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Ethics and Professional Boundaries
Three hours on the boundary questions that fill licensing board caseloads: dual relationships and community overlap, confidentiality in couples and family work, digital presence and availability, and how to consult, document, and repair when something slips. Built around three fully worked cases.
BySeph Fontane Pennock
Reviewed byMichael Callans, MSWCurriculum and outcomes
After this course you will be able to
- Differentiate a contextual boundary crossing from an exploitative relationship
- Select confidentiality responses that distinguish consent, legal authority, and scope
- Draft a technology and communication boundary agreement
- Construct a consultation and documentation record that survives review
What the course covers
- 01A defensible decision process
- 02Power, roles, and contextual boundaries
- 03Confidentiality and consent in complex systems
- 04Digital presence and availability
- 05Consultation, repair, and local requirements
Who this course is for
- Social workers, counselors, and MFTs with a recurring ethics requirement
- Clinicians in small communities where client overlap is daily reality
- Practice owners writing technology and communication policies
State rules that name this topic
These state rules name the topic this course teaches. Two things to check before you rely on it: this course is self-paced and asynchronous, so it cannot be used where a rule requires live or synchronous training, and it is not yet CE-approved for any license. Each requirement guide shows the current rule, the hours required, and the source.
California
California law and ethics
New York
Maintaining appropriate professional boundaries
Washington
Professional ethics and law
How it works
This is a self-paced, asynchronous course (home study), not a live webinar or scheduled class. Reading with optional audio, case material worked in full, and short knowledge checks along the way. The course ends with a final exam (30 questions, retake allowed) and a course evaluation. Your certificate of completion issues immediately and stays downloadable from your private course link.
Common questions
Which renewal requirements does 3 hours of ethics typically address?
Most boards require ethics hours each cycle: for example Texas LPCs and social workers need 6 ethics hours per renewal, and Florida requires 3 hours of ethics or telehealth each cycle. Check your state page for the exact rule.
Is this a lecture or case work?
Case work. Three fully worked situations, a decision worksheet you keep, and an exam that tests judgment rather than recall.
Is it specific to my profession?
It teaches from the NASW, ACA, and AAMFT codes side by side and flags where they differ, with state callouts for California, Texas, and New York.
Our promise
Take the course. Work the cases. If it is not what you needed and you have not yet passed the final exam, one email within 30 days gets you a full refund. No forms, no questions, no partial credit games.
Three ways to take it
This course
$39
- 3 hours of instruction
- Final exam and certificate of completion
- 12 months of access
- Courses that are not open yet offer a waitlist
Secure checkout by Stripe. Invoice included automatically. Full refund within 30 days if you have not yet passed a final exam. Email us to request it.
Saves $48 against buying the three separately
The Launch Bundle
$99
- Three flagship courses, 12 hours
- Ethics, suicide assessment, AI in practice
- $147 bought separately
- Each with exam and certificate
Annual CE Membership
$149/year
Saves $371 against buying the 11 open courses separately
- Every course we have open
- Every course we release this year
- Certificates stay yours if you cancel
The Psychology.com standard
How our courses are developed and delivered.
Development
Built to a specification written by licensed clinicians, first-drafted with generative AI, and reviewed by our editorial board before release. The development disclosure appears on each course page. We disclose the AI drafting because you deserve to know how the material was made, and because a course you rely on professionally should never hide its method.
The exam
The final exam opens after you mark every reading module complete. Question and answer order are randomized for each attempt; retakes are allowed.
Sources and dates
The course reader includes a bibliography. Our state requirement guides identify board sources and show a last-verified date.
Credit
Our courses are not CE-approved and carry no license-renewal credit. Completion earns a certificate of completion.
Eligibility
This course is self-paced and asynchronous, so it does not satisfy any requirement for live or synchronous training. CE credit approvals for this course are in progress with our accreditation partners. Until an approval is confirmed for your license type and state, treat this course as professional development. This page will list the exact approvals the course carries; we do not claim approvals we do not have.
Crisis resources
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) in the US. Our courses train professionals and are not a crisis service.