UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON

Ethics & Boundaries Under Pressure: Navigating Complex Situations with Confidence

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Upcoming dates (1)

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For registration assistance: 608-262-2451

Schedule

Live Session: January 22, 2027, 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Registration through: January 19, 2027

All times shown in central time.

Format

Live online

Fee

$149 

Instructor

Sheng Lee Yang

Cancellation Policy

Cancel three full business days before the class starts and receive a full refund minus a $50 administrative fee. Cancel less than three business days beforehand, or do not participate, you remain responsible for the entire fee.

Summary

Social workers often face tough choices when professional values and legal duties collide. How do you protect confidentiality, respect each person's dignity, promote fairness, and support self-determination while also following laws on mandatory reporting, duty to warn or emergency detentions? These gray areas can be stressful, especially when quick decisions are required. This training offers practical tools to handle these challenges across different settings and age groups. Participants will learn how to use the NASW Code of Ethics, Wisconsin's MPSW 20 rules, and Reamer's Seven-Step Ethical Decision-Making Model to guide their work. Real case examples will explore the balance between client autonomy and safety, the limits of confidentiality, and how documentation and decision-making can affect power and trust. Through discussion and case studies with children, teens, adults, and vulnerable adults, participants will build skills to make thoughtful, defensible choices while keeping clients at the center. By the end of the session, attendees will leave with more confidence and clear strategies for staying true to professional values, even when the best path forward isn't obvious.

Overview

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Identify key principles of the NASW Code of Ethics and Wisconsin's MPSW 20 rules that guide decision-making in challenging situations.
  • Analyze case examples to recognize conflicts between confidentiality, safety, self-determination and legal reporting requirements.
  • Apply Reamer's Seven-Step Ethical Decision-Making Model to work through real-world ethical dilemmas across different age groups and settings.
  • Demonstrate strategies to explain, document and justify ethical decisions in a way that protects clients' dignity and supports sound professional practice.

Audience:

Beginner-Intermediate

Earn Continuing Education Hours

By participating in this class you will earn:

Instructional Hours 4
University of Wisconsin Continuing Education Units .4
American Psychological Association - Continuing Education Credit 4
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services - Substance Abuse Counselors - Continuing Education Credit Hours 4
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services - Marriage and Family Therapists - Continuing Education Credit Hours 4
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services - Social Workers - Continuing Education Credit Hours 4
Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services - Licensed Professional Counselors 4

Explanation of Continuing Education Hours

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Program Questions?

Contact Ashley Kuehl at ashley.kuehl@wisc.edu

Registration Questions?

Email registration@cerc.wisc.edu or call 608-262-2451.

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Meet your instructor

Sheng Lee Yang

MSW, LCSW, PMH-C

Sheng (MSW, LCSW, PMH-C) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Perinatal Mental Health-Certified therapist. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her career spans human services, healthcare, and higher education, with extensive experience addressing mental health, trauma, and systems change. From 2018 to 2023, Sheng served as a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Social Work Department and continues to teach continuing education courses on ethics, boundaries, diversity, and leadership. Sheng is the Founder and CEO of Us 2 Behavioral Health Care, a multicultural mental health organization committed to advancing equity and access in behavioral health.