PAWNY Fall 2025 Workshop - "Ethical Challenges in Mental Health Practices Presented by the Use of Technology"

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Location: Online via Zoom.

Presented by: Kathryn S. Krause, PhD, LD, MSW

Program Summary

The use of technology in the field of mental and behavioral health has grown exponentially over the past few years. Telehealth, online document/note platforms, scheduling programs, and transmission of clinical information online are now integral parts of providing service to our clients. This program is designed to describe the ethical and legal responsibilities of mental health professionals to both protect confidential information as well as to maintain appropriate boundaries with clients when using technology in clinical practice. Strategies for avoiding potential boundary conflicts and breaches of information when using technology will be presented. Additionally, the Dr. Krase will review ways to document that a client has not been exploited or coerced, either intentionally or unintentionally, by the use of technology.

Presenter

Kathryn Krase, PhD, JD, MSW is the Principal Consultant with Krase Consulting. She is an expert on professional ethics and the intersection of ethics with legal responsibilities. She has years of experience consulting with government and community-based organizations to develop policy & practice standards. She also has an extensive list of publications and speaking engagements on the topics of law, ethics, child advocacy, and family issues.

Instructional Level: Introductory

Target Audience: Licensed NYS Psychologists & PAWNY Student Members

Statement of Sponsorship: Psychological Association of Western New York, Inc. (PAWNY) 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-0120.

CE Credits: 3 CE for NYS Psychologists

Program Objectives

After completion of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the ethical and legal responsibilities to protect client information and maintain professional boundaries with clients when using technology in clinical practice.
2. Describe how to apply a framework to avoid boundary conflicts when using technology in their professional practice, whenever possible.
3. List 3 ways to avoid breach of client confidentiality when using technology in their professional practice, whenever possible.
4. Explain how to document that a client has not been exploited or coerced, intentionally or unintentionally, through the use of technology in professional practice.

Program Schedule:

• 9:45-10am: Sign-In
• Introduction (5 minutes)
• Revisiting Ethics in Professional Practice (15 minutes)
  • Professional education introduces future practitioners to relevant Codes of Ethics. This portion of the program will revisit what professionals should already know about ethics, so that we are all on the same page as we explore further. What do we mean by “ethical”? How is “ethical” related to “legal”? Introducing the concepts of boundaries and confidentiality.
• Protecting Yourself from Ethical & Legal Liability (15 minutes)
  • This section will outline the framework that professionals can use to prevent ethical conundrums and protect themselves from legal liability when things get complicated.
• Ethical Challenges Related to the Use of Technology in Modern Mental and Behavioral Professional Practice (115 minutes)
  • This portion of the session will focus on various aspects of mental and behavioral health professional practice, highlighting ethical concerns related to boundaries and confidentiality.
• 11:30-11:45am: BREAK
  • Communications with clients: telephone, fax machine, electronic mail, texting, app-based communications, including tele/video therapy.
  • Storage of client information electronically
  • Interactions with clients in cyberspace
  • Yourself in cyberspace (your online persona, website reviews/client testimonials, etc.)
• Applying Ethical and Legal Principals through Case Examples (20 minutes)
  • We will explore case examples curated to highlight what has been covered in this training.
• Conclusions/Questions (10 minutes)

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