Balancing Personas - Professional Role, Personal Identity, and Dual Role in Forensic Settings
Live Webinar Offering
This webinar will be broadcasted LIVE from 10:00 - 11:00 AM PT on February 24, 2026. 

Credit for this course must be claimed by May 24, 2026.
Overview

Description 

Working in forensic settings often poses many ethical, interpersonal, and clinical challenges. Many professionals working in forensic settings struggle to balance providing effective, compassionate treatment for patients within a complex legal context while serving on multidisciplinary teams. Dr. Deal will describe common ethical dilemmas and interpersonal challenges encountered when managing patients in forensic settings. Dr. Deal will provide practical case examples, including a real murder case, that illustrate many of these ideas and provide practical tools for handling various ethical challenges. An audience response system will be used to engage the audience in applying key topics. 

Help us customize this session for you. Fill out this brief anonymous form (under 5 minutes) to submit your case examples and questions for the live discussion.

Format 

Live webinar.

Learning Objectives 

At the completion of the activity, participants will: 

Learners will identify common ethical challenges that arise when treating patients in forensic settings.  

Learners will demonstrate application of effective strategies in challenging ethical and interpersonal situations commonly encountered in forensic settings.  

Learners will identify and utilize new ways of communicating within a multidisciplinary team in forensic settings. 

Outline 

  • Ethics in Forensic Settings 
  • Moral Injury 
  • Case Examples 
  • Workplace Culture and Team Dynamics 
  • Question and Answer 

Target Audience 

Psychiatrist, Resident or Fellow, Medical Student, Physician (Non-Psychiatric), Physician Assistant, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Technician, Pharmacist, Psychologist, Counselor/Therapist, Social Worker 

Instructional Level 
Introductory, Intermediate, Advanced 

Estimated Time to Complete 

Estimated Duration: 1 hour 
Program Release Date: February 24, 2026
Program End Date: February 24, 2026

Ongoing Interdisciplinary Discussion Board 

After completing the course, engage with colleagues in the mental health field through the Webinar Roundtable Topics discussion board. This is an easy way to network and share ideas with other clinicians who participate in this webinar. Access through the discussion tab.  

How to Earn Credit 

After completing the evaluation, participants will have the opportunity to claim their hours of participation and download the appropriate certificate. Physicians may obtain an official CME certificate, other healthcare professionals may receive a CE certificate (as applicable), and all other attendees may generate a certificate of participation. Each certificate will reflect the event date and total hours earned. 

Continuing Education Credit 

In support of improving patient care, American Psychiatric Association (APA) is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.  

Physicians   

The APA designates this live event for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.   

Nurses/Nurse Practitioners   

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) designates this activity for 1.00 Nursing contact hours. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  

Psychiatric Technicians  

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is approved by the California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) as a provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychiatric Technicians (LPTs). Provider Number: 15028 

This course is approved for 1.00 of continuing education for LPTs. 

Pharmacists  

This curriculum has been approved for 1.00 contact hours by the American Psychiatric Association.  The American Psychiatric Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The Universal Activity Number for this program is JA0000145-0000-26-010-L05-P. This learning activity is knowledge based. Your CE credits will be electronically submitted to NABP upon successful completion of the activity. Pharmacists with questions can contact NABP customer service (custserv@nabp.net).   

Psychologists   

Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.  

Social Workers    

As a Jointly Accredited Organization, American Psychiatric Association (APA) is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. APA maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive up to 1.00 ethics continuing education credits. 

***Continuing education requirements vary from state to state. Many state boards grant reciprocity with national accrediting organizations and other state boards. It is the responsibility of each professional to understand the requirements for license renewal or check with the state or national licensing board and/or professional organization to become more familiar with their policies for acceptable continuing education credit. Social workers and Psychologists should contact their regulatory board to determine course approval.    

Faculty and Planner Disclosures 

The American Psychiatric Association adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity - including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others - are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity. 

Faculty: 

  • Morgan T. Deal, M.D., is a double board-certified forensic psychiatrist currently serving as a Senior Clinical Instructor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a Staff Psychiatrist for the Colorado Department of Corrections. After earning his medical degree from UTHealth Houston and completing a fellowship in forensic psychiatry, he has dedicated much of his career to the intersection of mental health and the criminal justice system. Dr. Deal is an active leader in the American Psychiatric Association and SMI CalAdviser, where he chairs workgroups on correctional psychiatry and bias in law enforcement and serves as a forensics expert. 

Program Planners: 

  • John Torous, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Torous has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
  • Kathryn Hanley, APRN, Austin State Hospital. Ms. Hanley has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
  • Megan Ehret, PharmD, BCPP, University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Ehret has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
  • Amy N. Cohen, PhD, American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Cohen has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
  • Sherin Knah, LCSW, Thresholds, Chicago. Ms. Khan has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  
  • Chares Perdue, Psych Tech Planner, California Department of State Hospitals. Mr. Perdue has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.  

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities 

The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance. 

Technical Requirements 

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following: 

The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari 

Internet Explorer 11+ 

This Web site requires JavaScript and session cookies to be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Windows Media Player. 

Optimal System Configuration: 

Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version) 

Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version) 

Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher 

Minimum Requirements: 

Windows PC: 

Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video 

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity |  

Contact support@smicaladviser.org for technical assistance 

Summary
Availability:
Registration Required
Expires on May 24, 2026
Location:
Online Meeting
Date / Time:
Feb 24, 2026 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PST
Credit Offered:
1 CME Credit
1 NCPD Credit
1 Psychology CE Credit
1 Social Work CE Credit
1 Pharmacy CE Credit
1 COP Credit
1 Psych Tech CE Credit
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