Live Event

Complex Ethics Challenges in Behavioral Health: Decision Making and Risk Management Protocols

Fri, Feb 20th, 2026

10:00am – 12:00pm US Eastern Time

Part of: Conference for Clinical Foundations: Ethics, Risk, & Duty of Care in 2026

Conference

$597

This event has already occurred.

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Conference Details

Conference for Clinical Foundations: Ethics, Risk, & Duty of Care in 2026

February 18 – 20, 2026 See agenda for times

Up to 17 CE hours available

11 Sessions

About the Event

During the course of their careers, behavioral health practitioners inevitably encounter complex ethical challenges that require skilled decision-making. Dr. Frederic Reamer will present a series of challenging ethics cases involving conflicting professional duties and discuss practical steps practitioners can take to manage ethical dilemmas effectively.

Key topics will include boundary issues, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, exceptions to confidentiality, privileged communication, informed consent, clients’ rights, documentation challenges, termination of services, and the use of technology, including artificial intelligence. This webinar will include discussion of relevant ethical standards, statutes, regulations, case law, and national practice standards.

Dr. Reamer will place particular emphasis on ethical decision-making protocols for complex cases that are designed to protect clients and help prevent lawsuits and licensing board complaints.

Live Event This is a live online event. It will be conducted via Zoom Webinar.

Live Event Instructor

Frederic Reamer

Frederic Reamer is professor in the graduate program, School of Social Work, Rhode Island College, where he has been on the faculty since 1983. His teaching and research focus on professional ethics, criminal justice, mental health, health care, and public policy. Dr. Reamer received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings. He chaired the national task force that wrote the Code of Ethics adopted by the National Association of Social Workers in 1996 and recently served on the code revision task force. Dr. Reamer also chaired the national task force sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers, Association of Social Work Boards, Council on Social Work Education, and Clinical Social Work Association that developed technology standards for the profession. Dr. Reamer has lectured nationally and internationally on social work and professional ethics.

Target Audience

This live interactive webinar is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFT's and Addiction Professionals.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

1 Identify challenging ethical issues and dilemmas in behavioral health.
2 Apply practical ethical decision-making frameworks and protocols.
3 Identify ethical issues that pose malpractice and liability risks.
4 Design strategies to protect clients and prevent lawsuits and licensing board complaints.

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.

Course Creator

Frederic G. Reamer, PhD – He receives royalties as a published author, and receives recording royalties for this presentation.

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.

Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 7:00am US Pacific Time.

10:00-10:10 AM: Introduction, objectives

10:10-10:25 AM: Ethical decision-making and risk management: Trends and core concepts

10:25-11:30 AM: Case scenarios with application of ethical decision-making protocols: Boundary issues, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, confidentiality exceptions, privileged communication, informed consent, clients’ rights, documentation challenges, termination of services, and technology use (including artificial intelligence)

11:30-11:45 AM: Standards of care: Substantive v. procedural

11:45 AM-12:00 PM: 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.

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 .
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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

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 Webinar. 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.

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