Boundaries, Boundaries, Darn those Ethical Boundaries!

Pamela Parkinson, Ph.D., LCSW

Training Description

Do you ever struggle with how close or distant your relationships with your clients should be in order to maintain your ability to be helpful and therapeutic?  We provide services to our youth and their families in their own homes, in schools and in their communities; this can be confusing for us and for our clients as to what our roles are and what kinds of relationships are being developed with our clients.  The true helping relationship requires clear relationship boundaries so that we don't unintentionally exploit our clients or experience "burn out".  This training clarifies what we mean by boundaries, ways in which we might be overstepping them, what is meant by dual relationships, and other issues regarding the boundaries we need to offer services that will allow our clients to achieve positive outcomes!   

Learning Objectives

As a result of today’s training, you will:

 

1. Gain ability to describe what is meant by ethical boundaries

a. How they are defined.

b. What ethical boundaries “look like” in our work.

c. Why boundaries are easy to overstep and how to decrease the likelihood of doing so.

2. Identify ways in which our own self awareness is directly linked to maintaining ethical boundaries with our clients.  

a. How our stuff that can interfere with client progress.

b. The importance of supervision to help us identify and work through our own stuff.

c. How dual relationships can lead us down a slippery slope.

3. Apply today’s learning on ethical boundaries to real life work in this field:

a. Describe the cultural impact on the maintenance of ethical boundaries!

b. Practice scenarios of boundary conflicts and how to respond to them.

c. How to say “no” kindly and own it!

Agenda

9:45      Sign In

10:00      Section I:  Defining ethical boundaries.  

11:45    BREAK (CEUs will not be issued at this time)  

12:00     Section II:  The biggest barrier to sustaining ethical boundaries is self 

               awareness:  small group break-out discussions.

1:00      Lunch 

1:30      Section III: Culture and ethical boundaries!

3:00      Role play practice and discussion of a variety of typical boundary 

              struggles in our everyday work.

4:30      ADJOURNMENT

Meet Our Trainer

PAMELA PARKINSON, PHD, LCSW, is a clinical psychologist and clinical social worker, whose specialty area is working with youth and their families with an emphasis on the importance of family engagement in work with youth.  Dr. Parkinson is also a certified PCOMS evidence-based practice trainer.  She currently works as a child/family consultant to CBO’s in the Bay Area and Pamela has worked in level 14 residential, NPS, hospitals, and a variety of community-based settings including outpatient clinics, schools, diversion, kinship, etc.

This course meets the qualifications for (5.75) BBS CEUs for LCSWs and MFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.