Social Justice, Ethics and Multicultural Issues for Mental Health Professionals: Clinical Strategies for Inclusivity, Empowerment and Improved Treatment Outcomes

CPD

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Faculty

Lisa Connors, PhD, LCPC, LPC, NCC Related seminars and products

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Lisa Connors, PhD, LCPC, LPC, NCC is a licensed clinical professional counselor (MD), licensed professional counselor (PA), national certified counselor, board-certified coach, master addiction counselor, certified clinical trauma professional, and certified grief-informed professional. She is also a fellow in thanatology.

Ms. Connors has been in the human services/social work/counseling/addiction fields for over 30 years. She has worked in a variety of settings providing services to the despondent and downtrodden. Ms. Connors works tirelessly to help others reach their fullest potential in life, helping and empowering others who have been oppressed, stigmatized, marginalized, and victimized. Her greatest passion is working with individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, substance use and mental health disorders, violence/abuse/trauma, grief and loss, and racial and social injustices.

Ms. Connors has served on the Board of Directors for the Maryland Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and is the past co-chair of the HIV Planning Group for the state of Maryland. Currently, she serves as the interim secretary and treasurer for the Pennsylvania Association of Addiction Professionals. In addition to her clinical work, Ms. Connors is a college professor at Anne Arundel Community College. She is a member of many organizations, including ACA, NASW, NAADAC, and ADEC. Ms. Connors earned her Master of Arts in professional counseling from Liberty University, her Master of Divinity from Howard University, and her PhD in psychology at Walden University.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Lisa Connors maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with Anne Arundel Community College, University of Maryland, and The Institute for Life Coach Training. She receives compensation as a consultant. Lisa Connors receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Lisa Connors is a member of the Maryland Association of Addiction Professionals, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and the American Counseling Association (ACA).

Objectives

1. Argue how social class and race can impact clinical assessment and treatment of mental health issues.
2. Conclude how the values and biases of clinicians can influence treatment and therapeutic outcomes.
3. Appraise how mental health clinicians can better understand clients within their social and cultural environments to avoid misunderstanding that can harm the therapeutic alliance.
4. Demonstrate how clinicians can more comfortably and capably discuss issues surrounding race and economic issues that clients can be reluctant to talk about.
5. Determine how clinicians can help clients overcome cultural shame for improved engagement in mental health treatment.
6. Devise two ways clinicians can reduce barriers to mental health treatment that face minority groups and disenfranchised people. 

Outline

How Client Identity and Systemic Dynamics Impact Assessment and Treatment 

• Social class, race, ethnicity, poverty and religion
• Gender identity and sexuality
• Myths, oppression, stereotypes and microaggressions
• Power dynamics of counselling that can threaten minority groups
• How clinician’s values and biases influence therapeutic outcomes
• Culturally competent assessment techniques
• Research implications and limitations

Ethics and the Equal Treatment of Clients 

• Obligations to challenge social injustice
• Respecting the inherent dignity and worth of the person
• Valuing the importance of human relationships

Clinical Strategies: That Meet Clients Where They Are: Proven Approaches for Greater Empathy and Effectiveness 

• How to understand clients within their social and cultural environments
• Strategies to recognize your:
  • Inherent biases
  • Histories and generational influences
• Self-assessment – identify personal values that can influence therapeutic outcomes
• Techniques to work with inter-generational and historical trauma
• Crisis intervention strategies

Be a Change Agent: How to Advocate for Your Clients Individually, Communally, and Globally 

• Should clinicians hold a neutral position?
• Strategies to reduce barriers to accessing mental health treatment
• Overcome cultural shame surrounding mental health issues
• Tips for working with racial stress and trauma
• Connect clients to resources, agencies and funding
• Intervention at the system level

Case Scenarios 

• 32 year-old Latino female with PTSD
• 46 year-old woman originally from Pakistan with depression
• 38 year-old Native American male with suicidal ideation and substance abuse issues
• 30 year-old Latino male with HIV referred for case management services
• 18 year-old Asian American female with eating disorders

Target Audience

• Social Workers
• Counsellors
• Psychologists
• Psychotherapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counsellors
• Case Managers
• Therapists
• Nurses
• Physicians
• Other Mental Health Professionals