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

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 counseling 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