Moderated by: Michael C. Heitt, Psy.D.

Of all the issues that confront psychologists in their efforts to be ethical practitioners, boundary issues and multiple relationships may be the most challenging and at times, the most confusing. It is an area that seems simple and clear on the surface, but when explored further it tends to become more confusing; what at first glance seems obvious becomes a labyrinth of confusing choices.

While it is widely known that certain relationships with current patients are inappropriate and should never occur, a wide range of multiple relationships and boundary issues occur that are not so clear-cut. While a list of specific do's and don'ts would be helpful, none really exists. In fact, ethics codes and state laws only provide vague guidance at best for many of the dilemmas that confront psychologists. Thus, psychologists are in need of not only a good understanding of boundary issues and multiple relationships, but also of a comprehensive decision-making process for addressing such issues and dilemmas when they occur.

This is a self-guided, text-based online course. It includes a web forum for discussion and clarification of ethical issues related to boundary issues and multiple relationships.

This workshop is designed to help you:

• Describe the differences between boundary crossings, boundary violations, and multiple relationships.
• Apply a decision-making process to help guide you in deciding when multiple relationships are or are not appropriate.
• Assess how factors such as personal background, culture, ethnicity, gender, and related factors impact the decisions you make regarding boundary issues and multiple relationships.
• Discuss the appropriate crossing of boundaries for therapeutic effectiveness.
• Compare and understand the differences between appropriate and inappropriate multiple relationships.
• Use case examples to illustrate how to apply these principles to actual clinical situations.