Culture Wars in the Clinical Setting: Clinical, Ethical, Legal, and Risk Management Considerations

Culture Wars in the Clinical Setting: Clinical, Ethical, Legal, and Risk Management Considerations

Instructor: Susan S. Zoline

Monday, November 18, 2024

9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. CT

Live and Interactive via Zoom

3 CEUs

This workshop satisfies the Ethics requirement for social workers and clinical psychologists.

We are living in very partisan times and with this being a U.S. presidential election year, topics related to current events, politics and “culture wars” may find their way into the clinical setting. Clients may ask their therapists questions regarding their personal views on these topics or who they voted for in the election. Clients may also express prejudiced or biased views of others, or may express views which appear to be based on misinformation. Such situations raise ethical questions for clinicians regarding our roles and responsibilities in areas such as boundaries, self-disclosure, counter-transference, avoidance of harm, and multicultural diversity.

This workshop will address clinical, ethical, legal, and risk management considerations when current events, political issues, or prejudiced views arise within the clinical space. Key ethical considerations as well as best practice guidelines will be reviewed, with a focus on balancing cultural humility, preservation of the therapeutic relationship, safety, and advocacy. Case vignettes will be presented to illustrate key strategies for constructively addressing these dilemmas in clinical practice.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this intermediate-level program, participants should be able to:

1. Apply a systematic process of ethical decision making when clients raise political or prejudiced statements in clinical settings.
2. Formulate key components of best practice responses with a focus on preserving the relationship and assessing a client’s receptivity to feedback.
3. Appraise effective strategies relevant to maintaining clear boundaries, promoting well- being/avoidance of harm, and practicing risk management when politically or culturally charged topics arise in the clinical space.

Please register by Sunday, November 17, 2024