This course is designed to help mental health professionals navigate the complex ethical and clinical challenges of working with clients who are in therapy after committing violent acts. While this course will not be teaching clinicians how to assess dangerousness or manage crisis situations, we will explore the ethical, counter-transferential, and practical challenges of working with people who have histories of violence. We will be exploring a few categories of clients who commit physical and/or sexually violent acts: 1. Adolescents who have a history of violence in the community, including at school. 2. Adults who have a recent history of domestic abuse against family members. 3. Adults recently released from incarceration for committing a violent crime.

Upon completion of the webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify the ethical principles and professional responsibilities that arise when providing psychotherapy to clients with histories of violent behavior.
• Differentiate the clinical, ethical, and treatment considerations associated with working with adolescents involved in community violence, adults who have perpetrated domestic violence, and adults recently released from incarceration following violent offenses.
• Recognize common countertransference reactions that may emerge when treating clients who have committed violent acts and apply evidence-informed strategies for managing these reactions to support effective clinical care.
• Apply ethical decision-making models to complex clinical scenarios involving clients with histories of physical or sexual violence while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries and therapeutic effectiveness.
• Evaluate factors that may influence therapeutic alliance, clinician bias, and treatment engagement when working with individuals who have committed violent acts.
• Develop ethically sound approaches for balancing empathy, accountability, and professional responsibility in the treatment of clients with histories of violence.