AVOIDING EXPLOITIVE DUAL RELATIONSHIPS: A DECISION-MAKING MODEL

Course overview

This CEU class is based on an excellent article written by Michael Gottlieb. It outlines a decision making model that is useful to any social worker, psychologist or counselor who works with clients. According to the abstract “Ethical principles provide general guidelines for professional behavior. Unfortunately, these principles are not adequate for practical decision-making. One ethical principle which generates frequent consternation is that of avoiding dual relationships. Some models have been developed to address this problem, but they are typically general and not especially helpful when specific ethical dilemmas arise.” In this article, Gottlieb reviews the principle of avoiding dual relationships as well as problems that typically occur when a practitioner attempts to apply this principle. He goes on to present a specific decision-making model to avoid exploitive dual relationships and then examines the model's uses and limitations. Gottlieb states “avoiding dual relationships is an ethical injunction which frequently generates dilemmas”. Gottlieb goes on to write “Ethical principles provide general guidelines for professional conduct, but often provide little or no specific guidance for practical decision-making. This article reviews the relevant literature and presents a specific decision making model for avoiding exploitive dual relationships. Examples of its use and pertinent limitations are noted.” This course serves as an excellent resource for social workers, psychologists and other licensed mental health professionals who require continuing education in ethics and boundaries. It helps to build clinical skills in decision making within the therapeutic context as a means to earn CEUs. Psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists can benefit from this course and earn continuing education credits. This course may also be helpful for other practitioners, such as midwives and dieticians and nutritionists who may also need a continuing education course in documentation. This course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to learn more about documentation and ethics and boundaries. It is also a good resource for licensed professionals who need continuing education. CEUs in ethics are mandated for license renewal in many states. Authors: Gottlieb, M. Learning Objectives: This course will provide a professional with detailed information about ethics and boundaries in psychotherapy. Specifically, a professional will: •Identify a decision making model for avoiding exploitive dual relationships •Identify uses for this decision making model •Distinguish limitations or situations in which this model is not appropriate for use Visit us on the web at Ce-Classes.com