Ethics: Reconsidering Dual Relationships

Most of us learned in graduate school to avoid dual relationships that are reasonably avoidable. But that isn’t actually what our ethics codes ask of us, and such a conservative approach sometimes means that prospective clients aren’t helped by the person in the best position to help them: you. In this advanced ethics course, we’ll review the actual ethical guidance on dual relationships, focusing on the flexibility built into that guidance. We’ll talk about situations where a therapeutic relationship may involve some risk because of a dual relationship — and be worth pursuing anyway. And we’ll talk about the steps to take to reduce risk when moving forward with therapy in a dual relationship context.

1 hour CE. Recorded video format (non-interactive)

ESTIMATED COURSE LENGTH: 1 hour

CE/CNE CREDITS: 1.00 continuing education/contact hours for social workers, psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, and nurses

TARGET AUDIENCE: Mental Health Practitioners

LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION: Intermediate

PREREQUISITE(S): None

INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD: Recorded video format (non-interactive)

ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: closed captioning of audio components. In order to request further accessibility accommodations, please email support@psychhub.com.

COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS: To obtain your CE certificate, learners must complete a pre-test (not scored), progress through all course segments, complete a participant evaluation, and obtain a score of 80% or higher on a post-test. Learners are expected to complete the quiz within 3 attempts. If unable to do so, the learner will need to re-review the course segments.

FINANCIAL/COMMERCIAL SUPPORT STATEMENT: This course has no commercial support.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:  This course has no potential conflict of interest or outside commercial support. Psych Hub's conflict of interest statement is found in the footer of the training center.

GRIEVANCE AND REFUND POLICIES: Grievance and refund policies are found in the footer of the training center.

PARTICIPATION COSTS:  The cost to participate in this CE activity is included in the subscription registration fee.

COURSE CREATION DATE: 4/8/2019

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe three key factors ethics codes are concerned about with dual relationships
• Articulate their own boundaries surrounding multiple relationships
• Identify three ways to reduce risk when therapy is one part of a dual relationship

1. Defining Dual Relationships
   1. Dual v multiple
   2. APA definition
2. Ethical Standards
   1. ACA
   2. NASW
   3. AAMFT
   4. APA
3. Key Ethical Issues
   1. Why the appearance of a problem matters
   2. Avoidability
   3. What the standards call on therapists to assess
4. Case Examples