Behavioral Health Ethics for Agency Settings

Room Paradise Ballroom B


Speaker(s): 

Terri Cooley-Bennett, LCSW, LSCSW, CCDP-D, TTS

Description: 

Providing clinical services to vulnerable populations is a common responsibility for practitioners in agency settings. Agency practice increases the potential for vicarious liability and other ethical considerations that may not be present in private practice. “Imputed Negligence” or the “doctrine of respondeat superior” means that practioners can be held accountable for the unethical behaviors of colleagues, in the workplace (Houston-Vega; Nuehring; & Daguio, 1997). When an employee, supervisee, or colleague displays improper conduct toward a client, visitor, or student; supervisors, leaders, colleagues, and supervisees may be held accountable. Vicarious Liability means that practitioners are liable and ethically responsible and obligated to ensure that clients not harmed. If a colleague is unethical, practitioners are obligated to address the situation.
Adequately managing ethical dilemmas and preventing ethical violations is an important aspect of practice and aides in providing best customer service to clients, patients, guests, colleagues, and others.

Objectives

  • Provide overview of common ethical principles related to behavioral health practice in an agency setting
  • Define Vicarious Liability and discuss the variety of ways that professionals and clinicians can be held accountable for Vicarious Liability or “imputed negligence”
  • Consider potential ethical dilemmas that arise from Vicarious Liability and introduce options for managing the dilemma
  • Examine strategies and best practices for preventing and managing complaints and ethical dilemma in practice

Behavioral Health Ethics for Private Practice

Room Paradise Ballroom B


Speaker(s): 

Terri Cooley-Bennett, LCSW, LSCSW, CCDP-D, TTS

Description: 

Providing clinical services to vulnerable populations is a common responsibility for practitioners in private practice. Because of the unique challenges experienced, opportunities for ethical dilemmas and even ethical complaints are not uncommon. It is of utmost importance that professionals abide by ethics codes, practice ethically, and apply models of decision making when ethical dilemmas and complaints arise in practice.
This workshop will provide an overview of common ethical principles and will examine the current trends and research regarding ethical complaints and dilemmas in practice and will discuss strategies for preventing and managing these. This workshop meets the ethics requirements for licensure.

Objectives

  • Provide overview of common ethical principles related to behavioral health practice
  • Discuss trends and current research regarding ethical complaints in counseling practice and behavioral health with a focus on private practice
  • Examine strategies and best practices for preventing and managing complaints and ethical dilemmas in practice

Are U OK? – An Anti-Stigma Campaign and Healing Sensory Experience.

Room Paradise Ballroom A


Speaker(s): LJ Punch, MDTJ Barber ATR, LPC, Indigo Hann, Sandra Mayen, Amy Miller

Description: 

During this session we will introduce our Are U OK? campaign which serves as an invitation to reframe the concept of drug use into a framework of trauma. This session will present a hands on experience of responding to trauma, overdose, and stress through a sensory experience to include acudetox acupuncture, relaxation techniques, and training on how to approach conversations around overdose risk. #TraumaIsTheRealDrug

Objectives

  • Learn the history of acudetox
  • Name three sources of sensory input for relaxation
  • Identify the presence of trauma in day to day habits
  • Experience deep relaxation

Keynote: Unbreaking Broken Trust – a Holistic Approach to Trauma Healing and Prevention.

Paradise Ballroom ABC


 

Speaker(s): LJ Punch, MD

Description:

Power4STL is the home of The Bullet Related Injury Clinic and The T, a holistic harm reduction program. During this presentation, founder and executive director, Dr. LJ Punch, will share the Power4STL theory of trauma and approach to holistic healing care. This includes a narrative shifting approach to the impact of bullets and needles in the lives of communities experiencing acute and chronic violence.

Objectives

  • Identify the unique impact of community violence
  • Define Bullet Related Injury
  • Acknowledge symptoms of broken trust
  • Identify opportunities to create a healing environment for those experiencing community violence

The Rainbow Road to Recovery

Paradise Ballroom A


 

Speaker(s): Nesbitt, Donna, BA

Description:

This presentation serves to examine the unique intricacies regarding substance use and recovery among the LGBTQIA+ population. This includes examining specific contributing factors to the prevalence of substance use disorders in the community, barriers to receiving proper treatment, and protocols agencies can implement within their own programs so as to better serve high-risk individuals. The hope is to increase competency regarding inclusivity and guide in providing an affirmative space so that it may encourage others to seek help.

Objectives

  •  Define the various subgroups within the LGBTQIA+ population.
  • Review the history of the LGBTQIA+ population.
  • Explore contributing factors to substance use disorders among the LGBTQIA+ community.
  • Identify barriers to accessing effective and competent treatment programs for recovery.
  • Develop agency protocols aimed at increasing inclusion, affirmation, and retention of LGBTQIA+ clients.

Keynote: Living Your Best Life: Elevate Your Professional and Personal Well-being!

Paradise Ballroom ABC


 

Speaker(s): Susie Arbo

Description:

“Living Your Best Life!” is an energizing and motivating presentation, focusing on how to be the best version of yourself you can be. Whether you work in community mental health, a substance abuse field, a school, private practice, a prison, or a hospital setting, “Living Your Best Life” is designed to help even the most seasoned clinicians and administration professionals continue to learn to care for themselves mentally and emotionally and find joy in their career.  

This motivating session will focus on self care, time management skills, stress reduction, and learning to find a balance between your work and home life.  With the demand being so high since the pandemic in mental health professions, we don’t want to see our fellow colleges burnout.   This presentation will give attendees valuable tools they can use immediately in their professional and personal life, which in turn, not only helps themselves, but also benefits the people they live and work with.  This is an empowering presentation that will inspire mental health professionals to feel positive about their life and rekindle and enhance their passion for this caring profession. 

Objectives

  • After participating in the session, attendees will have learned 10 self care strategies.  
  • After participating in this session, attendees will learn 5 coping strategies to manage stress and their time effectively.  
  • After participating in this session, attendees will learn 5 techniques to help them identify balance between personal and their professional life. 

Cradling Minds, Shaping Futures: A Journey into the Heart of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health

Room Leeward 74-75


Speaker(s)

Description

Join us for an insightful presentation delving into the fundamentals of infant and early childhood mental health. We’ll navigate the critical definitions that form the foundation of this field, providing a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges and nuances involved in nurturing the mental well-being of our youngest minds. From developmental milestones to risk factors, we’ll explore the key components that shape early emotional health.
The session will come to life with a compelling case presentation, offering a real-world glimpse into the complexities faced by infants, young children, and their caregivers. We’ll then shift our focus to discuss various treatment options, emphasizing the importance of early intervention and evidence-based practices. Together, we’ll explore the role of caregivers, educators, home visitors, law makers, health professionals, and mental health professionals in creating a supportive environment for optimal mental health and lifestyle outcomes.

Objectives

  • Define infant and early childhood mental health
  • Define infant and early childhood mental health
  • Describe ways in which professionals can support the wellbeing of young children
  • Identify the importance and long-term outcomes of optimal early health

Healing Hearts, Reuniting Families: Exploring Parental Trauma and Attachment in Foster Care

Room Leeward 74-75


Speaker(s)

Description

This presentation aims to increase understanding of infant mental health within the context of the foster care system. It explores the lasting effects of early trauma on both parental functioning and child development, emphasizing the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Practical strategies to support parents and caregivers in meeting case plan requirements are discussed, highlighting the importance of trauma-informed approaches and individualized support.

Objectives

1. Increase knowledge and understanding of infant mental health in the context of the foster care system
2. Explore the long-term impact of early trauma on parental functioning and child development
3. Identify strategies to support parents/caregivers in meeting case plan requirements

Meeting the Need: Early Child Mental Health

Room Leeward 74-75


Speaker(s)

Description

I will discuss early child interventions that I have worked and continue to work on.

Objectives

  • Identify successful elements of Early Child Positive Behavior Supports Initiative in Boone County
  • Understand Child Parent Psychotherapy
  • Describe elements of Positive Parenting program

Families of Treatment Refusers: The Neglected Victims of Untreated Mental Health Problems

Room Wingate 60-61


Speaker(s)

Description

A substantial portion of individuals with mental health problems do not seek the help they need. Family and friends struggle to understand why, especially when the disorder negatively impacts their lives. They may wrongfully conclude the treatment refuser is willfully choosing to be impaired, which can lead them to react in ways that are counterproductive, resulting in substantial family conflict. This presentation explains why some people behavior in ways that are incompatible with recovery. It introduces a concept called recovery avoidance and offers suggestions for how to respond to it constructively.
This interactive presentation will present the 5 steps of the Family Wellbeing Approach and provide examples of working with diverse family members of treatment refusers with emotional disorders.
First Step: PREPARE FOR CRISES:
The first step is to plan for the development and implementation of a sample family Crisis Plan.
Second Step: CLARIFY THE PROBLEM & SET REALISTIC GOALS
Then, the audience will be introduced to assessment forms that were designed to help families identify the impact of recovery avoidance on their lives and prioritize the changes they want to make.
Third Step: INCREASE ACTIVITY YOU VALUE
The third step shows how to build a plan to increase valued activity for a sample family member.
Fourth Step: DECREASE FAMILY DISTRESS & CONFLICT
Then, the audience will see how to develop a plan to decrease family distress and conflict for a sample family.
Fifth Step: PROMOTE RECOVERY-COMPATIBLE BEHAVIOR IN THE FAMILY MEMBER WITH RECOVERY AVOIDANCE
The final step includes developing a plan to promote recovery-compatible behavior in the person who is exhibiting recovery avoidance.

Objectives

  • Describe the 5 Steps of the Family Wellbeing Approach (FWBA)
  • Describe the 4 factors that can contribute to recovery avoidance
  • Identify 2 common family responses that can make recovery avoidance worse