Pre-Conference
Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries and Ethical Obligations as Mental Health Practitioners
Presented by:
Thomas Murphy, PhD, LMHC-D, NCC, ACS
This course will provide guidance to identify ethical dilemmas and make informed decisions that protect mental health practitioners from ethical and legal violations and protect clients from harm.
Learning Objectives:
As a result of attending this course, learners will be able to:
- Describe the ethical and legal responsibility of mental health practitioners to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with their clients.
- Recognize and describe dual relationships.
- Implement systems and practices that will avoid the development of dual relationships whenever it is avoidable.
- Implement systems and practices to minimize harm to clients and the practitioner whenever dual relationships are not avoidable.
About Dr. Murphy
Tom Murphy completed a doctorate in Counselor Education and Practice at Georgia State University. He is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York, a National Certified Counselor, an Approved Clinical Supervisor, and is certified by EMDRIA as an Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) clinician. Tom is currently an assistant professor of counseling at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, and maintains a private counseling practice.
This course is designed to meet the NYS requirement for licensed mental health counselors, licensed master social workers, and licensed clinical social workers to receive 3 hours of training on maintaining appropriate professional boundaries (effective April 2023).
Keynote
Navigating Loss: Supporting Grieving College Students
Presented by:
Mary Kelly Jones, BSW
College students regularly experience loss while navigating critical academic, social, and identity transitions. Grief may stem from the death of loved ones, family disruption, trauma, or other significant life changes, and can profoundly affect students’ mental health, academic engagement, and persistence.
This presentation provides college counselors with an overview of key principals of the grief process and how grief commonly presents in emerging adults. Grieving styles, cultural and family dynamics as well as indicators of complicated and disenfranchised grief will be explored. Participants will cultivate practical intervention strategies (navigation tools) through group discussion. Additional on-line resources that promote healing and resilience will be available.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the basic principles of the grief process
- Identifying developmental and cultural factors influencing grief in college students
- Distinguish typical grief responses from concerns requiring additional intervention
- Recognize and employ practical coping strategies.
About Mary Kelly Jones
Mary Kelly Jones is a respected leader in grief care, education, and community collaboration, retiring in 2025 after a 31-year career at Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley, where she served as Director of Family Support Services. She is the visionary behind When Grief Comes to School, a countywide initiative that brought grief education, suicide postvention, crisis response, and professional development to both public and private schools in St. Lawrence County.