Professional Boundaries: Ethical Obligations of Social Workers (June)

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 class brings real-world context to ethical concerns often experienced by professionals in practice in maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. This class will provide a framework to contemplate ethical dilemmas and make informed decisions that insulate professionals from legal liability while protecting clients from harm.

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

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This course aims to bring context to ethical concerns often experienced by  behavioral/physical health professionals in practice with individual clients/patients. At the conclusion of this course, participants will: 

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

Kathryn Krase, PhD, JD, MSW 

Kathryn Krase, 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.

Class fees are listed below:

• Full Tuition - $90
• GSS Alumni - $75
• Current Field Instructor - $75
• Current Adjunct Faculty - $75
• SWHPN Member - $75
• 3+ members registering from one agency - $60 per registration
• Non-Fordham Current MSW or Social Work PhD Student - $60
• Veterans - $60
• Fordham Faculty and Staff - $60
• Current Fordham MSW or PhD Student - $45
• Fordham Alumni Palliative Care Fellow - $45
• Current Fordham Palliative Care Fellowship Field Instructor/Career Mentor - $45
• Current Fordham Palliative Care Fellow or Montefiore Fellow - $0

Continuing Education Hours

Completion of this class will result in the receipt of three (3) continuing education hours. CEHs are not awarded for partial completion of the class.

You will receive the Zoom link for joining the class by the day before the class. IF YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE LINK BY THIS TIME, PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDER. 

You will need a computer and a reliable WiFi connection. The computer may be a desktop or a laptop. It may be an Apple or Windows computer.

If you have never used Zoom before, you will likely be prompted to download an applet, which is a small program that allows Zoom to communicate with your computer. This is safe and you will need to do this to join the class.

It is NOT advised that you participate using a table (e.g., an iPad) or a cellular phone. The software is not optimized for these devices.

Please plan to join the online class 15 minutes before the start time to be sure that you don’t have any problems connecting. We cannot provide technical support to you and refunds won’t be offered if you have technical problems. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact us at [email protected] at least a few days before the class.