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Ethics and Risk Management Issues in Supervision

CE Hours 3 3 Ethics

About this course

Supervisors in behavioral health settings face a wide range of ethics and risk management issues. What confidentiality guidelines govern supervisory relationships? What boundary and dual relationship challenges can arise in supervisory relationships? What are the core elements of a supervision agreement? What is the best way to document supervision sessions? Are there unique liability risks associated with being a supervisor? What steps can supervisors take to prevent litigation and licensing board complaints related to supervision they provide? Dr. Frederic Reamer will discuss these and other ethics and risk management issues related to supervision. In Part I of the training, he will discuss an array of ethics and liability challenges associated with supervision in behavioral health; review relevant ethics standards; and describe ethics-driven supervision protocols consistent with prevailing standards of care.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify ethics and liability challenges associated with supervision in behavioral health.
  • Describe and comply with relevant ethics standards related to supervision.
  • Explain and implement ethics-driven supervision protocols consistent with prevailing standards of care.

Learning Levels

  • Intermediate to Advanced

Target Audience

This self-paced course is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFT's and Addiction Professionals.

Course Instructor(s)

  • Frederic G. Reamer, Ph.D.

    Frederic Reamer is professor emeritus in the graduate program, School of Social Work, Rhode Island College, where he has been on the faculty since 1983. His teaching and research focus on professional ethics, criminal justice, mental health, health care, and public policy. Dr. Reamer received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and has served as a social worker in correctional and mental health settings. He chaired the national task force that wrote the Code of Ethics adopted by the National Association of Social Workers in 1996 and has served on the code revision task force. Dr. Reamer also chaired the national task force sponsored by the National Association of Social Workers, Association of Social Work Boards, Council on Social Work Education, and Clinical Social Work Association that developed technology standards for the profession. Dr. Reamer has lectured nationally and internationally on social work and professional ethics, including in India, China, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and in various European nations. His books include Risk Management in the Behavioral Health Professions: A Practical Guide to Preventing Malpractice and Licensing-Board Complaints; Social Work Values and Ethics; Risk Management in Social Work; The Social Work Ethics Casebook; Ethical Standards in Social Work; Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services; Ethics and Risk Management in Online and Distance Behavioral Health; Moral Distress and Injury in Human Services; and The Social Work Ethics Audit, among others. Dr. Reamer has served as an expert witness in many court and licensing board cases throughout the United States.

Disclosure

DISCLOSURE OF RELEVANT FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity ― including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity. The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity’s planners, faculty, and the reviewer: PLANNERS AND REVIEWER The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships. FACULTY The faculty of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

References

  • Choy-Brown, M., & Stanhope, V. (2018). The availability of supervision in routine mental health care. Clinical Social Work Journal, 46, 271-280.
  • Falender, C. (2020). Ethics of clinical supervision: An international lens. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 13, 42-53.
  • Hendricks, S., & Cartwright, D. J. (2018). A cross-sectional survey of South African psychology interns’ perceptions of negative supervision events. South African Journal of Psychology, 48, 86–98.
  • Kuhne, F., et al. (2019). Empirical research in clinical supervision: A systematic review and suggestions for future studies. BMC Psychology, 7 (online): https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-019-0327-7
  • Recupero, P., & Rainey, S. (2007). Liability and risk management in outpatient psychotherapy supervision. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 35, 188-195.
  • Schriger, S., et al. (2021). Clinical supervision in community mental health: Characterizing supervision as usual and exploring predictors of supervision content and process. Community Mental Health Journal, 57, 552-566.