Talk

MPS Art Therapy presents a talk with Pamela Harmell, PhD, on preventing boundary violations in the therapy relationship.

Therapeutic boundaries define the roles and limitations of the therapist-client relationship. Primary areas of concern include dual relationships, both sexual and non sexual, setting and managing professional boundaries related to multiple relationships, and managing countertransference reactions. Why are boundaries mandatory? What boundaries are in virtual therapy? Additionally, psychotherapists today are challenged as ethical decision makers by the ever-expanding development and use of various forms of telehealth. Literature updates, expert opinion, and relevant ethics codes will be discussed.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will learn how to place the concerning multiple relationship behavior in a contextual frame in order to recognize potential damage to the client.
2. Participants will learn the importance of awareness of burnout and countertransference with regard to potential boundary violations.
3. Participants will learn how to identify when a therapeutic relationship is becoming a potential “multiple relationship” and that not all multiple relationships are unethical.

Dr. Pamela Harmell is a national lecturer specializing in legal and ethical issues in clinical practice. She is a Clinical Professor at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology and has written extensively in professional publications on ethical practice, and has formally studied law. She is the Past President of the Board of Psychology. Dr. Harmell is a former Chair of the California State Ethics Committee and a former Chair of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association Ethics Committee. She served on the Board of Directors of the California Psychological Association and is the Past President of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association. 

The MPS Art Therapy Department at the School of Visual Arts 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 creative arts therapists. #CAT-0054.

1.5 CE hours available for LCATs.

SVA wants to ensure persons with disabilities have access to this event. If you are a person with a disability who requires accommodations to access or participate in this event, please reach out to the department at arttherapy@sva.edu or to SVA Disability Resources disabilityresources@sva.edu at least seven business days prior to the event.