Rural Mental Health: Navigating Boundaries and Upholding Ethics in Small Town Practice
Enroll in the Online Self-Study and complete the training on your own schedule.
3 Ethics CE hours available for behavioral health clinicians completing the Online Self-Study
Ethical dilemmas don’t stop at the city limits. For rural clinicians, navigating boundaries, dual relationships, and confidentiality comes with unique complications—and high stakes.
This ethics course offers the clarity and guidance rural mental health professionals need to practice confidently and ethically in small-town settings.
Register for the 3 Ethics CE Online Self-Study for $90
Payment Options are listed at checkout
Register for the 0 CE Training Video for $45
Payment Options are listed at checkout
Led by Dr. Amy Marschall, a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in rural and telehealth settings, this training draws on both her academic knowledge and real-world insights. Dr. Marschall is a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming clinician and the author of Telemental Health with Kids Toolbox and Clinical Documentation with Children and Adolescents. Her deep understanding of ethical care in close-knit communities makes her an ideal guide through the complexities of rural mental health practice.
Dr. Marschall takes a practical, case-based approach to teaching. By grounding ethical concepts in real scenarios and board-specific guidance (APA, NASW, ACA, AAMFT), she helps clinicians build the confidence and skillset needed to make sound ethical decisions even in gray areas.
You’ll explore how to uphold ethical standards in contexts where dual relationships are unavoidable, boundaries are blurry, and confidentiality is hard to preserve. The course will also examine the limits of competence in isolated environments and offer strategies for updated informed consent practices, managing risk, and maintaining clinical objectivity when living in the same town as your clients.
Instructor
Amy Marschall, Psy.D.
Dr. Marschall earned her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut. She completed her pre-doctoral internship through the National Psychology Training Consortium and her post-doctoral residency at Family Psychological Center, PA.
Dr. Marschall has been in practice since 2016 and currently owns a private practice, RMH-Therapy, where she provides therapy primarily to children and adolescents and psychological evaluations. Her clinical specializations include trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming care, trauma therapy, autism, and ADHD. She also provides ADHD assessments through ADHD Online and therapy services through Spring Health. She teaches continuing education through PESI, Spring Health, and the Telehealth Certification Institute. Dr. Marschall is certified in telemental health and is the author of Telemental Health with Kids Toolbox and Telemental Health with Kids Toolbox: Volume 2.
She is also the author of the following:
- I Don’t Want To Be Bad: A CBT Workbook for Kids, Parents, and the Professionals who Help Them
- Clinical Documentation with Children and Adolescents
- A Year of Resiliency: 465 Journal Prompts to Become Your Strongest Self
- Armani Doesn’t Feel Well: A Book to Help Sick Kids.
She created a website, Resiliency Mental Health, to provide resources for therapists and anyone who wants to learn more about mental health.
Key Takeaways:
- Navigate complex ethical decisions: Learn how to address dual relationships, boundary challenges, and conflicts of interest in rural settings.
- Apply professional codes with confidence: Strengthen your ability to use APA, NASW, ACA, and AAMFT codes of ethics in everyday clinical dilemmas.
- Mitigate risk while supporting care: Implement strategies for informed consent, risk management, and identifying competence limitations.
Why this course?
- Tailored for rural professionals: Unlike general ethics training, this course addresses the real-world dilemmas unique to rural and small-town clinicians.
- Trusted expert guidance: Dr. Marschall brings years of direct experience in rural mental health and telemental health, making this course both insightful and immediately applicable.
- Accredited and practical: Earn 3 Ethics CE hours while gaining practical tools you can apply immediately in your practice.
Learning Objectives:
- Analyze ethical dilemmas common to rural mental health settings, including dual relationships, conflicts of interest, and boundary challenges.
- Apply APA, NASW, ACA, and AAMFT ethical codes to clinical decision-making in rural practice contexts.
- Evaluate informed consent, competence limitations, and risk mitigation strategies in small-town mental health scenarios.
Join us for this vital ethics training designed specifically for rural behavioral health professionals. You’ll walk away with greater clarity, confidence, and strategies for delivering ethically sound care—right where your community needs it most.
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Availability:
From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.
Who Should Attend:
This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.
Teaching Methods:
This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.
How to attend:
Directions for completing a course can be found by clicking here.
This program was recorded on December 5, 2025.
Testimonials
Iveyana Kiara Smith
Jessy Hainbach
Bryant Wilson
Ben Keyser
Mei Chan
Meghan Co, LCSW-C, LICSW