Program Summary:  This course examines key ethical considerations related to the use of mental health chatbots and highlights a 5-principle ethical framework that includes the principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, respect for autonomy, justice, and explicability.  The course applies this five-principle framework to issues of human involvement, evidence base, data collection, storage and use, and unexpected disclosure of crimes.   Four ethical recommendations are offered to guide the design and use of mental health chatbots.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.
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Program Summary:  This course presents a qualitative research study of 19 individuals and their experiences with generative AI chatbots for mental health.  The study identified four themes related to the participants’ experiences that include: emotional sanctuary, insightful guidance, joy of connection, and comparing the AI therapist with human therapy.  Participants discussed both positive and negative experiences with generative AI chatbots.  Perceptions of generative AI chatbots, rule-based chatbots, and human therapy are compared.

This course is recommended for social workers and counselors and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice. 
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Program Summary:  The reading for this course asks important legal and ethical questions related to the emergence of AI in healthcare.  For example, should the final decisions in medical matters depend on human judgment alone? What does informed consent look like when treatment includes opaque, unintelligible AI algorithms? How can a patient challenge a decision if the health professional cannot clearly explain how or why they proposed a certain treatment? What probability of error is acceptable in AI models?  Who should be held responsible for AI errors?  This course examines the main ethical and legal considerations for AI development in healthcare and highlights ethical principles of privacy, confidentiality, autonomy, informed consent, beneficence, and nonmaleficence.  Issues of bias, responsibility, liability, and the transformation of work are also discussed.  This course identifies a need for healthcare workers to expand their AI competence with a special emphasis placed on ethical and legal considerations.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.
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Program Summary:  This course explores the benefits and ethical implications of generative AI’s growing presence in mental healthcare.  Using a framework of biomedical ethics, the ethical principles of patient autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and privacy are each highlighted.  The course examines generative AI tools and offers questions for future research. The course includes an explainer of artificial intelligence tools and resources.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.
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Program Summary:  This course explores the history of artificial intelligence, the use of algorithms, and the influence of algorithms on areas of healthcare, housing, employment, and criminal justice.  The course highlights concerns related to the implementation of AI that include injustices to marginalized groups.  The course outlines four ways for social workers to advocate for digital inclusion and social justice:  resist, regulate, reimagine, and reinforce.  Examples are given.

“According to the NASW Code of Ethics, social workers must challenge social injustice and address social problems (NASW, 2021).”

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.
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Program Summary:  This course explores current AI trends and future prospects for enhancing mental health.  The course examines the tranformative role of AI in mental healthcare and highlights applications in diagnosis, treatment, therapy delivery, monitoring, and follow-up.  Current examples of AI tools are provided, including chatbot-based therapy, emotional health apps, and smart mental health tools.  Strengths, limitations, and ethical considerations are discussed.

This course is recommended for social workers and counselors and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.   Read the complete description of this course…..

Program Summary:  This course explores social work boundary issues and ethical conflicts that result from a growing use of technology and remote contact with clients.  The course examines three forms of boundary challenges encountered by social workers in the digital age:  ethical judgments, ethical mistakes, and ethical misconduct.  Case examples are given.  Boundary issues related to intimacy, emotional and dependency needs, personal gain, altruism, and unanticipated circumstances are identified.  The NASW Code of Ethics and the NASW Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice are discussed and offer updated ethics and technology standards for social workers.

“With growth in the use of communication technology in various aspects of social work practice, social workers need to be aware of the unique challenges that may arise in relation to the maintenance of confidentiality, informed consent, professional boundaries, professional competence, record keeping, and other ethical considerations” (NASW Code of Ethics).

NASW Code of Ethics:  https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

NASW Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice:  https://www.socialworkers.org/Practice/NASW-Practice-Standards-Guidelines/Standards-for-Technology-in-Social-Work-Practice

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.
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Program Summary:  This course examines the personal and professional experiences of mental health professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic and the rapid pivot to telehealth.  36 mental health professionals participated in interviews and highlighted the following themes:  responding to the pandemic, introducing telehealth, impact on professional practice, and the future of telehealth.  The course explores the strengths and weaknesses related to the adoption of telehealth during the Covid-19 pandemic, implications for practice, and the future of telehealth.

This course is recommended for social workers and counselors and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  
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Program Summary:  This course uses communication theory to explore the benefits and challenges of communication technology on the social worker-client relationship. The course examines the importance of resolving ethical issues related to ICT use, digital literacy, and social work practice.  The following ethical issues are highlighted: boundaries, client well-being, professional competence, privacy, confidentiality, cultural competence, and social justice.  Key factors for selecting communication tools are given.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.

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Program Summary:   This course examines social work’s accelerated shift to technology and telehealth during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The authors conducted a qualitative study of 37 social service agencies and present their findings highlighting seven themes:  a rapid transition to virtual services, the need to improve infrastructure, new technology and innovation, barriers, benefits, funding, and changes that will be kept.  The course highlights the need for further research, advocacy, and education.

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, and therapists.
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Program Summary:  This course explores the impact of ICT use on clinical practice during the Covid-19 pandemic and its affect on social work core values, including client well-being, confidentiality, privacy, boundaries, and advocacy.  The ICT expansion importantly allowed social workers to continue their therapeutic relationships with clients when it would not have been possible otherwise.  Many clients responded well to the increased flexibility and creativity offered by ICT.  Other clients experienced critical barriers, such as lack of internet access and poor internet literacy.  Ethical dilemmas were experienced and examples are given.

This course is recommended for social workers and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.  This course is not recommended for NBCC ethics credit.

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Program Summary:  Telehealth modalities have been shown to increase access to treatment and improve health outcomes for individuals with severe mental illness and substance use disorder.  This course examines how telehealth modalities can effectively treat individuals with SMI and SUD.  Examples of evidence-based telehealth treatment interventions include Behavioral Activation Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, and Medication-Assisted Treatment.  Implementation strategies and considerations are explored.

This course is recommended for social workers, counselors, and therapists and is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels of practice.

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