Full Course Description

Bringing Your Authentic Self to Work

Many therapists feel they must hide themselves from their clients in order to be effective. They wonder how they can “be real” with their clients to deepen the therapeutic relationship, while also holding clear boundaries needed for treatment to be effective. In this workshop, we’ll explore how therapists can be their authentic selves, both online and in person, while maintaining ethical standards that protect both you and your clients. You’ll discover:

A model for how to show up authentically and use self-disclosure appropriately
How to show up online as a therapist in a way that gets your message out ethically
Crucial countertransference pitfalls with clients that can rupture the therapeutic alliance

Program Information

Objectives

Describe four main types of therapist self-disclosure.
Explain three reasons why boundary issues are an integral part of therapist self-disclosure via social media.
Explain how and why therapist self-disclosure can deepen the therapeutic relationship.
Identify three crucial countertransference pitfalls.

Outline

The four main types of therapist self-disclosure (TSD).
What are your tendencies of TSD orientation
How to develop a usable plan for deciding on self-disclosure in sessions
The three reasons why boundary issues are inherent in TSD via social media.
Assess your own social media
The benefits of self disclosure
The three crucial countertransference pitfalls
Understand common risks and benefits of countertransference
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Target Audience

Psychologist
Physicians
Nurses
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Social Workers

Copyright : 03/21/2024

Ethics and Personal Loss

So many professionals drawn to grief work have experienced their own personal losses. And a growing body of research shows us that self-disclosure can be a tremendous asset in our work with clients. But handled incorrectly it can do more harm than good. In this recording, Litsa Williams, LCSW-C, grief expert and co-founder of whatsyourgrief.com, explores personal loss, countertransference and how to ethically use self-disclosure to enhance your work with grieving clients.

Program Information

Objectives

Investigate potential positive and negative clinical impacts of self-disclosure.
Analyze common types of counter transference in end of life and grief support.
Use techniques to appropriately respond to and manage counter transference in end of life and grief support.
Apply guidelines for ethical therapist self-disclosure to normalize grief and increase collaborative work with grieving clients.

Outline

Assessing the impact of personal grief on clinical work
Current research, risks and limitations
Guidelines for ethical self-disclosure
Addressing counter-transference
Missteps and related problems

Target Audience

Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychiatrists
Psychologists
Psychotherapists
Social Workers
Therapists
Other Helping Professionals

Copyright : 04/29/2022

Ethical Standards for Culturally Competent Practice

Mental health professionals have an ethical responsibility to make every reasonable effort to reduce bias, prejudice and discrimination based on a variety of cultural similarities and differences. Unfortunately, unintentional cultural offenses and misunderstandings often contribute to ethical dilemmas and disconnected personal and professional relationships. In addition, professionals often feel paralyzed by the fear of not knowing enough about other cultures to try to effectively support those different than themselves. This session equips helping professionals in their effort to meet and maintain ethical standards by reducing the likelihood of unintentional cultural offenses and misunderstandings as well as repair relationships damaged by cultural offenses. This relationship-focused session will provide practical language and strategies for reducing tensions and perceived barriers and helping strengthen cross-cultural relationships.

Program Information

Objectives

Develop an attainable goal for ethical cultural competency in cross-cultural professional relationships.
Use healthy diversity language to avoid division and increase cohesion among culturally diverse families and communities.
Utilize strategies for overcoming common barriers to ethical culturally competent mental health care.

Outline

An Attainable Goal for Ethical Cultural Competency
Conveying Value of Varying Cultural Identities, Expressions, & Needs
The Ethical Significance of Culturally Competent Language Usage
Practical Strategies for Reducing & Addressing Cultural Offenses
Research, Risks and Treatment Limitations

Target Audience

Counselors
Educators
Marriage and Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Social Workers
Other Mental Health Professionals

Copyright : 02/24/2023

Ethics

Some tough ethical situations can’t be taught in school. They can only be learned through personal experience or from hearing of others’ personal experiences.

This recording will teach you how to manage 10 of the most challenging ethical situations a mental health professional can face. These real-world issues are the greatest liability and licensing board threats and arise far more frequently than most realize.

Purchase today and:

Learn How to Recognize and Avoid the Most Challenging Ethical Traps
Hear Case Studies that Provide Examples of What to Do and What Not to Do
Obtain Tips and Techniques that Can Be Implemented to Prevent Ethical Malpractice
Learn from a Colleague Who Has Served as an Expert Witness in hundreds of Court and Licensing Board Cases Nationwide

Program Information

Objectives

Identify high-risk areas for mental health professionals, including confidentiality, professional boundaries, dual relationships, conflicts of interest, and documentation, among others.
Establish how to maintain ethical standards when utilizing technology to deliver services remotely (for example, using video, social media, text, and email), communicate with clients, and manage and store sensitive information.
Apply practical, ethics-based protocols to protect clients and prevent lawsuits and licensing board complaints.

Outline

How Would You Handle These Ethical Challenges?

1) Failure to Protect Confidentiality

Scenario – A clinical psychologist disclosed clinical records in response to a subpoena without proper authorization.

2) Not Properly Balancing Minors & Parents Rights

Scenario – The mother of a 15-yearold client requested a full copy of the psychotherapist’s notes.

3) Self-Disclosure – A Slippery Slope

Scenario – A client in an addictions treatment program asked his clinician whether he is in recovery and who he voted for in the last presidential election.

4) Challenging Dual Relationship Traps

Scenario – The clients of a marriage and family therapist offered her the free use of their vacation home.

5) Sticky Financial Issues - Billing, Fees and Gifts

Scenario – A client who was an unemployed painter had a large unpaid counseling bill and offered to paint the counselor’s home to pay off the debt.

6) Duty to Warn – When to AND When Not to

Scenario – A clinical social worker in a mental health center counseled a client who made threats against an unidentified estranged partner.

7) Inadequate Informed Consent

Scenario – A clinical psychologist provided distance counseling services to a client who filed a licensing board complaint alleging substandard informed consent protocols.

8) Social Media Common Ethical Challenges

Scenario – A case manager in a mental health agency received a Facebook “friend” request from a client with whom he often exchanged text messages using a messaging app that is not HIPAA compliant.

9) Distance Counseling

Scenario – The client of an addictions counselor in private practice moved to another state and asked the counselor to continue providing services to him using Skype and text messaging.

10) Complex Documentation Decisions

Scenario – The client of a mental health counselor divulged that he had committed a murder several years earlier while under the influence of illegal substances.

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Marriage & Family Therapists
Psychologists
Psychiatrists
Case Managers
Addiction Counselors
Therapists
Nurses
Other Mental Health Professionals

Psychopharmacology for Therapists

Many of our therapy clients are either taking psychiatric medications or curious about them. That means knowing how to talk about medications as a non-prescriber is a key part of our therapist role. But with over 150 different types of psychiatric meds available, where do you begin? This workshop offers an easy introduction to meds that covers a wide range of clients, approaches, and issues—from substance use disorders to rapid-acting treatments to psychedelics. Together, we’ll examine the latest advances, including newly approved drugs like Auvelity for depression and Zurzuvae for postpartum depression. You’ll also explore:

How to tailor your therapy approach and techniques based on what medication a client is using
Common misunderstandings about psychiatric medications and how to talk to clients about what medications can and can’t do
Specific lifestyle changes you can recommend that often enhance medication response
Circumstances under which medications work best, and ones in which they don’t

Program Information

Objectives

Describe the 6 categories of psychiatric medications.
Categorize lifestyle factors that enhance or interfere with medication response.
Recall which medications have long-term benefits and which are better used short term.
Discuss the risks and benefits of newly approved medications.

Outline

Psych meds: 150 versions of 6 basic types
Medication names: What we call them doesn’t actually tell us what they do
What medication can and can’t do
Lifestyle factors that interfere with medication response
The rise of psychedelics
Rapid treatment vs long-term prevention
What’s new in 2024
A placebo-positive environment
Risks and limitations

Target Audience

Psychologist
Physicians
Nurses
Counselors
Marriage and Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Social Workers

Eco-Therapy in Action: Addressing Climate Concerns in Clinical Work

Last summer was this country’s hottest on record. Worldwide, all living creatures suffered through excessive droughts, heatwaves, and a wildfire season that only halfway through the calendar year was worse than any in previous year. With two-thirds of the population anxious about climate change, and more than half worried about its effects on their mental health, becoming a climate-aware therapist is a competency we should all be considering. The mainstay of good ecotherapy is your own “environmental identity.” This self-concept and sense of relationship with nature provides the base on which to build client-specific, ecotherapy interventions. In this experiential session, you’ll discover how to:

Explore one's environmental identity, beliefs, and experiences
Adapt your existing clinical orientation and skill set to address clients’ environmental and climate concerns
Assess your clients’ sources of environmental well-being and resilience as well as their sense of environmental traumas or injustice
Integrate ethics, context, and messaging when applying environmental interventions with diverse individuals

Program Information

Objectives

Analyze recent research on mental health impacts of climate change and other environmental issues.
Catalogue common responses and stressors regarding ecological issues and practice skills for responding clinically.
Differentiate between (1) normal feelings of anxiety and despair regarding environmental issues and (2) clinical anxiety, depression and adjustment disorders.
Practice adapting common therapy approaches to include ecological concerns.
Demonstrate specialized approaches for unique populations including ways to support environmental professionals and developmental needs of children and young people.

Outline

Mental health impacts of climate change and environmental issues
Diversity, equity, and social justice issues related to environmental issues
Assessments for identifying links between nature values and sustainability actions
Differentiating between normal eco-stressors and clinical significant and / or diagnosable eco-anxiety or trauma
Therapeutic interventions for ecological related mental distress
Demonstrations and role-plays of eco- and climate-conscious therapy, ethics, practices, risks, and limitations
Working with special populations
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Addiction Counselors
Physicians
Physician Assistants
Nurses
Nurse Practitioners
Other Mental Health Professionals