Ethical Boundaries in Practice
- Common boundary challenges
- Dual relationships
- Gifts
- Self disclosure
- Role conflicts
- Social media
- Boundary crossings vs. boundary violations
- Maintain professional integrity while building therapeutic alliance
- Role of supervision/consultation and organizational policy in boundary management
Ethical Decision Making Model
- Identify the ethical issues and the stakeholders
- Review relevant guidelines, laws, regulations, and organizational policies (APA, NASW, ACA, AAMFT)
- Generate options and evaluate risks/benefits
- Apply core principles
- Autonomy
- Beneficence
- Nonmaleficence
- Justice
- Fidelity
- Decide, implement, document rationale, and communicate appropriately
- Monitor outcomes and adjust as needed
- Use supervision and interdisciplinary consultation effectively
Practical Strategies & Skills
- Communication strategies for setting and maintaining boundaries
- Issues specific to telehealth or virtual therapy
- Address informed consent in complex cases
- Documentation practices to support ethical reasoning and continuity of care
- Manage ethical tension in interdisciplinary teams
- Self-reflection strategies to identify bias, countertransference, and value conflicts
Case Studies & Application
- Real world ethical dilemmas involving boundaries and dual relationships
- Guided discussion and ethical reasoning exercises
- Practice applying the decision making model to scenarios
- Debrief: What to document, when to consult, and how to reduce future risk
Research Evidence, Limitations, and Potential Risks
- Summary of relevant research and practice guidance
- Common limitations
- Context specific findings
- Limited longitudinal data
- Variable definitions
- Risks of misapplying research or “one size fits all” ethics rules
- Ethical and legal considerations, including reporting obligations when applicable


