Ethics & Risk Management in Clinical Supervision
Tools, Tips and Best Practices for Confidentiality, Competence, Boundaries and Dual Relationships
- Speaker:
- Sharon Greene, LCSW
- Duration:
- Approx 6 hrs
- Copyright:
-
Dec 03, 2026
- Product Code:
- POS151047
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar - Also available: Live Webinar
Description
- A seven-step model for ethical decision making in supervision
- Write supervision contracts that better protect you and your supervisees
- Reduce risk of malpractice, vicarious liability & board complaints
- Apply real case vignettes involving competence, boundaries & reporting
Clinical supervision is one of the most rewarding roles in behavioral healthcare – and one of the most complex.
As a supervisor you are expected to make difficult judgment calls every day: determining whether a supervisee is practicing within their competence, navigating dual relationships in close-knit communities, addressing documentation concerns, managing confidentiality questions, and deciding when a client should be reassigned. Yet many clinicians step into supervisory roles with little formal training on the legal, ethical, and risk-management responsibilities that come with oversight.
When problems arise, supervisors often find themselves at the center of board complaints, malpractice allegations, and liability concerns.
This interactive training will give you a practical framework for navigating these high-stakes situations with confidence.
Using a seven-step ethical decision-making model, supervision expert Sharon Greene, LCSW will guide you through realistic case scenarios that illustrate how ethical dilemmas unfold in supervision – and how to respond in ways that protect clients, supervisees, and your professional license.
You will learn to:
- Apply a step-by-step ethical decision-making model to supervision dilemmas
- Know when to refer or reassign a case based on supervisor and supervisee competence
- Draft supervision contracts that meet informed consent requirements
- Distinguish direct from vicarious liability, and document accordingly
- And much more
Don’t wait until you’re facing an ethical complaint, licensing issue, or supervisory crisis to learn these skills.
Purchase today and gain the tools, frameworks, and confidence you need to make sound ethical decisions, reduce risk, and protect your practice before problems arise.
Credit
Speaker
Sharon Greene, LCSW Related seminars and products
Sharon Greene, LCSW
Over her twenty plus years of experience, Sharon has provided clinical supervision to numerous social work and psychology graduate interns and unlicensed clinicians collecting their hours toward licensure. Since 2007, she has held the Social Work Training Director position at Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center, an outpatient mental health facility for children, adolescents and their families. In this position, she trains clinical supervisors in the Integrated Developmental Model of Clinical Supervision and provides ongoing consultation for clinical supervisors to provide quality supervision.
Sharon has been adjunct faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and California State University Northridge in the graduate social work departments since 2008 teaching advanced clinical practice graduate courses. She has also provided clinical supervision at multiple other agencies including Aviva Family and Children’s Services, Keystone Treatment Center, and Clearview Treatment Center, in various levels of care, including outpatient, intensive outpatient, and partial hospitalization programs and residential programs. In addition, she is a certified trainer and consultant for Interpersonal Psychotherapy and trains therapists in this model by providing biweekly consultation groups. She is also certified in multiple evidenced practices including Positive Parenting Program, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, and Seeking Safety.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sharon Greene has an employment relationship with Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center and is a consultant for Keystone Treatment Center, Clearview Treatment Center, Aviva Family & Children’s Services. She maintains a private practice and receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sharon Greene has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact cepesi@pesi.com.
Questions?
Visit our FAQ page at www.pesi.com/faq or contact us at www.pesi.com/info
Objectives
- Apply an ethical decision-making model to complex supervision dilemmas.
- Evaluate supervisor and supervisee competence using professional standards.
- Utilize informed consent contracts for supervision.
- Identify how to manage dual relationships ethically.
- Distinguish between direct and vicarious liability in supervision.
- Choose documentation practices that reduce malpractice risk.
Outline
Foundations of Ethical Supervision
- Defining your role as a clinical supervisor
- Gatekeeping responsibilities as a supervisor
- Bedrock principles of ethics: Autonomy, Justice, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Fidelity & Trust
- Professional code of ethics as they relate to clinical supervision (NASW, AAMFT, APA, ACA)
- Distinguishing supervision from therapy, consultation, and administrative oversight
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Ethical Decision-Making Model
- Step-by-step decision frameworks
- Knapp and Vandecreek’s Seven-Step Model
- How to identify common ethical dilemmas
- Weighing competing obligations (client welfare vs. supervisee development vs. institutional demands)
- The latest documentation strategies
- Applying the model to a supervision case involving mandatory reporting
Confidentiality in Supervision
- Client vs. supervisee confidentiality
- Written authorizations
- Mandated reporting obligations
- Handling evaluations
- Confidentiality limits in group supervision and case consultation
- Technology and telesupervision considerations (recordings, notes, platforms)
Competence & Scope of Practice
- Supervisor vs. supervisee competence
- Case assignment guidelines
- Oversight responsibilities
- When to refer or reassign cases
- Recognizing supervisee impairment or skill gaps early
- Real case analyses (bipolar disorder, suicidality, BPD)
Informed Consent in Supervision
- Required contract elements
- Due process procedures
- Evaluation transparency
- Emergency protocols
- Supervisory disclosure requirements
- Renegotiating the contract as supervisee competence changes
Dual Relationships & Boundary Management
- Supervisor-supervisee dual role
- Gottlieb Model for Evaluating Dual Relationships
- Financial & personal boundaries
- Rural/agency complications
- Power differentials and their effect on supervisee disclosure
- Documentation requirements
- Case vignettes & risk assessment
Malpractice & Liability
- Direct vs. vicarious liability
- Risk reduction strategies
- Documentation standards
- Insurance considerations and board complaint response protocol
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Case Managers
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Addiction Counselors
- Psychotherapists
- Other Mental Health Professionals
- Physicians
- Art Therapists
Reviews
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