PRESENTER: Ronald Mah, Ph.D, LFMT Topics to be included: Legal and Ethical Issues for psychotherapists Client presentations (personality disorders, abuse survivors, sexualizing therapy, neediness, etc.) Legally and ethically challenging issues (letters, custodial disputes, mandated counseling, etc.), therapy configurations (family, couples, parents and children or teens, etc.). Professional practices (insurance, billing, debts), and Therapist vulnerabilities (ignorance, arrogance, being the "gallant knight: or rescuer, being "special", relational self- medication, etc.). OBJECTIVES: After the presentation the audience will be able to: 1) Identify and describe the 9 categories of therapeutic boundary violations. 2) Identify 5 common client presentations that tens risk ethical and legal problems. 3) Identify 5 common therapy situations that tend to risk ethical and legal problems. ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Ronald Mah, LMFT has a successful private practice (including many adolescents and young children, families and couple) having successfully marketed himself primarily through the use of workshop presentations (presentations no available on dvds; currently working with a publishing company on a new book). He teaches MFT trainings at the Western Institute for Social Research in Berkeley. He has served on the Ethics Board of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapist for the last four years. No confidential information from this experience on the Ethics Board will be shared, however he will offer insights from reviewing and the decision making process at they pertain to therapist and client issues in legal and ethical violations.