Counseling with Integrity: Ethics, Boundaries, and Best Practices in Treatment Settings
The ultimate goal of a counselor is to empower clients to achieve their goals and eventually no longer require counseling services. This presentation will explore how ethics and boundaries influence best practices for counselors striving to maintain professional integrity. Through case studies, participants will learn to recognize when referrals are appropriate, how to seek supervision before crossing boundaries, and how to integrate both the art and science of counseling. Additionally, participants will examine strategies to support clients in overcoming obstacles that hinder progress toward their treatment goals.
Objectives:
By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
- Identify common factors that contribute to boundary violations within counseling and treatment settings.
- Recognize when referring a client is necessary to best serve the client’s needs.
- Identify how to use supervision before boundary violations occur.
Speakers
Kim is the Executive Director at Maternal, Addiction, Treatment, Education, and Research (MATER) a Division within the College of Nursing (JCN) at Thomas Jefferson University and an Assistant Professor within JCN. She is a Pennsylvania Certified Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CAADC) and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Kim is also an adjunct faculty member at local universities teaching master’s level counselors in training. Additionally, she is a trainer for Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs offering training in Motivational Interviewing and Clinical Supervision.
Kim joined the MATER team over 17 years ago as a residential counselor with a Master’s in Science in Counselor Education and Human Development with a focus in Community Counseling. Since then, Kim continued on to receive her MEd and PhD in Human Sexuality Studies at Widener University. Currently, Kim’s research focuses on pregnancy, trauma, and the impact on treatment; food security among women and their families in substance use treatment; and intimate partner violence among women in substance use treatment. Throughout her time at MATER, she has held positions including, Outpatient Counselor, Intensive Outpatient Counselor (including development and sole implementation of the program), Clinical Supervisor, Clinic Director, and Program Director. In 2024 she transitioned to her current role as Executive Director and now oversees all therapeutic and medical services offered at both Family Center (Outpatient) and My Sister’s Place (Residential) and more than 50 employees. Kim is working to shift treatment to include and to be driven by a focus on trauma-informed care at MATER. In 2018 Kim had the honor of being invited to have multiple different meetings with senior government officials regarding the treatment needs and barriers for pregnant and parenting opioid-dependent women. Kim has been invited to speak at the local, state, national, and international levels on her work with pregnant and parenting women, stigma, and barriers to engagement in substance use treatment.