Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychotherapy

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$60.00 — 4 Credits

Audio Course · Asynchronous, self-paced American Professional Agency Ethics 4 CE Credits

Ethical and Legal Issues in Psychotherapy

★★★★☆ 4.03 (517 reviews) ✓ 94% would recommend to colleagues Difficulty: Intermediate

Description

Barbara Alexander, LCSW, BCD, president of On Good Authority, interviews four experts who discuss ethical and legal issues that frequently confront practitioners. Topics include how to reason out clinical and ethical dilemmas using the principle of the best interest of the client, therapeutic self-disclosure, and ethical and legal repercussions of boundary violations.

Format: Asynchronous, distance learning. Non-interactive. Recorded audio with transcript.

This course meets the requirement for the risk management discount for the American Professional Agency.

You can access the audio to these interviews via your computer’s MP3 player and/or read the text of the interviews.

NAADAC Online CE Completion limits: There is a limit of 8 hours (8 CE) of credit for online courses within a 24-hour period.

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The course will be available in your account immediately after purchase. The Course Completion Certificate and Letter of Completion will be immediately available in your account upon successful completion of the course post-test (a score of 80% or higher) and completion of the course evaluation. You will have unlimited attempts to pass the post-test.

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Course Details

Credits
4
Course Format
Recorded audio, asynchronous, distance-learning, non-interactive, includes transcript.
Target Audience
Psychologists, Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Addiction Counselors, Nurses
CE Credit Type / Category
Ethics/Law
Course Level
Intermediate
Conflict of Interest
None reported
Publication Date
December 28, 2013
Last Modified
December 28, 2013

Learning Objectives

  • Describe how to make ethical decisions in practice.
  • Explain the importance of professional ethics codes.
  • Discuss therapeutic self-disclosure.
  • Identify and resolve key issues regarding boundaries.

CE Approvals

American Psychological Association (APA)

At Health, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. At Health, LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)

At Health, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6949. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. At Health, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

NAADAC – The Association for Addiction Professionals

Athealth.com is approved as a continuing education provider by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, the Association for Addiction Professionals. #148460.

Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)

At Health, LLC, Provider #1707, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 5/3/2023–5/3/2026.

State-Specific Approvals

It is At Health’s understanding that these programs meet the criteria of an approved continuing education program for social work in Arkansas. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

It is At Health’s understanding that these programs meet the criteria of an approved continuing education program for social workers, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, master’s level psychologists, licensed clinical psychotherapists, and alcohol and other drug abuse counselors in Kansas. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

It is At Health’s understanding that these programs meet the criteria of an approved continuing education program for mental health practice and for social work in Nebraska. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

It is At Health’s understanding that these programs meet the criteria of an approved continuing education program for psychologists, pastoral psychotherapists, clinical social workers, clinical mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and alcohol and drug abuse counselors in New Hampshire. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

It is At Health’s understanding that these programs meet the criteria of an approved continuing education program for social workers, professional counselors, marital and family therapists, and clinical pastoral therapists in Tennessee. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

Other jurisdictions may accept trainings offered by At Health, LLC for your continuing education requirements. Restrictions may apply. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.

Page last modified or reviewed by athealth.com on Mar 31, 2026.

Syllabus 6 lessons

  1. 🖹 [B3912-B04] Part 1: Ethical Reasoning
  2. 🖹 [B3912-B04] Part 2: Therapeutic Self-Disclosure
  3. 🖹 [B3912-B04] Part 3: Sexual Involvement between Client and Therapist
  4. 🖹 [B3912-B04] Part 4: Boundaries in Clinical Practice
  5. 🖹 [B3912-B04] Part 5: Ethics Codes, Laws, and Regulations
  6. 🖹 [B3912-B04] Part 6: Audio Version of Interviews

Author Bio

Subject Matter Experts:

Kathleen Murphy, PhD, has served on the NASW Committee on Inquiry in Illinois since 1985 and is a recent Past Chair. She received her PhD in Social Work from the University of Illinois, Jane Addams School of Social Work, in 1988 and is on the faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work, as well as being a visiting lecturer for Loyola University School of Social Work. In addition to her private practice and her workshops on ethical issues, she has published on the topics of homecare with families and addictions.

George Stricker, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, Washington DC. Prior to that, he was Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology in the Derner Institute, Adelphi University. He has been President of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Personality Assessment, the New York State Psychological Association, and the National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology. His principal interests are psychotherapy integration, clinical training, ethics, and research in grandparenting. His resume lists a lifetime of educational research and editorial activities, authorship and co-authorship of twenty-one books, thirty-two chapters, and ninety-two articles, not counting book reviews, and a lifetime, as well, of professional presentations. His book, Self-Disclosure in the Therapeutic Relationship, is the basis of this interview.

Sandra Nye, JD, MSW, is an attorney and former practicing social worker who concentrates on law related to health, mental health, and social service delivery in families. With her special background in mental health, she is one of the first people called whenever clinicians find themselves in any trouble or even have a question about potential trouble. A graduate of the University of Chicago, she received her law degree from De Paul and her MSW from the Loyola University School of Social Work. She has taught at the University of Illinois's Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine in Chicago, Northwestern University Medical School, and the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration, as well as being a highly sought after lecturer, writer, and consultant. She has published widely in legal and mental health publications and is author of The Employee Assistance Law Answer Book.

Barbara Herlihy, PhD, is a Professor of Counselor Education at the University of New Orleans. She is a national board certified counselor and a Texas licensed professional counselor. She has experience as a counselor in the public schools and in private practice. Prior to coming to the University of New Orleans, she served on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, the University of Houston, Clear Lake, and Loyola University of New Orleans. She is the author of over 30 articles and co-author of four books on counselor ethics, including Boundary Issues in Counseling: Multiple Roles and Responsibilities, and the American Counseling Association's Ethical Standards Casebook, both with Gerald Corey. She has served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Counseling and DevelopmentThe School Counselor, and Directions in Therapy. She has chaired the ethics committee of the American Counseling Association and is a nationally recognized speaker and presenter of ethics seminars and workshops across the United States.

Interviewer:

Barbara Alexander, LCSW, BCD, is a graduate of the Smith College School for Social Work and the Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Program of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. After working for 13 years in child psychiatric settings and 30 years in private practice, she is now founder and president of On Good Authority, and an expert interviewer.

Instructors

Kathleen Murphy, PhD

George Stricker, PhD

Sandra Nye, JD, MSW

Barbara Herlihy, PhD

Barbara Alexander, LCSW, BCD

Reviews 518

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$60.00 4 CE Credits
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