By Rich Simon As therapists, many of us practice in two different worlds. In the first, we see polite, well-behaved, articulate clients with solid values. They engage fully in therapy, talk cogently about their problems, listen attentively to our responses, make reasonably good-faith efforts to follow our suggestions, and sooner or later get better. No wonder we genuinely like these people! 
By Rich Simon A thousand years ago, during the palmy days of generous insurance reimbursement, therapists could maintain the illusion that, since therapy was paid for by an unseen hidden hand, clinical practice was somehow untouched by the tacky subject of money. Even the style of therapy reflected this disjunction: 
CE Credits: 3 • Price: $39But in today's far more informal therapeutic climate, the old rules don't seem so straightforward anymore. Where is the line between dogmatic rigidity and careless laxity? This Reading Course explores the "Big Four" of ethical trouble spots: self-disclosure, sexuality, gifts and dual relationships. It discusses contextual issues that create boundary confusion. You'll heighten your awareness of the importance of establishing clear boundary guidelines at the beginning of treatment and reestablishing them when boundary violations seem imminent.
Course Readings
Can We Talk? Let's End Our Conspiracy of Silence about Our Ambiguous Boundaries by Mary Jo Barrett & Katy Butler
To Tell the Truth: Letting Go of Our Inscrutable Façade by Jay Efran
Nightmare in Aisle 6: A Therapist Is Caught in the Act of Being Herself by Linda Stone Fish
The Slippery Slope: Violating the Ultimate Therapeutic Taboo by Susan Rowan
The Crush: Challenging Our Culture of Avoidance by Mary Jo Barrett
Triple Boundary Crossing: From Client to Friend to Client by Arnold A. Lazarus
Everybody's Business: There Are Precious Few Therapeutic Secrets in a Small Town by Jan Michael Sherman
The Necklace: When Does a Rule Become a Straitjacket? by Jenny Newsome
Love, Dr. Lagerfeld: Sometimes It's Okay to Trust Your Instincts by Michael F. Hoyt
The Ethical Eye by Ofer Zur
Dangers and Possibilities: Uses and Misuses of Therapist Self-Disclosure by Janina Fisher
Learning Objectives
1. List 3 changes in how therapy is done that affects ethical guidelines
2. Identify 3 ways that self-revealing by the therapist can benefit clients
3. Discuss the conditions that put therapists at risk for sexual boundary violations
4. Distinguish between boundary violations and boundary crossings in dual relationships
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