Classes & certificates

Mental health professionals face a growing threat of burnout, which impairs effectiveness and interferes with quality of life. Explore the physiology of stress and how it affects our well-being and that of our clients. We describe aspects of burnout and suggestions for reducing stress.

This virtual learning class is being offered remotely at the listed day/time. Details, including instructions for accessing an online learning platform via the internet or dial-in option, will be provided to registrants. Participants earn 6 hours of ethics/boundaries continuing education. Even prior to the COVID pandemic, healthcare providers faced an inordinate amount of stress as evidenced by the alarming prevalence of burnout symptoms for both trainees and practicing providers. This stress is amplified for providers who are part of groups that have been underrepresented and discriminated against in medicine. Affecting both personal and professional domains, burnout may be associated with a decrease in professionalism, a greater number of mistakes, substance use and mood disorders. In this workshop, we will review empirical research on burnout and wellness with an emphasis on practical applications of this work. Two case studies of service implementation for wellness support in large academic health systems will be discussed. Participants will also engage in hands-on learning activities identifying how provider burnout impacts them individually and how burnout impacts and is impacted by the systems in which they work. Participants will have opportunities to identify their burnout symptoms and to set goals to enhance their wellbeing and improve their day-to-day delivery of mental health care services. Opportunities to discuss systems-level interventions with colleagues will be provided as well as opportunities to try out a variety of wellness interventions such as mindfulness and gentle yoga. Options to participate in wellness activities, including gentle yoga and mindfulness exercises, will be provided. Cameras do not have to be on during these activities and participants may choose self-guided wellness activities.

Learn about ethical communication during conflict, appreciative inquiry, boundaries of engagement without connection and dealing with power and power imbalance. This class will have you refocus on your communication skills, especially if there is conflict.

Recognizing the importance of religious and spiritual beliefs for our clients is an important component of a mental health assessment. Increase your sensitivity to the spiritual aspects of your clients' lives and learn how to work with these often sensitive and personal issues.

The management of ethics, boundaries, and confidentiality in a world of constantly emerging technology and social media is especially challenging for human service professionals. Address the challenges encountered and discuss strategies utilizing the recently updated NASW Standards.

New discoveries in genetics have suddenly presented us with a startling question: how much should we know about creating human beings, and how far should we go in changing them? The future of genetic manipulation is here. We'll discuss the ethical issues and their potentially profound consequences.

The electronic medical record is exposing clinicians to greater privacy and boundary challenges. We tackle some of the ethical issues of working with electronic records and discuss boundary issues involved with internet searches of clients, e-mail and texting as therapy, and telemedicine services.

The management of ethics, boundaries and confidentiality is especially critical for human service professionals. This workshop will address the unique issues encountered during the provision of social services and therapy. The emergence of technology and its complications will be addressed to highlight the changing trends in ethical practice in the 21st century.