Continuing Education for Social Work

Boundary Issues in the Workplace: Ethical and Risk Management Challenges

FRIDAY, April 24, 2026
10:00 am – 1 pm (eastern time)
Live Webinar on Zoom
(You will need to register to receive login information)

Registration: 3 CEU Credit Hours
General:  Through Apr. 13, $75; Apr. 14-Apr. 23, $90
Wurzweiler Alumni and Current WSSW Practicum Instructors: Through Apr. 13, $60; Apr. 14-Apr. 23, $75
All Current Students: $15

Registration closes on 4/23/26 at 5:00 Eastern Time (EST)

Social workers encounter complex and myriad boundary issues in the workplace. At times, social workers manage and navigate clients’ requests for personal information, along with gifts and invitations social workers receive from clients. They also navigate differences between social workers' and their clients’ faiths, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender expressions, and political beliefs. Boundary issues may also arise in relationships between social work supervisors and supervisees, as well as organizational boundaries when supervisors and administrators order social workers to implement policies and protocols that appear to violate social work ethics standards. Social workers must also make decisions about whether to “blow the whistle” when they discover unethical conduct in the workplace or a colleague's impairment, among other issues.

Join Dr. Frederic Reamer as he explores these and other boundary issues that can arise in the workplace. Dr. Reamer will provide an overview of complex workplace boundary issues; review core ethics concepts related to workplace boundaries and dual relationships; apply relevant ethics standards; and present a protocol designed to protect clients, social workers, supervisors, and administrators.

This program meets New York State licensing requirements for 3 hours of training in maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be better able to:

1. Identify boundary issues that can arise in the workplace.
2. Develop and implement ethical decision-making and risk management protocols to protect clients and prevent lawsuits and licensing board complaints.
    

Frederic Reamer, PhD has been on the faculty of the School of Social Work, Rhode Island College since 1983. His teaching and research focus on professional ethics, criminal justice, mental health, health care, and public policy. He chaired the national task force that wrote the Code of Ethics adopted by the National Association of Social Workers and served on the code revision task force. Dr. Reamer also chaired the national task force sponsored by NASW and other leading social work associations that developed standards governing social workers’ use of technology in professional practice. He has lectured widely on social work and professional ethics. 

Dr. Reamer has served as an expert witness in many court and licensing board cases throughout the U.S. His many books include Artificial Intelligence in the Behavioral Health Professions: Ethical and Risk Management Issues; and Boundary Issues and Dual Relationships in the Human Services. In 2016, Dr. Reamer was named a Social Work Pioneer by NASW for his “commitment and dedication to the social work profession.”

Podcast

Rabbis, chaplains, and social workers are often called on to provide spiritual care near life’s end. Whether in response to serious illness, advanced cognitive or physical decline in old age, or unexpected, tragic violence, health care professionals and clergy need to respond compassionately and effectively with families facing spiritual, emotional, and existential crises. Clips from Wurzweiler School of Social Work’s “Spirituality Near the End of Life” Conference in July 2019 include leading clergy, chaplains, and social workers offering their knowledge, skills, and wisdom to assist professionals seeking to better integrate spiritual care into their professional and community work.

Episode 1

Episode 2