The Ethics of Authentic Connections and Healing Boundaries

For many of us, Ethics and Boundaries have been taught, or interpreted, as walls of disconnection between providers and those they serve. However, we know that authentic connections and unconditional positive regard are both Trauma Informed and powerful offerings to people struggling with Substance Use Disorder. This training explores the intersection of ethical practice with authentic engagement and therapeutic alliances with vulnerable clients. Join us as we reflect on what we have been taught and the ways it supports and hinders the therapeutic alliance and how we can integrate our ethical mandates into strategies for more effective practice outcomes in the field of Behavioral Health.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• List the examples of how ethics inform appropriate and strong boundaries in our work relationships with clients who experience Substance Use Disorder
• Identify how the historic instruction on ethics and boundaries and how that teaching threatens clinical engagement and client outcomes
• Name 5 ways a provider can hold appropriate and ethical boundaries