We’re excited to share more from a conversation with Dr. Kathryn Krase, an accomplished social worker, lawyer, educator, and expert on professional ethics. With over two decades of experience teaching and leading in social work programs across New York City, Dr. Krase brings a powerful blend of academic insight and real-world legal expertise. She is also the Principal Consultant at Krase Consulting, where she trains health and mental health professionals on navigating their ethical and legal responsibilities. In addition to her impressive background as a family law practitioner and social work supervisor, Dr. Krase is offering an upcoming course that meets New York State requirements—an essential opportunity for professionals seeking to stay compliant and informed.Read on as Dr. Krase shares her perspective on the intersection of law, ethics, and clinical practice.
1: Q: What if your client and you live in the same apartment building on the same floor?
A: You just you need to address it with the client and come up with expectations that are are acceptable, first and foremost, to the client. Nobody's going to make you move. But you should be able to be in that space without having boundary problems. The chances are, you might see people coming in and out of that person's apartment. And they will see people coming out of in and out of your apartment. Having those conversations about their level of comfort, and if the client decides they want to terminate, the client decides they want to terminate. But you don't have to terminate them if you feel like you can navigate that.
2: Q: What is the risk to therapeutic alliance, especially long-term ones, when declining meaningful invites? For example, a funeral. Is professional recognition adequate or ethical legal justification for attendance?
A: There's always that risk to the therapeutic alliance. But there's a risk into that to that therapeutic alliance, if you show up, and the clients don't recognize that. And so it's important in that first instance, when you are invited, if you make the determination that it would be inappropriate for you to be there and it's not something that you want to have the discussion with about the client to come to a mutual determination. But you've made that determination that it would be inappropriate to have that conversation in that moment. Because then you are Building the therapeutic alliance, you're helping the client to understand what the therapeutic relationship is, and what they can expect from that therapeutic relationship. And then subsequently, you know, if they ask again, you'll have the answer they'll be able to refresh and understand. But if you just say politely No, without explaining why that's more dangerous to the therapeutical lines.
3: Q: My state does not have a “duty to warn” how best to handle if your client expresses a threat report, or someone else made a threat. What do I do?
A: While your state might not might not technically follow the “duty to warn,” it might not be in the law, you do need to understand what your ethical code says. Various ethical codes do provide an ethical responsibility to duty to warn. So you need to follow your ethical codes and expectations for duty to warn. In many situations, you would still be ethically expected to provide that
4: Q: I've worked with a man for five years. Two years ago, he joined Alcoholics Anonymous. I’m also a member, which he did not know beforehand. We've seen each other at a few meetings, and he’s also invited me over to his house for lunch as a member of AA. I don't mind going, but would this be a boundary violation?
A: This is definitely a concern of a boundary violation, but if you have a current working relationship with somebody, the code expects you to balance the risks and harms because the code acknowledges that there are certain situations where it's in the client's best interest for there to be this kind of dual relationship. And so we can actually use this example, as a way to evaluate the situation and determine whether or not it would open you up to professional liability.
5: Q: With boundary crossing versus boundary violations, can you touch on self-disclosure or home visits or outings with the client?
A: It's easiest for me to talk about standard psychotherapeutic contexts. I know that the majority of people taking this course will probably be therapists providing that kind of standard, but that there are other people that I trained who don't have that kind of relationship with clients. I work with people. And I know that there are many of you who do your work with clients in the community, in their spaces. And so boundaries become more complicated. Because the code doesn't say you can't have these contacts, the code and the expectations are that when you have these kinds of boundary crossings, you need to make sure that there's a beneficent intent that you acknowledge and minimize the risk of harm.
Check out Dr. Krase's live event with MakeAnImpact.com later this month!
