Consulting/Forensics

Ofer Zur, Ph.D. is an experienced ethics, clinical and forensic consultant in mental health related issues. As noted in his Curriculum Vitae, he has been teaching Ethics at the graduate and post-graduate levels for over 25 years, and he has published extensively in the area of standard of care as it pertain to issues such as confidentiality, record keeping, scope of practice, diagnosis, treatment and the broad area of therapeutic boundaries. He was the owner and director of the Zur Institute from 1995 to Ap./2020, and he has been consulting with psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, counselors and attorneys on issues of boundaries and the standard of care regarding licensing board complaints, personal injury and medical malpractice cases for over 25 years. In 2021, I received authorization from the Minnesota Supreme Court to prepare an amicus brief regarding the standard of care for psychotherapy.

Dr. Zur's Consulting Fees

Dr. Zur brings a unique, non-dogmatic and creative approach to his consultations. For his CV, click here. His graduate teaching and broad clinical experience, combined with extensive research and professional publications, make him a most qualified authority on the clinical, ethical and legal aspects of standard of care of psychotherapy and counseling.

Summary Of Dr. Zur's Unique And Outstanding Qualifications:

• He has trained thousands of psychotherapists in his ethics classes and workshops at graduate and post-graduate levels for over twenty years.
• In 2021 he was asked to submit an amicus brief to Minnesota Supreme Court regarding psychotherapy and mental health standards.
• He has been the champion of the fight against managed care abuses and a champion of Managed-Care-Free Private Practice.
• He co-edited the landmark book, Dual Relationships and Psychotherapy, published by Springer Pub. in 2002.
• In 2003 he authored the breakthrough best seller, The HIPAA Compliance Kit, distributed by W. W. Norton.
• When he was the director of the Zur Institute, Inc. for over 20 years (until 2020) the online continuing education program had more than 125 courses and was approved by American Psychological Association (APA), National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) and other accrediting bodies. Board Approvals
• His book, Boundaries In Psychotherapy, is the most comprehensive book on therapeutic boundaries published in 2007 by American Psychological Association, APA Books.
• His latest book: Zur, O. (Ed.) (2017) Multiple Relationships in Psychotherapy and Counseling: Unavoidable, Common and Mandatory Dual Relations in Therapy. New York: Routledge. The book debunks the slowly fading away myth that “all dual relationships are unethical” and explores the complex meaning of the statement that “not all dual relationships are unethical. It covers the widest range of multiple relationships to include, mandated, unavoidable and common dual relationships in therapy.
• Dr. Zur is a renowned expert in the area of standard of care and therapeutic boundaries in mental health related services and is one of the most prolific writers on the topics of dual relationships, sexual and non-sexual touch in therapy, self-disclosure, gifts, bartering, fees, telehealth, etc. Many of his publications are available online.
• His work has been instrumental in changing the professional attitudes and understanding of the importance of flexibility and therapeutic context in legal, ethical and clinical applications of multiple relationships and other psychotherapeutic boundaries.
• His writing has been a major factor in dispelling myths, such as the erroneous beliefs that dual relationships are inherently unethical, that multiple relationships and non-sexual touch inevitably lead to sexual relationships and that clinically appropriate boundary crossings lead to illegal and unethical boundary violations.
• He has been one of the most outspoken critics of the application of rigid risk-management practices, which are often done at the expense of clinical integrity and quality patient care.