21st Century Ethics: Emerging Digital, Boundary, and Standard-of-Care Issues

Presented by Ofer Zur, PhD on 10-22-2010 at 9 a.m. Pacific to 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern)

In this four-part web conference series, Dr. Zur will review cutting-edge clinical and ethical complexities that clinicians face in the 21st century and will review how the Internet has affected the way therapists and clients interact and get informed about each other. The web conference series will cover issues such as e-mails and texting between therapists and clients, clients Googling therapists, therapists Googling clients, clients sending friend requests to their therapists on Facebook, and tele-mental health. Dr. Zur will also define the standard of care; provide record keeping, termination, and ethical risk management guidelines; and discuss therapeutic boundaries, such as touch, gifts, self-disclosure, home visits, bartering, dual relationships, and much more.

Therapists will be able to participate in discussions and pose questions and ideas during the web conference. The hope is that therapists will learn how to operate ethically and with clinical integrity rather than fear and trepidation. Each session is sixty minutes long and will be supplemented by PDF handouts.

Session 1: "Introduction to 21st Century Ethics" will be presented on October 1st, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. This teleconference will offer an overview of cutting-edge 21st century ethics and cover topics such as “the standard of care?”, the most complex issues presented to psychotherapy by the Internet, ethics, record keeping, and the basics of confidentiality.

Session 2: "Cutting-Edge Digital Issues" will be presented on October 8th, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. During this teleconference Dr. Zur will discuss topics such as the use of email as part of therapy, clients Googling therapists, therapists' Internet transparency, the use of texting between clients and therapists, and recordkeeping of email and other digital communications.

Session 3: "Therapeutic Boundaries" will be presented on October 15th, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. This teleconference will discuss the definitions of boundary crossing vs. boundary violations and address topics such as touch, gifts, self-disclosure, bartering, home visits, and home-based therapy, Adventure Therapy or Outdoor therapy, dual relationships with an emphasis on small towns or small communities in big towns, as well as codes of ethics on boundaries.

Session 4: "Telehealth, HIPAA, Termination and Risk Management" will be presented on October 22nd, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time. This teleconference will address topics such as the basics of Telehealth, the demystification of HIPAA, Ethical Risk Management, and Ethics with Soul, or recapping how to practice ethically, soulfully, and with integrity.

This web conference is intermediate instructional level. If you have any questions about this web conference, or would like more information, please contact us here.

Continuing Education (CE) Information

4 CE credits will be provided by GoodTherapy.org for attending this web conference in its entirety. Each session is sixty minutes long.

GoodTherapy is an Approved Education Provider by NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals (provider #135463). Of the eight counselor skill groups ascribed to by NAADAC, this course is classified within legal, ethical, and professional development.

GoodTherapy.org is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements. GoodTherapy.org solely is responsible for all aspects of the program.

GoodTherapy.org, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0395.

To receive CE credit hours for an archived event, you will need to complete a survey as well as a 12 or 15-question exam, verifying that you listened to or watched the event in its entirety. Archived CE events generally are considered "homestudy" by licensing boards.

Registration Information

Premium and Pro Membership with GoodTherapy includes access to this web conference at no additional cost, as well as other member benefits such as a profile listing in GoodTherapy's Therapist Directory. Not yet a member? Sign up for a Premium or Pro Membership, here.

Just want CE credits? Sign up for a monthly or annual CE Subscription with GoodTherapy to get unlimited access to our CE Program, including this event, other live CE web conferences, and hundreds of hours of homestudy courses.

Mental health professionals who are not members can access the homestudy recording for $15.50. Sign up here to purchase this CE course and earn a CE certificate.

If the event is canceled by GoodTherapy, registrants who purchased the event will be notified and the charge for the event will be refunded

If you have any questions or would like information regarding disability accommodations, please contact us.

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Meet the Presenter

Ofer Zur, PhD

Ofer Zur, PhD

Ofer Zur, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and forensic consultant practicing in Sonoma, CA and a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Div. 42. He is the director of the Zur Institute, which offers over 100 online courses and is one of the most extensive online CE programs for psychologists, counselors, social workers, MFTs, and nurses. His teaching, therapist consultations, and writings focus on private practice outside managed care, ethics, standard of care, boundaries, dual relationships, and Internet addiction. His books include Dual Relationships and Psychotherapy (Springer, 2002, co-edited with A. Lazarus), HIPPA Friendly (Norton, 2005), Private Practice Handbook (ZI, 2007), and Boundaries in Psychotherapy (APA Books, 2007).

Dr. Zur is deeply concerned about the harm inflicted by dogmatic, inflexible, and ideologically rigid psychotherapeutic practices, and his website provides dozens of free articles and guidelines, for psychotherapists and the public.

Continuing Education Provider Approvals

  • Logo GoodTherapy.org has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6380. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. GoodTherapy.org is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
  • Logo This course has been approved by GoodTherapy.org, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #135463. GoodTherapy.org is responsible for all aspects of their programming.
  • GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0395.
  • GoodTherapy.org, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0022 and for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0031.

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