Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships-Ethical and Risk Management Challenges

Overview

Examples include navigating relationships with clients when practitioners live and work in small or rural communities; managing practitioner self-disclosure; managing friendships and social contact with current and former clients; managing favors, gifts, and invitations; hiring of former clients; and managing online and social networking relationships and communications, among others. Using extensive case material, Dr. Frederic Reamer will acquaint participants with a typology of boundary issues and dual relationships. Participants will learn how to identify and respond constructively to complex boundary issues, protect clients, prevent professional malpractice, and avoid licensing board complaints. Key topics will include the nature of boundary issues, types of dual relationships, and practical risk-management strategies. Dr. Reamer will review and apply key ethics standards, statutes, and regulations.

CEs: 3

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Identify ethics and risk management issues related to professional boundaries and dual relationships in the behavioral health professions.
• Apply relevant ethics standards to manage boundary issues and dual relationships that arise in the behavioral health professions.
• Design and implement protocols designed to protect clients.
• Design and implement protocols to help prevent litigation and ethics complaints.

Tuition

• $80- Regular
• $60 – Alumni, FI, Adjunct
• $45- VET, AUSSW Student free with promo-code

About the Speaker

Frederic G. Reamer

Frederic G. Reamer has been on the faculty of the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College since 1983. His research and teaching have addressed a wide range of human service issues, including mental health, health care, criminal justice, public welfare, and professional ethics. Dr. Reamer received his Ph.D. (social work) from the University of Chicago. He has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration, and the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Social Work.

Dr. Reamer has served as Director of the National Juvenile Justice Assessment Center of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (1979-1981); as Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor of Rhode Island (1987-1990); and as a Commissioner of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, the state housing finance agency (1987-1995). Dr. Reamer served on the State of Rhode Island Parole Board from 1992 to 2016. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social Work Education (1990-1994). He serves as Associate Editor of the National Association of Social Workers Encyclopedia of Social Work (Oxford University Press and National Association of Social Workers). Since 2012, Dr. Reamer has served as the ethics instructor in the Providence (RI) Police Department Training Academy.

Dr. Reamer has conducted extensive research on professional ethics. He has been involved in national research projects sponsored by The Hastings Center, the Carnegie Corporation, the Haas Foundation, and the Scattergood Program for the Applied Ethics of Behavioral Healthcare at the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania. He has published 25 books and more than 185 journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia articles. 

Dr. Reamer is also the author of chapters on professional ethics in the Encyclopedia of Social Work, Encyclopedia of Bioethics, Encyclopedia of Global Ethics, Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development, Encyclopedia of Higher Education, and Encyclopedia of Primary Prevention and Health Promotion. He has been an essayist on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition (“This I Believe” series), a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, and a guest on various radio and television broadcasts. From 2007 to 2021 Dr. Reamer served as host and producer of the National Public Radio series This I Believe—New England, broadcast weekly. He is featured in the podcast series Trapped in Treatment produced by Paris Hilton, Warner Brothers, and iHeart Media; Yahoo News national series Unfiltered; and as a commentator in the video documentaries America’s Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil and Rampage: Killing without Reason. He is also a featured expert on the PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) series This Emotional Life.

Dr. Reamer has lectured extensively nationally and internationally (including India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Djibouti, Bahrain, Indonesia, Diego Garcia, Spain, Romania, Poland, Greece, and Canada) on the subjects of professional ethics and professional malpractice and liability. He has served as an adjunct professor and visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Tulane University, Simmons University, Smith College, University of Oklahoma, and Augsburg University. Dr. Reamer chaired the national task force that wrote the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics and served on the code revision task force. He chaired the international commission sponsored by the Association of Social Work Boards to develop Model Regulatory Standards for Technology and Social Work Practice. Dr. Reamer also chaired the national task force sponsored jointly by the National Association of Social Workers, Association of Social Work Boards, Council on Social Work Education, and Clinical Social Work Association to develop Technology Standards in Social Work Practice. He has served as an expert witness and consultant in 142 court and licensing board cases addressing professional ethics.

Dr. Reamer has received the following national and international awards:

• “Distinguished Contributions to Social Work Education,” Council on Social Work Education (1995)
• Presidential Award, National Association of Social Workers (1997)
• Richard Lodge Prize, Adelphi University (2005)
• Edith Abbott Award, University of Chicago (2005)
• International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award, National Association of Social Workers (2012)
• Excellence in Ethics Award, National Association of Social Workers (2015)
• NASW Social Work Pioneer Award (2016)
• Inaugural Contributor Award, Association of Social Work Boards (2019)
• NASW Mit Joyner Presidential Award (2023)

Credentialing Information

Adelphi University School of Social Work is an approved provider for continuing education credits for the following:

• NYSED Social Workers
• NYSED LMHC
• NYSED LMFT
• CASAC Renewal
• APA Psychology, pending NYSED Psychology
• NYSED LCAT

ACE Approved Provider of Continuing Education Contact Hours

Adelphi University School of Social Work: Continuing Education and Professional Development, #1786, 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 as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Adelphi University School of Social Work: Continuing Education and Professional Development maintain responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 03/03/2022 – 03/03/206. ACE is not an approved Continuing Education Provider in the states of New York and West Virginia unless the event is outside of West VA. Adelphi University School of Social Work is an approved NYSED CE provider in New York State.

55 states/jurisdictions accept ACE-approved provider CE contact hours. Successful completion for the award of approved continuing education credits requires attendance at the entire training/workshop and submission of a completed evaluation form.

See full credentialing information and CEUs

Cancellation Policy

Unfortunately, we cannot provide refunds for cancellations made seven working days or fewer before the event for any reason—or for no-shows. We can provide credit towards a future workshop up to 24 hours before the event. After that, no credit will be issued.

See full cancellation policy.

Accessibility Statement

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Adelphi University require that all events be accessible. To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the event host identified on the event webpage; please allow for a reasonable time frame. The event host, when necessary, will collaborate with the Student Access Office.