Navigating Ethical Boundaries: Decision Making for Peer Support Specialists and Addiction Counselors

This interactive training covers the 2025 updates to the NAADAC Code of Ethics and provides practical tools for ethical decision-making in behavioral health. Using real-world case studies, participants will explore boundary management, dual relationships, ethical self-disclosure, and strategies to prevent burnout and countertransference. Learn to apply a seven-step decision-making model, use culturally responsive approaches, and maintain client welfare and professional integrity.

Presenter:

Caitlin Hegwood, PhD, LPC-S, MAC, CCTS-I, has served in various capacities throughout her career, including educator, certified recovery coach, and counselor in the field of human services for over a decade. Hegwood has worked in various settings, including community mental health and residential treatment, as well as private practice in Alaska, Idaho, and Nevada. When working with clients, Hegwood combines clinical, evidence-based addiction interventions with trauma-informed self-regulation techniques to reduce symptomatology, relapse potential, and recidivism. She blends her addiction treatment and leadership knowledge to create social change through her work as the Chief Clinical Officer at True North Recovery.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to define key ethical principles and 2025 NAADAC Code of Ethics updates relevant to addiction counseling and peer support.
• Participants will be able to apply a seven-step ethical decision-making model to real-world scenarios involving boundaries, self-disclosure, and dual relationships.
• Participants will be able to identify strategies to prevent burnout and countertransference while maintaining culturally responsive, client-centered care.