What Would You Do? Professional Ethics and Boundaries in Clinical Practice
Moderator: John Puls, LCSW, MCAP
Panel: Annette Pullen, PhD, LADC, LPCC, LPC, BAS | Sara Bazzigaluppi, JD | Stephanie Dailey, EdD, LPC-VA
CEU: 3.0 Professional Ethics and Boundaries CEU Hours
Description:
This live, in-person 3-hour CE workshop examines professional ethics and boundary issues in mental health practice through both clinical and legal perspectives. Designed for mental health counselors, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, registered interns, and qualified supervisors, the program focuses on ethical decision-making, professional boundary maintenance, client protection, documentation, consultation, informed consent, confidentiality, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, termination, and common areas of professional risk. Legal and clinical panelists will discuss how professional codes of ethics, Florida Chapter 491 practice expectations, and accepted standards of care inform ethical conduct and boundary management. The workshop will also address ethical and professional responses to client grievances, board complaints, documentation requests, and allegations of boundary violations. Using structured case examples and facilitated panel discussion, participants will apply ethical principles to real-world practice situations involving client vulnerability, power differentials, technology-related boundaries, supervision concerns, risk of exploitation or harm, and professional accountability. The workshop is intended to strengthen participants’ ability to recognize ethical concerns early, maintain appropriate boundaries, respond professionally to complaints or grievances, and use consultation and documentation to protect client welfare and uphold public trust in the mental health professions.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe core ethical principles relevant to mental health counseling, clinical social work, and marriage and family therapy practice.
- Differentiate between appropriate boundary crossings, boundary violations, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, and exploitative conduct.
- Identify common ethical and boundary risks involving informed consent, confidentiality, documentation, supervision, technology-mediated communication, termination, client dependency, and client grievances.
- Apply an ethical decision-making model to clinical scenarios involving boundary dilemmas, competing duties, client vulnerability, risk of harm, and allegations of professional misconduct.
- Explain how consultation, documentation, referral, clear practice policies, and appropriate complaint-response procedures can reduce ethical risk, protect client welfare, and support professional accountability.
CEU Workshop Agenda
10:45 am - Registration and Networking
11:00 am – Lunch & Panel Begins*
12:45 pm - Break and Networking
1:00 pm - Panel Continues
2:15 pm - Lunch & Panel Concludes
*Note this presentation will begin promptly at 11 am for this 3 CEU course
Presenter Bios
John Puls, LCSW, MCAP is a licensed clinical social worker and master’s certified addiction professional with over a decade of experience in mental health and substance use treatment. He earned both his BSW and MSW from Florida Atlantic University, where he now serves as an adjunct professor in the School of Social Work. John is also a qualified expert witness, conducting forensic evaluations in cases involving behavioral health issues. Additionally, John is the co-founder of a crisis intervention, case management, and psychotherapy practice located in Boca Raton, FL. His work focuses on bridging the gap between clinical care and community-based services, with a passion for advancing ethical, effective treatment solutions across systems.
Annette Pullen has over 17 years of experience in mental health, beginning at a Christian Counseling Agency where she helped launch three chemical dependency programs statewide. She later focused on individual, marriage, and trauma counseling, and in 2013 created a trauma-focused class. Certified in EMDR, she founded her private practice in 2017, supporting high-trauma professionals. A Board Approved Supervisor in WI and MN, she taught supervisor training in Minnesota for seven years. With over seven years in higher education, she mentors future counselors and has authored addiction courses, finding joy in their growth and impact.
Sara Bazzigaluppi, JD is a Shareholder and Chairperson of Florida's Professional Licensing & Regulatory Affairs division at Chapman Law Group, representing healthcare professionals and regulated entities from her Sarasota office. Her practice includes defense of healthcare professionals in disciplinary proceedings before the Florida Department of Health, representation before the Agency for Health Care Administration, appeals involving exclusions and terminations by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, reinstatement applications following OIG exclusions, credentialing disputes, NPDB matters, commercial insurance carrier disputes, and licensure applications. She also counsels’ healthcare professionals on regulatory consequences arising from criminal investigations and coordinates with criminal defense counsel on reporting obligations and mitigation strategy. A native of Milan, Italy, Sara is fluent in English and Italian. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics, Cum Laude, from the University of South Florida. She is admitted to practice in Florida and maintains memberships in the State Bar of Florida, the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, the Florida Bar Health Law Section, and the American Health Law Association.
Stephanie Dailey, EdD, LPC-VA is an Associate Professor of Counseling at George Mason University, a Virginia Licensed Professional Counselor, and an ethics consultant with extensive experience in professional counseling ethics, supervision, crisis response, and applied ethical decision-making. She has served as a consultant to the American Counseling Association (ACA) Ethics Office, Senior Co-Chair of the ACA Ethics Committee, Chair of the ACA Foundation, and has contributed ethics-related consultation for ACA amicus briefings and professional policy matters. For more than two decades, Dr. Dailey has trained counselors, supervisors, students, and interdisciplinary professionals on core ethics issues, including confidentiality, informed consent, scope of practice, documentation, boundaries, mandated reporting, counselor competence, and ethical decision-making in complex clinical and community settings. Her scholarship and professional work focus on counselor education, crisis and disaster response, school and community safety, clinical supervision, diagnosis, and the ethical use of immersive simulation and emerging technologies in training. Across these roles, she emphasizes practical, values-informed, and legally sound approaches to ethical practice.
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