The Cost of Being Too Available:
Boundaries, Burnout, and Ethical Red Flags

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2025
10:00 AM-12:30 PM EST
2.5 Ethics CEs

Join New Jersey’s premier ethics consultant Leslie S. Tsukroff, MSW, LCSW for an informative and interactive workshop in which participants will leave this workshop being able to:

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• Recognize at least two risks associated with excessive client accessibility outside of session.​​

• Identify ethical digital and after-hours communication practices based on relevant codes of ethics and best practice standards.

• Describe strategies to set and communicate clear boundaries around availability, digital contact, and emergency protocol in private practice.

Course Description

What begins as “just a quick reply” can unintentionally lead to blurred boundaries, emotional exhaustion, and compromised professional judgement. In the age of constant connectivity, clinicians are often expected to be accessible 24/7—by text, email, portal, or phone. But at what cost—to the clinician? To the client? To the clinical work?

 

This workshop explores the often-overlooked clinical and ethical risks of being too available to clients outside of sessions and beyond the traditional work day.   Participants will examine the benefits, risks and limitations of digital communication tools and implement strategies to establish, communicate and navigate digital interactions professionally and ethically. Through real-world case examples and interactive discussions, attendees will identify the warning signs of  blurred boundaries in a digitally connected world and will gain actionable skills to ethically integrate the use of technology, while preserving clinician well-being and protecting client

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Target Audience
This workshop is designed for clinicians in private or group practice who use text, email, phone or an online portal to communicate with clients.

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Course Content Level

Intermediate

Agenda

Welcome (10 minutes)
Setting the stage (20 minutes)
Informed consent; Boundaries; Codes of ethics, laws, best practice standards 
Technology (25 minutes)
Common challenges, benefits and risks; Communication formats- Social media, E-mail, Text, Portal
Informed consent (25 minutes)
Setting expectations; Policies and procedures 
Break (10 minutes)
Professional boundaries (25 minutes)
Enforcement, reinforcement, navigating interactions, managing online presence; Balancing efficiency and accessibility with modeling healthy boundaries; Establishing a plan and sticking to it
Tools and strategies (25 minutes)
Managing after-hours interactions; Crisis vs. Non-crisis;  Ensure ethical digital communication and after-hours care; Clinician self-care 
Conclusion and Q & A (10 minutes)

Investment

$75.00

 

Location

Zoom- Live, synchronous 

How to Register
Registration
On-line: www.LeslieTsukroff.com
    Register and pay on-line with a credit card    
    
Deadlines, Cancellation/Refund Policies, Complaints, ADA Needs, Questions/Concerns

• If participants have any questions or concerns or are dissatisfied with any part of the registration process, facilities, non-receipt of certificates,  the presenter or the presentation, or any other complaints, they should contact Leslie S. Tsukroff, MSW, LCSW, the program administrator directly @ 973-879-1678 or @ LTsukroffLCSW@Hushmail.com

• In order to assist in the ethical and timely resolution of grievances, Leslie S. Tsukroff, Inc.’s Auxiliary Social Work Consultant, Laura Taylor, MSW, LSW will be actively involved in addressing and resolving all disputes.   

• If the results of the grievance process are unsatisfactory, New Jersey social workers have the option to contact the approving entity, with an option to appeal to their licensing board.

• All complaints will be responded to within 7 days from the receipt of the complaint.

• Full refunds will be given to registrants up until 1 week (7 days) prior to the event.  

• Requests for refunds must be made in writing and mailed to Leslie S. Tsukroff, Inc., 68 North Bridge Street, Somerville, NJ 08876 or via e-mail to LTsukroffLCSW@Hushmail.com.

• Registration Deadlines:  BY MAIL 7 days prior to event. BY E-MAIL 1 day prior to the event. ONLINE- 90 minutes prior to event. 

• Leslie S. Tsukroff, Inc. would be happy to accommodate your ADA Needs.  Please call (973-879-1678) to discuss at least 2 weeks prior to event.

• If you have any questions, please call Leslie S. Tsukroff, MSW, LCSW @ 973-879-1678 or e-mail her @ LTsukroffLCSW@Hushmail.com
   

Course Completion

    1. CEs are awarded to attendees who attend and participate in the entire program and complete an online course evaluation.

    2. Course evaluations will be e-mailed to registrants who attend the entire session, within 30 minutes of the workshop ending. 

    3. Attendees are expected to keep their camera on during the program.

    4. Credit will not be given to attendees who are more than 10 minutes late at the beginning of the session or leave 10 minutes before the end of the session.

    5. Partial CE credits for partial attendance are not provided. 

    6. Certificates will be emailed to participants within 7 business days of course completion.

 

System requirements for virtual webinar:

This live, interactive, synchronous, virtual event will be hosted via Zoom Meeting. Participants will be able to connect using any device as long as they are connected to the internet.  A strong and stable WiFi connection is required for best quality.  Participants are encouraged to make sure they are using the most up-to-date version of Zoom and may be prompted to download or upgrade their Zoom app if using a mobile device.

 

Presenter

Leslie S. Tsukroff, MSW, LCSW is the Founder and Executive Director of Leslie S. Tsukroff, Inc, which encompasses both her private psychotherapy practice and her consulting business, aimed at assisting behavioral health clinicians achieve their business goals.  Leslie hails from a long line of entrepreneurs, following in the footsteps of her grandfathers, uncles, father and her mother.  Prior to launching her own psychotherapy practice in 1999, she worked in the trenches as a child/family preventative services worker, an on-site school mental health counselor, and as staff clinician at a community-based agency.  She gained further invaluable knowledge while developing clinical preventive programs for at-risk youth, spearheading startup programs for non-profits and working as an outpatient care manager during the rise of managed care during the 1990s.  

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Leslie is a recognized authority in professional ethics, risk management and private practice development in New Jersey. Her passion for social work professional ethics grew from her interest in the law and her prior employment at a law firm during college. While she determined early on that a career in law was not the right fit for her, serving on the NASW-NJ Ethics Committee and later being appointed Chairperson presented the opportunity to meld her clinical, ethical and legal worlds.

 

Most recently, she had the honor and privilege of serving on a task force charged with developing a new, comprehensive, and practical document for NASW entitled, “Clinical Social Workers in Private Practice: A Reference Manual.” In addition to providing input on the entire document, Leslie lent her professional ethics and private practice expertise by authoring sections on the subjects of professional wills, retirement and closing a private practice, minor's rights, issues impacting minors whose parents are divorced/separated, business planning, subpoenas, sliding scales, client–social worker practice agreements, informed consent standards and suggested case record forms.

 

With close to 3 decades of giving back to the social work and mental health communities, Leslie has served on various Boards of Directors, written articles, offered pro-bono presentations, and provided low-cost supervision and consultation to mental health professionals throughout the tri-state area.  As a Qualified Clinical Supervisor in New Jersey, she is committed to ensuring future generations of clinical social workers have the necessary skills to practice competently and ethically. Throughout her career she has served on several professional committees/task forces focused on continuing education for social workers, private practitioner concerns, insurance and managed care issues and social work licensure rules and requirements.
 

Leslie conducts engaging training workshops focusing on traditional business practices, risk management, documentation and record-keeping, private practice development, billing, ethical and legal issues and clinical matters. She has a passion for the collaborative learning process, and drawing on her clinical/ethics–related expertise she provides customized clinical, ethical, and private practice building consultations.  

 

In addition to her mental health consulting business, she maintains an office in Somerville, New Jersey and provides remote psychotherapy to clients located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

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