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When Client becomes Colleague: The Peer Movement and Ethical Considerations

Room

Speaker(s): 

Cooley-Bennett, Terri

Description: 

Individuals who are former or current clients are obtaining jobs or roles as peers on a more regular basis (Krumm et al., 2022). As clinicians, educators, and supervisors, it is important to be aware of ethical considerations regarding peers in the workplace, who may be former clients. Ethical dilemmas may arise due to the potential for dual relationships. As clinicians, it is important to be compliant with applicable laws and ethical codes, cooperate with agencies and boards, and be ethically responsible. A critical aspect is being client-centered and not harming clients. This workshop will provide an overview of ethical obligations as they pertain to colleagues or peers, ethics, boundaries, and confidentiality. Issues such as vicarious liability will be discussed and potential ethical conflicts that may occur will be examined. Finally, strategic ways of managing ethical conflicts will be examined.

Objectives

1. Provide a brief overview of ethical codes and considerations that pertain to Dual Relationships, Boundaries, and Confidentiality
2. Examine the current research regarding peer support services
3. Define Vicarious Liability

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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
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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
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Teresa Cooley-Bennett, LCSW, LSCSW, CCPD-D, TTS

Ms. Terri Cooley- Bennett is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (MO), a Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker (KS), a Co-occurring Disorders Professional-Diplomate, and a Tobacco Treatment Specialist. She is a doctoral student at the Tulane University School of Social Work (TSSW). Ms. Cooley- Bennett is experienced in homelessness, mental illness, integrated treatment, substance use, sexual exploitation, trauma, and poverty. She currently works at Swope Health in the Behavioral Health Department. Ms. Cooley-Bennett has over 20 years of experience as a presenter, workshop leader, and educator and is a board member the Missouri Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). She is trained with the National NASW Office of Ethics and Professional Review and is an active member of the ethics committee for the Missouri NASW. She is a presenter on ethics training organizations such as the Missouri Coalition for Behavioral Healthcare, the Missouri National Association of Social Workers, the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare Continuing Education Program, the Missouri Credentialing Board, and others. She provides field instruction for social work students, clinical supervision for professionals seeking licensure, and has held Adjunct Professor positions for City Vision University Addictions Counseling Program and the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare.

Presentation(s):

Ethics, Research, and Vulnerable Populations

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Ethics, Research, and Vulnerable Populations

Paradise Ballroom C

Speaker(s):

Teresa Cooley-Bennett, LCSW, LSCSW, CCPD-D, TTS 

Description

In behavioral healthcare and research, professionals typically work with vulnerable populations. Research shows that when practitioners work with vulnerable populations, the tendency to experience more intense ethical dilemmas arises. Cultural competence, the client’s right to self-determination and autonomy, acting in the client’s best interest, informed consent, boundaries, and confidentiality are essential ethical considerations when working with vulnerable populations.
In this workshop, participants will look at common ethical principles and applications to guide practice when providing services to vulnerable populations. Prevention and management, appropriate decision-making, and best practices will be reviewed regarding ethical dilemmas, whether in practice or research.

Objectives

Participants will define common ethical principles in their work with vulnerable populations

Participants will identify common ethical dilemmas that occur in specific populations with vulnerabilities

Participants will describe processes for making ethical decisions that will aide in the prevention of ethical violations

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Ethics of Self Care

Paradise Ballroom C

 

Speaker(s):

McAndrew, Craig, MA, LPC, LCAC, LMHC

Description

Self Care is essential for our performance of Counseling duties as well as to preserve our ethics. If we are feeling burned out, then we may have already come close to that ethical line or maybe even crossed it without realizing it. This presentation is focused on us making our self care a priority so we don’t approach that line.

Objectives

1. Review ethical guidelines
2. Review common ethical violations
3. Review what self care is
4. Describe what creating a practice of self care looks like

McAndrew – Boundaries

McAndrew – 12 steps for therapists

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Contemporary Ethical Issues: Personal Worldview and Professional Acculturation

Paradise Ballroom C

 

Speaker(s):

Larkin, Nicole, MS, CDAC, SMFT

Likcani, Adriatik, PhD, LMFT

Woolery, Amber, BSW, CRADC

Description

This presentation on ethics is beyond the ‘typical’ topics of dual relationships and abuse of power with clients. It is about us as professionals and our personal worldview and professional acculturation. Why do ethical codes exist? What to do when my values and morals conflict with ethical codes? How to deal with ethical dilemmas? Can I talk about faith and spirituality with my clients? How do I apply evidence-based treatment with diverse populations? This session will help you find the answers to any of those questions and address other questions you may have. This is a session about ethics, values, morals, personal worldview and professional acculturation in the practice of treatment and recovery support for mental health and substance use disorders. Participants will learn about the ecology of substance use treatment and recovery support and issues that arise with scientific discovery such as evidence-based practices and effective interventions, medication assisted treatment/recovery, integration of faith-based approaches, etc. Such contemporary issues tend to challenge the stability of any professional and require of them to affirm or resist change. They will learn models of working through dissonance and finding a new stability. They will identify external and internal influences that impact their emerging worldview, personal and professional acculturation. Discussion with participants will be based on morals, values, sources of power and influence in the acculturation process, and the ethics of providing value-sensitive care and due care to individuals and families.

Objectives

1. Discuss how participants can use existing Codes of Ethics, including AAMFT, NBCC and NASW, to inform and reflect upon their personal worldview and professional acculturation
2. Identify personal lenses that cause dissonance among professionals in their practice
3. Recognize professional acculturation process through the ecology of substance use treatment and recovery support approaches
4. Identify issues that threaten status quo of the helper, prompt resistance or create dissonance, and require them to find a new professional stability

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Weight Stigma and Clinical Applications: Ethical Considerations

Speaker(s):

Ellis-Ordway, Nancy, MSW, PhD

Presentation:

The issue of weight in medical and mental health care is a thorny one. Those in the helping professions genuinely wish to provide quality medical and psychological care to those in need, but the confusing and contradictory information about weight, health and well-being can be baffling. In this workshop, we attempt to examine these concerns through the lens of professional ethics. Specifically, we look at the codes of ethics for psychologists, counselors, social workers, dieticians, nurses and public health practitioners.

Objectives:

  1. Define weight stigma
  2. Identify ways that weight bias interferes with care
  3. Describe interventions for addressing weight bias in treatment and in agency settings
  4. List health-enhancing behaviors that do not focus on wieght loss

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Contemporary Ethical Issues: Personal Worldview and Professional Acculturation

Speaker(s):

Likcani, Adriatik, PhD

Woolery, Amber, BSW, CRADC

Larkin, Nicole, MS, SMFT, CADC

Presentation:

This presentation on ethics is beyond the ‘typical’ topics of dual relationships and abuse of power with clients. It is about us as professionals and our personal worldview and professional acculturation. Why do ethical codes exist? What to do when my values and morals conflict with ethical codes? How to deal with ethical dilemmas? Can I talk about faith and spirituality with my clients? How do I apply evidence-based treatment with diverse populations? This session will help you find the answers to any of those questions and address other questions you may have.

This is a session about ethics, values, morals, personal worldview and professional acculturation in the practice of treatment and recovery support for mental health and substance use disorders. Participants will learn about the ecology of substance use treatment and recovery support and issues that arise with scientific discovery such as evidence-based practices and effective interventions, medication assisted treatment/recovery, integration of faith-based approaches, etc. Such contemporary issues tend to challenge the stability of any professional and require of them to affirm or resist change. They will learn models of working through dissonance and finding a new stability. They will identify external and internal influences that impact their emerging worldview, personal and professional acculturation. Discussion with participants will be based on morals, values, sources of power and influence in the acculturation process, and the ethics of providing value-sensitive care and due care to individuals and families.

 

Objectives:

  1. Discuss how participants can use existing Codes of Ethics, including AAMFT, NBCC and NASW, to inform and reflect upon their personal worldview and professional acculturation
  2. Identify personal lenses that cause dissonance among professionals in their practice. Recognize professional acculturation process through the ecology of substance use treatment and recovery support approaches
  3. Identify issues that threaten status quo of the helper, prompt resistance or create dissonance, and require them to find a new professional stability
  4. Learn and utilize models to apply in their professional development when facing contemporary ethical issues
  5. Utilize these models in their work with colleagues and supervisees at their agency
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Ellis-Ordway, Nancy, MSW, PhD

Nancy Ellis-Ordway, LCSW, PhD, is a psychotherapist with thirty-five years experience, specializing in treating eating disorders, body image issues, stress, anxiety, depression and relationship issues. She offers individual, couple, and family therapy through her private practice in Jefferson City, MO. In addition to a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University, she has completed the Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training program at the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. She has written chapters for four books, as well as numerous articles for professional and general publications. Her book, “Thrive At Any Weight; Eating to Nourish Body, Soul and Self Esteem” was published in 2019. She co-edited “Weight Bias in Health Education: Critical Perspectives for Pedagogy and Practice” in 2021. She also teaches classes for professional continuing education. She has a Ph.D. in Health Education and Promotion from the University of Missouri as well as a graduate certificate in Public Health.

Presentation(s): 

Weight Stigma and Clinical Applications: Ethical Considerations