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This Couldn't Happen to Me: Boundary Problems and Sexual Misconduct in the Psychotherapy Relationship

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About the Course:

Drawing on their own consultative experience illustrated by case vignettes and with support from the professional literature, the authors discuss the perennial problematic issue of boundary violations and sexual misconduct, aiming at an audience of both experienced and novice clinicians. The authors review the difference between boundary crossings and boundary violations and stress the therapist’s responsibility to maintain boundaries. Therapist risk factors for violations include the therapist’s own life crises, a tendency to idealize a “special” patient or an inability to set limits, and denial about the possibility of boundary problems. Factors exacerbating patient vulnerability, such as overdependence
on the therapist, seeking therapy to find an intense relationship
or even “true love,” and the acceptance by childhood abuse victims
of an abusive therapy relationship, are discussed. Consultation and education—for students and for clinicians at all levels of experience—and effective supervision are reviewed as approaches to boundary problems. (Psychiatric Services 54:517–522, 2003)

This course is based on the reading-based online article, This Couldn’t Happen to Me: Boundary Problems and Sexual Misconduct in the Psychotherapy Relationship created by Donna M. Norris, M.D., Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Larry H. Strasburger, M.D.

Publication Date:

April 2003

Course Material Author

Donna M. Norris, M.D., Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Larry H. Strasburger, M.D.

Donna M. Norris, M.D., Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Larry H. Strasburger, M.D. authored the material only, and was not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.

Course Creator

Recommended For:

This basic-to-intermediate course material is designed for Licensed Professional Counselors, Social Workers, Psychologists, Chemical Dependency Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Nurses, and other allied healthcare professionals who are likely to gain professionally from increased knowledge in the areas of ethics and boundary issues.

Course Objectives:

After taking this course, you should be able to:

  1. To assess the difference between boundary crossings and boundary violations and stress the therapist's responsibility to maintain boundaries in a therapeutic relationship. 2. To understand therapist risk factors for such violations. 3. To understand the factors that exacerbate patient vulnerability in a therapeutic setting.
  2. To understand therapist risk factors for such violations.
  3. To understand the factors that exacerbate patient vulnerability in a therapeutic setting

Disclosures

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships

CE Learning Systems, LLC is an independent provider of continuing medical education. CE Learning Systems, LLC has no proprietary or financial interest in medical or healthcare products over which the FDA (USA) or EMA (EU) has regulatory authority.

In accordance with our disclosure policies, CE Learning Systems, LLC is committed to ensuring balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor for all accredited continuing education. These policies include assigning relevance to, and mitigating, all perceived or real conflicts of interest between any individual with control over the content and any ineligible company (commercial interest).

Any individual with control over accredited content, including planner, faculty, and reviewer, is required to globally disclose:

  1. Individual relationship(s) or lack thereof, and its nature, with any/all ineligible company, and
  2. any investigational, off-label, or non-FDA approved content or discussion

CE Learning Systems, LLC has reviewed these disclosures, assigned relevance based on the relationship and scope of content, and identified those with the potential to compromise the goals and educational integrity of the education. Relevant relationships, or lack thereof, are shared with the learner.

Education has been independently peer-reviewed to validate content, mitigate identified conflicts of interest, and ensure:

  1. All recommendations involving clinical medicine is based on evidence that is accepted within the medical profession as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients.
  2. All scientific research referred to, reported, or used in accredited continuing education in support or justification of a patient care recommendation conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.
  3. Content is appropriate, fair and balanced, unbiased, referenced, and non-promotional.
Planners

The planners have reported the following: There are no relevant disclosures.

Course Material Author

The authors have disclosed any disclosures within the material.

Course Creator: Max Schwanekamp
There are no relevant disclosures.
Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Course Retired
Course Number 101770
1 CE credit hour
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  • Reading-Based Online
Exam Fee $5.97
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