Eye on Ethics: Duty to Warn, Homicide Risk Assessment, and Ethics of Suicide Management
Live Event

Eye on Ethics: Duty to Warn, Homicide Risk Assessment, and Ethics of Suicide Management

Fri, Jan 29th, 2027
10:00am – 5:00pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

This eye on ethics workshop presents two important topics related to management of suicide and homicide risk. The proper management of suicide risk in clients is one of the most important skills for clinicians to possess. The morning session will highlight common ethical principles that relate to our responsibilities in working with suicidal clients, such as autonomy, confidentiality, and informed consent. Case studies will highlight both ethical and unethical approaches to working with suicidal clients and learners will be encouraged to assess these vignettes. The "Gold Standard" list for ethical suicide care will be presented. Areas such as confidentiality and clinician liability will be discussed. Learners will reflect on their own training and beliefs around suicide to enhance their ethical practice.

In the afternoon session, we transition to discussing ethical and clinical considerations of duty to warn/protect and explore proper homicide risk assessment. Consider this scenario: A client tells their therapist that they wish someone was dead. How does a therapist ethically and legally handle this situation? Therapists have legal and ethical responsibilities to both their clients and greater society. Many mental health professionals face challenges determining the best course of action when clients make threats towards others. This workshop will present a history of duty to warn laws and an examination of Tarasoff Rule. Case vignettes will illustrate various situations that therapists may encounter when clients are expressing threats, violence, or harm to others. Learners will be provided with concrete and ethically sound practices to increase their confidence in managing duty to warn dilemmas. There will be in-depth discussion of how clinicians can engage in thorough homicide risk assessment with clients, including reviewing various assessment protocols and appropriate steps to consider based on the clinician's formulation of risk.

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

Diane Bigler

Diane Bigler

Diane Bigler, LCSW, LSCSW has over 25 years of experience in social work and mental health practice. She is a frequent national continuing education speaker and former Professor of Social Work at The University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare. Diane has been involved in the provision of clinical supervision for over 15 years and has trained hundreds of clinicians on succeeding at supervision.

Target Audience

This live interactive is intended for Behavioral Health and Addictions professionals, including psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage & family therapists, art therapists, school psychologists, psychoanalysts, music therapists, behavior analysts, school counselors, and addiction counselors. It is appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Identify three ethical principles related to supporting suicidal clients.
  2. 2 Evaluate case studies to identify relevant professional ethics, values, and principles.
  3. 3 Appraise unique suicide case studies and formulate clinical judgments about best practices.
  4. 4 Identify relevant state law and professional ethics regarding duty to warn responsibilities.
  5. 5 Identify methods of assessing and intervening with potential duty to warn concerns and client potential for violence.
  6. 6 Apply ethical and legal mandates regarding duty to warn when managing potential client violence.

Bloch-Elkouby, S., & Barzilay, S. (2022). Alliance-focused safety planning and suicide risk management. Psychotherapy, 59(2), 157. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000416

Boulos, N., Mallela, D., & Felthous, A. (2023). Tarasoff in Missouri: The jurisprudence of a mental health provider's duty to warn and protect non‐patients of potential risks from patients. Journal of forensic sciences, 68(4), 1206-1217. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15302

Connors, M. H., & Large, M. M. (2023). Calibrating violence risk assessments for uncertainty. General psychiatry, 36(2), e100921. https://doi.org/10.1136/gpsych-2022-100921

Guina, J., Dornfeld, B., & Pinals, D. A. (2022). A 20‐year follow‐up survey of police officers' experience with Tarasoff warnings: How law enforcement reacts to clinicians' duty to protect. Behavioral sciences & the law, 40(4), 505-513. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2564

Lund, E. M. (2022). Issues of confidentiality and potential disability discrimination in behavior intervention team responses to college student suicidality. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 33(3), 209-219. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073221094808

MacIntyre, M. R., Sones, A. C., Li, J., Darby, W. C., & Weinstock, R. (2024). From posts to protection: Ethical considerations regarding forensic psychiatrists and a duty to warn based on social media. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 42(2), 130-148. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2647

Ogonah, M. G., Seyedsalehi, A., Whiting, D., & Fazel, S. (2023). Violence risk assessment instruments in forensic psychiatric populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(10), 780-789. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(23)00256-0

Powsner, S., Goebert, D., Richmond, J. S., & Takeshita, J. (2023). Suicide risk assessment, management, and mitigation in the emergency setting. Focus, 21(1), 8-17. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20220072

Smith, M. (2022). Suicide risk assessments: a scientific and ethical critique. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 19(3), 481-493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-022-10189-5

Thangada, M. S., & Kasoju, R. (2024). A systematic review of suicide risk management strategies in primary care settings. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1440738. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1440738

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)

6 Psychologist CE credit hours
6 Social Worker CE credit hours Ethics
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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)

6 CE credit hours Ethics
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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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Logo: American Psychological Association

Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)

6 CE credit hours Ethics
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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 6 ethics continuing education credit(s).
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Logo: ASWB ACE approved continuing education

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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. 6 NBCC hour(s) awarded.
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Logo: Approved Education Provider - NBCC

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC)

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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.
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NAADAC Approved Education Provider

Florida Certification Board (FCB)

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
Impact CE, a service of CE learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Certification Board (FCB) to offer continuing education programs (Provider # 5069A).
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Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)

6 CE credit hours — Ethics
Eligible until Dec 30th, 2026
AddictionCounselorCE is an approved provider of the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (Provider #101). AddictionCounselorCE maintains responsibility for this course and its contents.
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New York Education Department Board of Social Work

6 contact hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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)

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Dec 29th, 2026
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

6 CE credit hours
Eligible until Jan 29th, 2027
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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Virginia Certification Board (VCB)

6 CE credit hours — Ethics
Eligible until Dec 30th, 2052
Virginia Certification Board educational provider # 106
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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 7:00am US Pacific Time.

MORNING SESSION – Ethics of Suicide Management

10:00–11:30 AM: 

  • True or False Group Exercise
  • Opening Case Vignette: A Missed Opportunity
    • Case Outcome
  • Video: Tightropes and Safety Nets
  • Group Discussion
  • Current Screening Methods
  • An Ethical Process
    • NASW Code of Ethics as an Example
  • Suicide Assessment Quick Review
  • Exploring Suicide and Malpractice
    • Case Study
  • Practitioner Responsibility and Liability
  • Case Analysis of Case Study

 

11:30–11:45 AM: BREAK

 

11:45 AM–1:15 PM:

  • No-Suicide Contracts: Contraindicated
  • Safety and Crisis Planning
  • Reasons for Living
  • Commitment to Treatment Statement (CTS)
  • The Gold Standard: Suicide Risk Management (Meichenbaum)
  • Tips When Speaking With Family Members
  • Q&A and Resources

 

1:15–1:45 PM: LUNCH BREAK

 

AFTERNOON SESSION – Ethics of Duty to Warn/Protect and Homicide Risk Assessment

1:45–3:15 PM:

  • Introduction
  • Case Vignettes
  • Open Chat Forum Questions: Your Interest, Experience With the Topic, and What You Want to Learn
  • Opening Scenario: Case Discussion – What Would You Do?
  • The Bystander Effect: Chronicle of a Life Foretold – “Moral and Ethical Courage”
  • The Tarasoff Case: The Beginning of Duty to Warn
  • Second Tarasoff Case: Duty to Protect
  • Professional Malpractice Analysis of Tarasoff Case
  • Warn vs. Protect
  • Informed Consent
  • Practice Question: What Should the Social Worker Do?
  • Subsequent Legal Rulings After Tarasoff: Controversial Cases and Ethical Questions
  • State Variations
  • Variables in State Law Considerations
  • NASW Code of Ethics: Limits to Confidentiality
  • When Ethics and Law Conflict
  • Case Discussion: The Impaired School Bus Driver

 

3:15–3:30 PM: BREAK

 

3:30–5:00 PM:

  • Four Steps in Competent Practice
  • A-C-T-I-O-N Steps
  • Assessing Duty to Warn Guidelines: Behavior, Affect, Relationships, and Cognitive Expressions
  • Homicide Risk Assessment Review: Key Questions to Ask, Style, and Approach
  • Assessing Threat Level: Risk Stratification
  • Clinical Considerations
  • Two Cases: Two Possible Outcomes
  • Threats Made With Intended Victim Present
  • Resources Review
  • Closing Q&A

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