Dual Relationships in Clinical Practice

A five-module Ethics CE course on recognizing and managing dual / multiple relationships in clinical practice. Each module is a real-world encounter — a grocery-store run-in, a social-media follow request, a faith-community invitation, a former client at a conference, and the documentation of a decision — walked through the applicable ethics codes and decision frameworks.

Format. Five 8–10 minute modules, each anchored on a single clinician facing a single moment. You follow Dana through a rural grocery aisle, Marcus through an Instagram follow request, Renee through a faith-community dinner invitation, Jordan through a former-client encounter at a conference, and Dana again as she sits down to document the decision in writing. Each module includes a knowledge check inside the scenario and walks through what the codes say, what the literature says, and what defensible practice looks like.

Codes in scope. APA Standard 3.05(a) and 3.05(b), ACA A.5 and A.6, NASW 1.06, AAMFT 1.3 and 1.4 (2026 revisions). The course is explicit about where the codes diverge — not as an academic exercise, but because those divergences change what you are actually allowed to do.

Decision frameworks. Gottlieb's 1993 three-axis model (power, duration, clarity of termination). Younggren & Gottlieb's 2008 five-question screen. Reamer's 2003 typology of dual-relationship categories. Used in the cases, not as background reading.

Who it's for. LCSW, LPC, LMFT, and Psychologist licensure. Designed to satisfy ethics CE requirements for APA, ASWB, NBCC, and CAMFT (1.0 hour). Useful at any career stage; especially relevant for clinicians in rural settings, small communities, telehealth-primary practices, and faith-based or culturally-bounded practice contexts.

What's different. The course is built around the actual moments clinicians get blindsided by, not the textbook cases that have a clean answer. The narrator is a peer-supervisor voice, not a standards summary. Each case ends on a documented decision, not on platitudes.

Module 1 — The Grocery Store (8:28)

Dana is the only LMFT for thirty miles. She rounds the produce aisle and there's Carl, fourteen months into trauma work. We walk APA 3.05(a)'s operative test, the line between a boundary crossing and a boundary violation, and Gottlieb's three-axis model (power · duration · termination). Knowledge check on the crossing-vs-violation distinction. Tip: two sentences in your intake template.

Module 2 — The Instagram Follow (7:56)

Marcus is a year into private practice. A follow request lands from a former client at 11pm. We cover NASW 1.06, the four questions Marcus runs the request through, and what a defensible social-media policy looks like. Knowledge check on which framework to apply when the codes don't directly speak to the platform.

Module 3 — The Faith Community Dinner (8:46)

Renee has been a community psychologist in a tight-knit faith community for fifteen years. The Multicultural Guidelines, NASW 1.06, and Reamer's 2003 typology against the practical reality of a quinceañera invitation. Knowledge check on framing the dilemma without bypassing the analysis. Tip: named, dated consultations.

Module 4 — The Former Client at the Conference (10:02)

Jordan, LPC, telehealth-primary. A familiar face at the evening reception, three years post-termination. We unpack the four major codes' divergent post-termination standards (APA 2-year, ACA 5-year with paperwork, NASW categorical discouragement, AAMFT flat never), how to identify which one binds you, and Younggren & Gottlieb's five questions on the actual encounter. Knowledge check on a sample decision.

Module 5 — The Documented Decision (8:09)

Dana again, later. The grocery encounter from Module 1, now being written into the record. AAMFT 1.3 (2026 revision) and ACA A.6.c on what to document. The eleven-element template applied step by step. Knowledge check on whether a sample note would hold up in front of a board reviewer.

Post-Assessment

12 questions (9 single-select + 3 true/false). Passing: 10 of 12 correct (80%). Unlimited retakes, no cooldown. Difficulty mix: 6 foundational / 5 application / 1 advanced. Drawn from the five case scenarios. Question order and option order randomized.

Time Allocation (1.0 CE Hour)