It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships
Curt and Katie chat about dual relationships. We talk about the types of dual relationships, how often therapists get in trouble for these types of relationships, how to manage dual relationships, and the ethical decision making process to go through to decide whether to engage in a dual relationship. This is a law and ethics continuing education podcourse.
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode we talk about ethical decision making to navigate dual relationships
We take a deeper dive into the complex relationships that we can have with our clients, our supervisors and our supervisees.
What are dual relationships?

Therapists know a lot about a very specific dual relationship: having sex with your clients, which is not acceptable

There are many different types of potential dual relationships (we talk about the definitions of each type)

The different hats we may wear with clients and colleagues

What is a strong formal process for ethical decision making?

Pope and Vasquez have a 17 Step Process for ethical decision making

Deeply examining the question, the impact, and exploring any bias

Identifying and understanding relevant laws and ethics

Consultation, documentation, and evaluation

We walk through a specific dual relationship question: what happens if your client refers a friend and colleague to you? How do you decide whether to take the client or not?

It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships

The Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide: Where Therapists Live, Breathe, and Practice as Human Beings It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. We are human beings who can now present ourselves as whole people, with authenticity, purpose, and connection. Especially now, when clinicians must develop a personal brand to market their private practices, and are connecting over social media, engaging in social activism, pushing back against mental health stigma, and facing a whole new style of entrepreneurship. To support you as a whole person, a business owner, and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

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When Doing “No Harm” Isn’t Good Enough: Bringing beneficence to your clients
Curt and Katie chat about ethics again. We look at how therapists decide what is beneficial for clients. We also contrast the concept of “beneficence” (doing good) versus “nonmaleficence” (doing no harm). We specifically explore how to identify when something is in the therapist’s interest versus the client’s interest as well as what therapists can do when clients hold harmful, untrue beliefs. This is a law and ethics continuing education podcourse.
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode we talk about how therapists do good, beyond “do no harm”
Therapist healthcare ethics are often taught from the perspective that the professional’s role is to “do no harm” when providing treatment to clients. Lost in the teachings is that therapists have other obligations to address when providing treatment. This workshop focuses on examples of bringing the principle healthcare ethic of beneficence to therapy to help determine “doing good” for the client’s benefit.
What is beneficence in the context of psychotherapy?
·      Do what is good for the client and for treatment
·      “For the benefit if the client”
·      Comparing this with the idea of non-maleficence (“do no harm”) which is don’t do bad things, but also try to prevent bad things from happening
How do therapists decide what is “good” for their client?
·      Assessing the risk of overtaking client autonomy and becoming paternal or parental
·      Balancing all of the core ethical principles and putting them in context for the unique situation for each client
·      Looking at whether therapist self-disclosure is in the benefit of the client
·      Identifying what is therapeutic and beneficial
·      Making sure that therapists move beyond what is comfortable (and not “harmful”) to something that may be less comfortable (and more beneficial)
·      Looking at who therapists choose to work with, balancing therapist self-care and self-protection with what is beneficial to the client and society
What are specific concerns to consider when deciding whether a therapist is working for the benefit of the client?
·      Therapy dogs (are they certified and registered, is it in the treatment plan)
·      Contact between sessions initiated by the therapist (who is the contact for? What does the treatment model say about this type of contact?)
·      Have a thought process and document that thought process when deciding what to do as a therapist
What can therapists do when clients hold distorted beliefs?
·      Identify: Do the distorted beliefs that the client holds cause (or could cause) harm?
·      Understand: What laws or ethics are relevant to whether the distorted belief should be addressed?
·      Get client consent (or not) to talk about the distorted belief and potentially change the course of therapy
·      Is it necessary to discuss the belief at this time?
·      What countertransference issues could impact the efficacy of the conversation with the client?
·      Will the conversation be helpful and potentially change the client’s view?
·      How will the conversation change the course of therapy?
·      Does the therapist have appropriate expertise and training to address the distorted belief?

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When Doing “No Harm” Isn’t Good Enough: Bringing beneficence to your clients

Is Seeking an “Abundance Mindset” Toxic?
Curt and Katie chat about abundance and scarcity mindsets, looking at what the research actually says about these often-used terms. We explore the dangers of how the abundance mindset is often weaponized against entrepreneurs (like private practitioners) in how they think and how much they should pay for coaching services. We also look at the role of privilege in how these mindsets are often talked about. Finally, we explore what might be better to focus on instead: practical or growth mindsets as well as wise mind.  
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode we talk the dangers of striving for abundance mindset
We’ve heard a lot of people in a lot of different settings talk about the ideas of abundance and scarcity mindsets. We see some problems in how these concepts are used within popular culture.
What does the research say about scarcity and abundance mindsets?
·      When you have scarce resources, you will work to protect yourself and avoid death
·      There is research done on actual “scarcity” that is being inaccurately applied to people who do not have scarce resources (like some of the coaches and entrepreneurs who use this term)
·      People who have more resources think more abundantly (the finding is correlational, not directional)
What are the dangers of the “abundance mindset?”
·      The unrealistic nature of “thinking” your way out of poverty or practical challenges (without the reality of action)
·      The blaming the victim that can happen when someone is having trouble reframing their situation more positively
·      Weaponizing “abundance” to imply that you are sabotaging your practice
·      Using “abundance” as a sales tactic
What should therapists do instead of “being abundant?”
·      A strategic or problem-solving mindset
·      Learning practical strategies to do the work necessary
·      Allowing time to grow into the vision of your practice
·      Growth versus fixed mindset
Stay in Touch with Curt, Katie, and the whole Therapy Reimagined #TherapyMovement:
Our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/therapyreimagined
Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/

Is Seeking an “Abundance Mindset” Toxic?

How to Navigate Shifts in the Mental Health Field and Your Career Path: An interview with Dr. Melvin Varghese
Curt and Katie interview Dr. Melvin Varghese about how he’s navigated his career path. We look at a life changing event that helped him to get perspective on what is most important to him. We also explore practicalities of prioritizing personal life as an entrepreneur. 
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode, we talk about how to prioritize your personal life while having a successful career
We invited our friend Melvin Varghese back to the podcast to talk about how he is navigating shifts in the profession and his life.
 What do therapists get wrong when creating their career?
·      Doing too much and not doing things deeply enough
·      Shifting too quickly when things get hard
·      Failing to look at season of life issues when planning your business
·      Having trouble defining success based on what is resonant to oneself
How can therapists prioritize themselves and sustain a therapy career?
·      Pace yourself based on your own life story, not a mentor’s or the “shoulds” from the profession
·      Be willing to “fail forward”
·      Pushing back against “curated authenticity” and look at how to be real, with boundaries
·      Aligning career with morals and values
·      Focus on “decades over days”
·      Sustainable content creation
What are Melvin’s predictions about the future of the profession?
·      Authenticity and real conversations will succeed where AI posting will not
·      Finding content platforms where effort compounds over time
·      Discovery platforms leading to relationship-deepening platforms
·      Navigating a lot of tech and insurance companies
·      People have less discretionary money, so diversifying your income is valuable
Stay in Touch with Curt, Katie, and the whole Therapy Reimagined #TherapyMovement:
Our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/therapyreimagined
Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/

How to Navigate Shifts in the Mental Health Field and Your Career Path: An interview with Dr. Melvin Varghese

Are Therapy and Coaching All That Different?
Curt and Katie chat about the differences between coaching and therapy, for a second time. We look at some common myths (and how coaches continue to share this misinformation). We also look at how therapists can effectively incorporate coaching into their therapy sessions, with client consent. Finally, we discuss the challenges inherent in coaching and in therapy, and why therapists may feel they need to choose one or the other. 
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode we talk the differences between coaching and therapy
We’ve come back around to exploring coaching. We look at the differences, the pros and cons, and what therapists can incorporate into therapy.
What are the differences between coaching and therapy?
·      There are no regulations for coaching
·      Therapists are limited to providing services where they are licensed or have practicing privileges
·      Coaching is often more directive (but therapy can be directive as well)
·      Coaching has flexibility to work outside of session (although therapists can do coaching calls and more experiential work)
·      Therapy often requires “medical necessity,” and can treat more serious concerns
·      There are sometimes different structures between how therapy and coaching are set up (i.e., coaching has more room for asynchronous courses)
·      There is a false story that therapy always looks at the past or sees clients as broken
What parts of coaching can therapists incorporate into therapy?
·      Therapists can use a more directive, coaching style, even though not all therapists do
·      Therapists, within a treatment agreement, can (and should) hold clients accountable and have more specific goals
·      Lived experience informing the work
·      Marketing with specificity and focused expertise
Why do therapists feel they need to choose between therapy and coaching?
·      It is more complicated to provide different services to your clients
·      There is a potential for dual relationships and the rules are different within coaching
·      The need for informed consent can hinder some of the other types of services that fit into coaching
·      Coaching is for the “worried well” whereas therapy can include folks with deeper issues

Stay in Touch with Curt, Katie, and the whole Therapy Reimagined #TherapyMovement:
Our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/therapyreimagined

Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/

Are Therapy and Coaching All That Different?

Are You Too Burned Out to Work? An ethical assessment of therapist burnout and impairment
Curt and Katie chat about the ethics of working while burned out. We look at what burnout is, how it develops and what the impacts are on clients and treatment outcomes. We also explore individual and systemic strategies to mitigate the risks of burnout. This is a law and ethics continuing education podcourse.
Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!
In this podcast episode we talk about therapist burnout
So many therapists complain that they are burned out, but then continue to work. Is this ethical? In this continuing education podcourse, we explore what therapist burnout is, how therapists get burned out, potential impacts on the therapeutic work with clients, and when (and whether) it moves into the threshold of unethical behavior. We talk specifically about what makes a therapist impaired and how therapists can assess their own capacity to ethically care for their clients. We also look at how to respond to signs of burnout appropriately. Finally, we dig into systemic concerns that lead to burnout and who really is responsible for a therapist’s burnout and potential impairment.

Receive Continuing Education for this Episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide
Continuing Education Approvals: Continuing Education Information including grievance and refund policies.

Stay in Touch with Curt, Katie, and the whole Therapy Reimagined #TherapyMovement:
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Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:
Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/
Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/

It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships

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