Ethics and Boundaries
Rooted in
Core Values
Enhancing care & career.
The long history of human services professionals is rooted in the core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence. We strive to promote these core values in relevant Ethics and Boundaries continuing education offerings.
Ethics and Boundaries: Exploring Racial Justice in Social Work - White Privilege & Allyship
Friday, December 13, 2024 (Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
This workshop will explore white privilege in social work through the lens of racial justice and the role allyship has in today's social work practice and what we as professionals can do to break down barriers of racial injustice.
- Discuss white privilege in the context of modern social work practice and social justice
- Discuss allyship in the context of modern social work practice and social justice
- Challenge the concept of racial justice and allyship in your practice
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Ricky Ferrari Traner
Ricky works as the Manager of the Prevention & Early Intervention Section with the Division of Safety & Permanence in DCF.He earned a bachelor’s degree in social welfare from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ricky also co-chairs the statewide Trauma-Informed Care Action Team with the Office of Children’s Mental Health.
Sustainable Social Work: Ethics, Boundaries & Self-Care
Friday, January 10, 2025 (Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
This training is designed to explore ethics and boundaries from the perspective of sustaining oneself in practice. Participants will gain understanding on factors that relate to self-awareness, self-care and ethical practice. Strategies to promote healthy work environments and maintain a work-life balance will be presented.
- Understand the connection between self-care and ethical practice
- Examine personal and environmental factors that influence self-awareness and self-care in practice
- Review boundaries as a primary component of self-care
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Joan Groessl
Associate Professor & Chair, Social WorkJoan Groessl, MSW, PhD, LCSW, has extensive experience teaching ethics at the graduate level as well as continuing education programs in ethics and boundaries. Her research emphasis has been on ethical decision making and moral development.
Justine Terzinski
Licensed Clinical Social WorkerJustine Terzinski has experience in both case management and clinical mental health therapy. She also has a strong professional background in substance use treatment as well as working closely with community resources and grant funded opportunities.
Ethics and Boundaries: Embracing the Gray in Post Pandemic Practice
Friday, January 17, 2025 (Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
Boundaries have been blurred, the landscape of our professional practice have encroached upon our personal lives, and the relationships with our clients and colleagues have changed. The pandemic asked much of us by way of flexibility and adaptation; much of it to best serve our clients, but at what cost? Is virtual practice blending into your home life? Do you feel like the clear and rigid boundaries you once had created to protect dual relationships have crumbled or blurred? Have colleagues gotten a glimpse into your world via the virtual space, perhaps sharing more than what seems comfortable? We will explore all the new gray areas in our practice and collegial spaces. Uniquely, participants in the session will provide examples of ethical dilemmas they have faced and will walk through the challenges to learn how to best embrace, or color the gray, to improve ethical decision making when circumstances arise.
- Explore and learn how to apply an ethical decision-making model in everyday practice
- Discover the importance of focus; learning to be fully present and request what you need to maintain healthy boundaries with clients and colleagues
- Recognize and embrace the gray of personal decision making when ethical dilemmas are presented
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Dana Johnson
Dana Johnson is a career social worker, practicing in senior level management in state government, county human services, an educator in higher education.He also operates a consulting firm. His experience includes child welfare practice, policy, and reform, transformational organizational leadership and culture change, supervision of teams, continuous quality improvement, and dynamic equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts across micro, mezzo, and macro systems.
Ethics and Boundaries: Considerations with Supervision in Cross-Cultural Settings
Friday, February 7, 2025 (Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
Supervisors are responsible for several key factors in supervisees’ development and professional skills. Despite consultation and cultural competence being a standard for practitioners, supervisors are limited in how to provide adequate coaching and mentorship for supervisees from minoritized communities, thus exacerbating the power dynamics between supervisor and supervisee. This workshop will support supervisors with self-reflection and culturally-centered practices to improve the supervision process while reducing institutional harm. Cultural humility will be explored to address how personal identities show up in the workforce and how relevant sociocultural issues impact the supervisory space.
- Relate the impact of intersectional identities and its trauma on minoritized supervisees during the supervisory process
- Increase awareness on effective methods when supervising practitioners of color
- Facilitate brave spaces to explore supervisory experiences to reduce biases and microaggressions
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Sheng Lee Yang
Sheng Lee Yang is a practicing Licensed Clinical Social Worker, President and Executive Director for Us 2 Behavioral Health Care.Her professional experiences include direct care and leadership positions in public, private, government and nonprofit institutions. Her personal and professional experiences helped cultivate a vision to integrate social justice and cultural humility into mental health. She teaches graduate level courses in clinical mental health and diversity and inclusion.
Trauma-Informed Ethics & Boundaries: Working with Triggers
Friday, February 21, 2025 (Virtual)
8:30-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
This workshop is meant for all direct care professionals who want to understand how Trauma (Healing) Informed Care is Ethical Care. The direct care field includes many roles and is built on interpersonal interactions. This makes it imperative that professionals uphold ethical standards with participants, colleagues and within their profession. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics and the 6 Key Principles to Trauma (Healing) Informed Care will be explored and aligned, with a specific look at responding to triggers with approaches that help prioritize impact over the intention. Attendees are invited to bring knowledge, experience, and challenges to share with their colleagues to apply real-world examples throughout.
- Identify at least two of the six NASW Core Values
- Identify at least two of the six Key Principles of Trauma (Healing) Informed Approaches
- Identify at least one self-care strategy, along with at least two ways in which that strategy will benefit participants and/or others
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Melinda Marasch
It has been Melinda's life’s passion to help others, first as a psycho-therapist and now as a consultant.She specializes in training (in-person and online) and supervising non-therapist direct care staff and helping direct care organizations be effective and efficient. She has expertise in many areas, including HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, criminal justice/law enforcement and much more.
Biennium 2025-2027
Registration will open soon for biennium 2025-2027.
Ethics & Boundaries: Practicing Self-Care in an Era of Moral Distress
Your Choice of:
Fridays, May 2, 2025, April 24, 2026 or January 29, 2027 (All Dates Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
In today's complex and demanding human services landscape, practitioners often find themselves navigating ethical dilemmas and encountering situations that can lead to moral distress. This training course is designed to equip professionals in the field with the knowledge, tools and strategies to address these ethical challenges while prioritizing their own well-being. The course provides guidance on maintaining healthy boundaries in client interactions, organizational dynamics and professional relationships. Participants learn how to navigate ethical dilemmas with integrity and compassion, while safeguarding their own mental health. Course objectives will be established through a combination of interactive lectures, group discussions and practical exercises.
- Recognize the practice of human services and its impact on moral distress and burnout.
- Develop effective self-care strategies to mitigate burnout.
- Utilize the NASW Code of Ethics and navigate ethical dilemmas of self-care with integrity and resilience.
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Sheng Lee Yang
Sheng Lee Yang is a practicing Licensed Clinical Social Worker, President and Executive Director for Us 2 Behavioral Health Care.Her professional experiences include direct care and leadership positions in public, private, government and nonprofit institutions. Her personal and professional experiences helped cultivate a vision to integrate social justice and cultural humility into mental health. She teaches graduate level courses in clinical mental health and diversity and inclusion.
Ethics & Boundaries: Advocacy in Action—Embracing Leadership Opportunities in an Evolving Healthcare Environment
Your Choice of:
Wednesdays, November 12, 2025, March 18, 2026 or November 18, 2026 (All Dates Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
Regardless of our “official” title – as professionals, we each have a leadership role to play as advocates for the improved delivery of care. The pandemic highlighted the inequitable impact of our fragmented system, while the ongoing turbulence of our socio-economic and political environments continues to influence how care is delivered. This session will invite participants to identify their motivation for this work and reflect upon our role as agents of change. We will identify advocacy and leadership opportunities to bring the voice of those we serve into the conversation as healthcare is being reimagined. And we will explore a range of concrete steps that we might take to enhance our professionalism and build resilience during times of systemic change.
- Identify personal and professional motivations for your work.
- Reflect on your role as change agents, advocates and leaders who bring the voice of those we serve into the conversation as the delivery of healthcare is being reimagined.
- Consider at least two concrete steps that you might take to increase your professionalism and build resiliency in the face of ongoing systemic changes.
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Shirley Green-Otis
Shirley Otis-Green, MSW, MA, ACSW, LCSW, OSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker and the founder of and consultant for Collaborative Caring.She is an internationally recognized speaker on quality of life, palliative care, leadership development, and the creation of meaningful organizational change. She focuses her career on delivering culturally sensitive, person-centered and family-focused inter-professional palliative care.
Ethics & Boundaries: Crisis De-escalation & Interventions in Healthcare
Your Choice of: Fridays, February 6, 2026, November 6, 2026 or
January 15, 2027 (All Dates Virtual)
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Fee: $109
This session is designed to equip health professionals with essential skills and strategies to effectively manage and de-escalate crisis situations in any setting. We will focus on fostering a safe and supportive environment while addressing the needs of individuals in distress and the ethical implications of situations. Participants will learn to recognize signs of escalating crises, employ evidence-based techniques to defuse tension and prioritize the emotional well-being and safety of clients and provider alike.
- Identify common triggers that escalate crisis situations.
- Explore de-escalation principles, including active listening, empathy, and validation.
- Understand the importance of personal safety and boundaries while managing crisis situations.
Continuing Education: 0.4 CEUs/4 CEHs
Ignacio Enriquez Jr.
Ignacio Enriquez Jr., MSE, LPC, was a fifteen-year police officer in Wisconsin and has four years of experience as a Juvenile Corrections Officer in California.Ignacio served as a patrol officer, school resource officer and as a Behavioral Health Officer. As a Behavioral Health Officer, Ignacio was responsible for conducting crisis interventions, safety planning and connecting citizens to mental health services. Ignacio is a trained hostage crisis negotiator and served as the department’s main resource of mental health and substance abuse information and training.
Special Topics
We also offer courses on special topics, developed to promote awareness and sensitivity of cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic and neurodiversity.
Need Guidance?
If you need additional guidance, please contact Kayle Petitjean, Office of Professional Continuing Education, at professionaled@uwgb.edu or (920) 465-2642.