019) Couples tx and empathy: an evaluation of the impact of imago relationship treatment on partner empathy levels, The Family Journal, 25(1)

Welfel, E. (2016). Ethics in counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Brookes/Cole.

Workers, N. A. (2021). NASW Code of Ethics (Guide to the Everyday Professional Conduct of Social Workers). Washington, DC: NASW. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

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 Dec 14th, 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.
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American Psychological Association (APA)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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.
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Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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).
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National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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.
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New York Education Department Board of Social Work

3 contact hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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.
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New York Education Department Board of Creative Arts Therapy (NYSEDCAT)

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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
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New York Education Department Board of Mental Health Counseling

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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.
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New York Education Department Board of Psychologists

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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.
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New York Education Department Board of Marriage and Family Therapy

3 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 14th, 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.
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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.

11:00-11:05 – Introduction

11:05-11:30 – Basics of ethics and law
    Difference between civil and criminal issues
    
11:30-12:00-
    Ethics codes; case law; statutes
    Reasonable therapist doctrine


12:00-12:30-Basics of termination and abandonment
    Eight elements of termination check list
    Why termination?

12:30-12:45 – Break

12:45-1:15 –
    Basics of patient abandonment
    Termination when it is therapist’s choice

1:15-1:45 –
    Four elements of proper termination
    Three elements of proper referral

1:45-2:05 –
    What to do when client stops coming to sessions
    Proper handling of patient “no show”
    Handling patient’s who fail to make payment for services


2:05-2:15 – Q&A

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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

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