Dual Law and Ethics Presentations:

Laws, Rules and Regulations, and Ethics of the Board of Examiners in Psychology

Todd M. Moore, PhD
Professor of Psychology
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Duality Happens: Ethics and Multiple Relationships in Psychological Practice

Michael C. Hawthorne, PhD
Private Practice
The Northshore Group

Summary: Tennessee psychologists are required to obtain 40 hours of continuing education every licensing cycle. Of these 40 hours, 3 are to pertain to the Tennessee Code Annotated, Rules and Regulations, and Ethics. This first presentation of this 90-minute workshop will cover changes to Title 63, review the latest version of the Rules and Regulations, and apply both to hypothetical clinical situations.  The second presentation will define the ethical duties of the therapist to create and maintain a clear and singular relationship frame and will then explore the many ways that therapeutic relationships are complicated by boundary shifts away from that original definition - sometimes in ethical ways for the benefit of the patient and sometimes in unethical ways that bring harm to the patient. 

1.5 hours of Type I CE credit will be awarded for those attending.

Objectives: Participants will 1) correctly identify recent changes to TCA 63 and other statutes relevant to the work of psychologists; 2) be able to describe the requirements for continuing education; 3) apply TCA, Rules and Ethics to relevant case examples; 4) recognize the essential elements of an ethical therapeutic relationship frame and 5) list differences between boundary crossings and boundary violations from Gabbard's perspective.

Presenters: Todd M. Moore, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Tennessee, and the Associate Dean for Online and Graduate Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.  He is the former Director of Graduate Studies for the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program at UTK and continues to provide clinical supervision and engage in private practice. Dr. Moore is currently Chair of the Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology and has taught many sections of a graduate course in ethics that includes teaching about the Tennessee Code Annotated and Rules and Regulations of the Board of Examiners in Psychology.

Michael C. Hawthorne, PhD has been in private practice at the Northshore Group since 1989.  He was an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Tennessee Clinical Psychology Doctoral program supervising students over a span of twenty years.  He has served multiple roles on the boards of both TPA and KAPA.

Target Audience: This program is open to all KAPA members and other interested mental health professionals who are not members. The content of this presentation is appropriate for mental health professionals educated at the graduate level in psychology, psychiatry, or other mental health related disciplines, as well as graduate students in a mental health related discipline.

References: 

Tennessee Code Title 63 

American Psychological Association Code of Ethics

Keith-Spiegel, P. (2013).  Red flags in psychotherapy: Stories of ethics complaints and resolutions. New York, NY: Routledge Mental Health.

Gabbard, G (2016).  Boundaries and Boundary Violations in Psychoanalysis. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association Publishing. 

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Gabbard, G. (2010). Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

Luca, M. (2004). The Therapeutic Frame in the Clinical Context. New York, NY: Routledge Mental Health.

Pope. K. S., & Keith-Spiegel, P. (2008). A practical approach to boundaries in psychotherapy: Making decisions, bypassing blunders, and mending fences. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64, 638-652.

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Lazarus, A. A., & Zur, O. (Eds.). (2002). Dual relationships in psychotherapy. New York: Springer.