Overview

This live event takes place in the future (TBD).

In practicing a profession, three inter-related but distinct areas come into play: professional values, ethics, and the law. Although all three areas are related to one another, sometimes they can conflict. Sometimes, also, values can conflict with other values, as can ethics. When ethics conflict, an ethical dilemma results. When professional values conflict with professional ethics, the organized and generally agreed-upon framework of an ethical code is vital. When ethics and the law collide, it may be necessary to consult the relevant professional organization. 

Education Category: Webinars
Release Date: 01/01/2026
Expiration Date: 03/31/2026

Table of Contents

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. WEBINAR
  3. SLIDES
  4. Works Cited

Audience

This live webinar is designed for mental and behavioral health professionals in all practice settings.

Accreditations & Approvals

NetCE has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6361. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. NetCE is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. As a Jointly Accredited Organization, NetCE is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs. NetCE is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). NetCE complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices. As a result of this accreditation, NetCE is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors #MHC-0021. This course is considered live online by the New York State Board of Mental Health Counseling. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0033. This course is considered live online, as defined by the New York State Board for Social Work. Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of licensed master social work and licensed clinical social work in New York. As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice for an LMSW and LCSW. A licensee who practices beyond the authorized scope of practice could be charged with unprofessional conduct under the Education Law and Regents Rules. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0015. This course is considered live online by the New York State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0240. This course is considered live online by the New York State Board for Psychology.

Designations of Credit

NetCE designates this live event activity for 4 continuing education clock hours. NetCE designates this live event continuing education activity for 4 NBCC clock hour(s). NetCE designates this continuing education activity for 4 NBCC clock hour(s). Social workers participating in this intermediate to advanced course will receive 4 Clinical continuing education clock hours. NetCE is authorized by IACET to offer 0.4 CEU(s) for this program. NetCE designates this live continuing education activity for 4 credit(s).

Individual State Behavioral Health Approvals

In addition to states that accept ASWB, NetCE is approved as a provider of continuing education by the following state boards: Alabama State Board of Social Work Examiners, Provider #0515; Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, CE Broker Provider #50-2405; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Social Workers, License #159.001094; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Licensed Professional and Clinical Counselors, License #197.000185; Illinois Division of Professional Regulation for Marriage and Family Therapists, License #168.000190;

Course Objective

The purpose of this course is to provide details on professional ethics and values for behavioral and mental health professionals in order to prevent unethical behaviors in their practice and provide exceptional patient care.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

  1. Explain the importance of professional values and ethics in mental health practice.
  2. Identify boundary violations in mental health practice.
  3. Describe ways mental health practitioners can prevent unethical behaviors in daily practice.
  4. Identify elements and conditions of informed consent.
  5. Restate the basic requirements of HIPAA and the Privacy Rule as they relate to practice.
  6. Identify a protocol for ethical decision-making.

Faculty

Anne Horgan, LCSW,

Faculty Disclosure

Contributing faculty, Anne Horgan, LCSW, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Division Planners

Kimberly Byrd, EdD, PMSW

Scott Deatherage, PhD

Division Planners Disclosure

The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

Director of Development and Academic Affairs

Sarah Campbell

Director Disclosure Statement

The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.

About the Sponsor

The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.

Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.

Disclosure Statement

It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.

Technical Requirements

Supported browsers for Windows include Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0 and up, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Supported browsers for Macintosh include Safari, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 and up, Opera 9.0 and up, and Google Chrome. Other operating systems and browsers that include complete implementations of ECMAScript edition 3 and CSS 2.0 may work, but are not supported. Supported browsers must utilize the TLS encryption protocol v1.1 or v1.2 in order to connect to pages that require a secured HTTPS connection. TLS v1.0 is not supported.

Implicit Bias in Health Care

The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.

Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.

#9762L: Ethics in Behavioral Health

INTRODUCTION

Ethical dilemmas are varied, common, and complex. Ethical decision-making can be difficult as well as time-consuming, and sometimes mental health practitioners are still left with a little ambivalence and uncertainty following their decisions. Typically, there will be more than one person involved with the ethical decision-making process. It is always important to keep in mind the power of supervision and consultation regarding any mental health practice ethical dilemma. Behavioral health practice can provide us with highly complex cases and scenarios that highlight the importance of utilizing support, consultation, and understanding as well as knowing the relevant laws and the rules and policies of governing boards.

 

WEBINAR

SLIDES

The slides from this webinar are available here.

Works Cited

1. Abramson A. When therapy comes to an end. Monitor on Psychology. Published July 1, 2022. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/07/career-therapy-conclusion.

2. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Code of ethics. Published 2023. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.aamft.org/Legal_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics.aspx.

3. Avasthi A, Grover S, Nischal A. Ethical and legal issues in psychotherapy. Indian J Psychiatry. 2022;64(suppl 1):S47-S61.

4. Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Professional values. Published 2018. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/vision-values-and-strategy.

5. Camper AB, Felton EM. Telemental health: legal considerations for social workers. National Association of Social Workers. Published March 2020. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Legal/HIPAA-Help-For-Social-Workers/Telemental-Health.

6. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. No Surprises: understand your rights against surprise medical bills. Published 2022. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/no-surprises-understand-your-rights-against-surprise-medical-bills.

7. Death with Dignity. In your state. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://deathwithdignity.org/states.

8. Epstein EG, Haizlip J, Liaschenko J, Zhao D, Bennett R, Faith M. Moral distress, mattering, and secondary traumatic stress in provider burnout: a call for moral community. AACN Adv Crit Care. 2020;31(2):146-157.

9. Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes § 839.13 (2025). Accessed February 6, 2026. http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0800-0899/0839/Sections/0839.13.html.

10. Freud S, Krug S. Beyond the code of ethics, part I: complexities of ethical decision making in social work practice. Fam Soc. 2002;83(5):474-482.

11. Hull SC, Oen-Hsiao JM, Spatz ES. Practical and ethical considerations in telehealth: pitfalls and opportunities. Yale J Biol Med. 2022;95(3):367-370.

12. Jones-Bonofiglio K. Healthcare Ethics Through the Lens of Moral Distress. Springer Nature; 2020.

13. Kadushin A, Harkness D. Supervision in Social Work. 5th ed. Columbia University Press; 2014.

14. Kitchener KS. Intuition, critical evaluation and ethical principles: the foundation for ethical decisions in counseling psychology. Couns Psychol. 1984;12(3-4):43-55.

15. Latimer AL, Ori MD, Flaherty C, Ross MA. A survey of moral distress and end of life care in mechanical circulatory support nurses. Heart Lung. 2021;50(1):65-70.

16. Mayo Clinic Staff. Job burnout: how to spot it and take action. Mayo Clinic. Published 2021. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642.

17. National Association of Social Workers. Coronavirus (COVID-19): 8 ethical considerations for social workers. Published 2020. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Ethics-Education-and-Resources/Ethics-8/Coronavirus-8-Ethical-Considerations-for-Social-Workers.

18. National Association of Social Workers. Code of ethics: social workers’ ethical responsibilities to clients. Accessed October 5, 2025. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English/Social-Workers-Ethical-Responsibilities-to-Clients.

19. National Health Service (Scotland). Ethical principles. Published 2018. Accessed February 6, 2026. http://www.advancedpractice.scot.nhs.uk/law-ethics/ethics/ethical-principles.aspx.

20. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Cultural competence in health and human services. Published 2021. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://npin.cdc.gov/pages/cultural-competence.

21. WebMD Editorial Contributor. Burnout: symptoms and signs. WebMD. Published December 18, 2022. Accessed February 6, 2026. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/burnout-symptoms-signs.

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