7 Hours / 7 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on Ethical Dilemmas and Complex Relationships in Police & Public Safety Psychology is presented by Jeni McCutcheon, PsyD, ABPP & Jocelyn Roland, Ph.D., ABPP, in partnership with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP).

Police and public safety psychology is a specialized practice domain that requires knowledge of the services provided to consumers, an understanding of legal issues associated with service delivery, and cultural competency related to the environments in which practice occurs. 

This program addresses steps to manage ethical dilemmas in accordance with the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Through didactic material and discussion of case examples, participants advance their ability to manage predicaments in this distinct environment. The program discusses all four of the domains of police and public safety psychology (intervention, assessment, consultation, and operations) along with a broad offering of case examples.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe ethical dilemmas and complex relationships in police and public safety psychology
  • 2 Describe dilemmas involving confidentiality, limitations of competence, multiple relationships, and organizational conflict demands
  • 3 Describe a model to apply ethical principles and standards when managing ethical dilemmas
  • 4 Describe the ethical decision making through active case discussion relevant to daily practice in governmental settings
  • 5 Describe diversity factors (e.g., race, culture, sexual orientation) that are relevant in resolving ethical dilemmas and arise in complex relationships

  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for mental health and allied professionals who work with or are interested in police and public safety psychology, with a focus on ethical decision-making and managing professional dilemmas in high-stakes environments. It is suitable for individuals at all stages of their careers who seek to deepen their expertise in this specialized field.

    • Mental Health Professional
    • Psychologist
    • Social Worker
    • Counselor
    • Marriage and Family Therapist
    • Allied Mental Health Professional
    • Professionals working with or consulting for law enforcement and public safety organizations

  • Experience Level

    This training is designed for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals with varying levels of experience in police and public safety psychology.

    Beginner:
    New to police and public safety psychology; seeking foundational knowledge of ethical principles, legal issues, and cultural competency in this specialized domain.

    Intermediate:
    Some experience providing services in police and public safety settings; familiar with basic ethical standards and seeking to deepen understanding of complex dilemmas, confidentiality, and multiple relationships.

    Advanced:
    Extensive experience in police and public safety psychology; seeking advanced strategies for managing nuanced ethical dilemmas, organizational conflicts, and diversity factors in complex relationships.

  • Practice Setting

    Professionals in police and public safety psychology work in dynamic, high-stakes environments that require specialized knowledge of law enforcement culture, legal frameworks, and ethical standards. Their practice settings often involve collaboration with police departments, fire services, emergency medical teams, correctional facilities, and other public safety organizations. These environments demand adaptability, cultural competence, and the ability to navigate complex professional dilemmas, including confidentiality, dual relationships, and organizational pressures. Practitioners may provide direct clinical services, conduct psychological assessments, offer consultation, or participate in operational support, often in settings where rapid decision-making and ethical clarity are critical.

    • Police department wellness or behavioral health units
    • On-site counseling or crisis intervention for first responders
    • Consulting roles within public safety agencies (e.g., policy development, training)
    • Correctional facility mental health services
    • Emergency operations centers during critical incidents
    • Private practice specializing in services for law enforcement and public safety personnel
    • Multidisciplinary teams supporting disaster response or critical incident management
    • Academic or research settings focused on police and public safety psychology

Presented By

Jeni McCutcheon, Psy.D., ABPP, Jeni McCutcheon, Psy.D., PLLC

Jeni McCutcheon, Psy.D., M.S.C.P., ABPP is a licensed psychologist in Arizona and Washington and double board-certified in Clinical Psychology and Police and Public Safety Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. She has worked continuously in the field of police and public safety psychology for the last 24 years. In multiple settings, within agency and in independent practice, she has formed teams and systems for psychological service provision in this psychology specialization area. Services provided include pre-employment evaluations, officer involved shooting, use of force and other post-critical incident services, wellness sessions and interventions, psychotherapy services to personnel and their families, teaching and training, consultation services, and CISM/Peer Support Team selection, development and management services. She has authored multiple chapters on ethics in police and public safety psychology. She is a past President of the American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology and a former Chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Police Psychological Services Section. She taught graduate level classes, in ethics and other areas, at a master's community counseling program for over a decade. She is a past chair of the Ethics Consultation Committee for the Arizona Psychological Association and the Ethics Consultation Committee for the Police Psychological Services Section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), APA’s Division 18, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), as well as the IACP Police Psychological Services Section (PPSS) and the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology (SPCP). Her practice is in Phoenix, Arizona. She is licensed in Arizona and Washington states, and also a PSYPACT psychologist, which allows telehealth practice as a psychologist in multiple other states.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Jeni McCutcheon, Psy.D., ABPP

Presented By

Jocelyn E. Roland, Ph.D., ABPP, Forensic and Clinical Psychologist

Jocelyn E. Roland, Ph.D., ABPP is a licensed psychologist who is board-certified in Police and Public Safety Psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology. For the duration of her 26-year career she has specialized in providing psychological services to law enforcement, dispatch and fire agencies, currently serving over 60 departments primarily in Central California. Her practice includes confidential counseling, critical incident stress/post-shooting debriefing/intervention, preemployment psychological evaluations, fitness-for-duty evaluations, consultation to executives and managers, and is a member of multiple crisis negotiation teams and peer support/CISM programs. She provides training for agencies on a variety of topics, and has taught at sheriff’s academies focusing on law enforcement’s response to the mentally ill. She has authored a chapter on the role peer support programs in law enforcement in an edited text, and published articles on public safety. She will be the President of the American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology beginning January 2020, and is a former Chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Police Psychological Services Section.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Jocelyn E. Roland, Ph.D., ABPP

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Steps to manage ethical dilemmas in accordance with the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

  • Advance their abilities to manage predicaments in this distinct environment

  • Cover the Four domains of police and public safety psychology (intervention, assessment, consultation, and operations)

We are proud to partner with

American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology

American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology

We are proud to partner with The American Board of Police and Public Safety Psychology (ABPPSP) for this training. ABPPSP became a fully affiliated specialty board of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) on October 21, 2011. Police and Public Safety Psychology is concerned with assisting law enforcement and other public safety personnel and agencies in carrying out their missions and societal functions with optimal effectiveness, safety, health, and conformity to laws and ethics. It consists of the application of the science and profession of psychology in four primary domains of practice: assessment, clinical intervention, operational support, and organizational consultation.

Learn More About Our Partner

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).



Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, 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 as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.