I developed this course because I believe that there are too many unspoken conversations that we need to be having with each other, our clients, and, maybe most importantly, with ourselves in regards to ethics, boundaries, power differentials, and consent. These conversations remain largely unventured in our communities because we are essentially afraid to have them. We are often bullied or shamed into agreeing with the outspoken or majority opinion holders in our classes, Facebook groups, and peer or staff discussions. So we rarely have the support and insights that we need from our peers to deal with the ethical and consent quandaries that surround us.

In this class, you will learn how to successfully navigate some of the most difficult and complex situations in the most integrous, honest, and compassionate manner possible. 

This will not be an easy class to participate in, you will have to come up with your own answers, and none of them are easy if you are being honest with yourself, as well as the rest of the class. 

This is probably the most difficult class that I teach, but it is also one of the most rewarding. In order to facilitate this course, I have created a specific set of conversational guidelines that will allow each participant to ask the hard questions that they have and to speak their truth without fear of judgment or rejection from the other participants.

Learning Objectives

• Upon the completion of this class, the student will be able to:
• Understand what professional and personal boundaries are made up of and develop (or redevelop) a starting framework for what theirs are. 
• Understand the dynamics of professional and personal power differentials and be able to have a discussion from both sides of the differential. 
• Understand what mutually informed consent is and know how to ask for someone else’s consent as well as how to withhold and/or take back their consent from someone else.
• Understand what qualifies as, and the value of, clear, professional, and non-shaming communication

Learning Outcomes

• Upon completion of this class, students will: 
• Know how to communicate their personal and professional boundaries to clients, coworkers, employers, and employees. Clearly, professionally, and without using shaming language 
• Understand what mutual informed consent is and be able to thoroughly explain it to their clients. 
• Know how to empower their clients to use their voice to give and withhold consent as well as to verbalize what they want and do not want during a session.