LaVerne Collins

The effects of racialization and marginalization on Black clients can often be overlooked, leading to underdiagnosis, overdiagnosis, or total misdiagnosis. This webinar addresses overlooked clinical bias and diagnostic disparities that affect treatment for people of Black/African American ancestry. This presentation assists in developing the participants' cultural consciousness and helps to improve the counseling experience and effectiveness for Black American clients.

Ethical care for marginalized groups requires a commitment to cultural sensitivity. Since the 2014 revision of the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics, a global justice and diversity movement has changed politically correct language and inclusivity standards. A worldwide pandemic changed how counselors deliver services, increased the demand for counseling services, and brought stress, fatigue, and burnout to counselors and clients alike. Artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the world by storm but raises concerns about ethical use in counseling. Against that backdrop, the ethical code continues to set the standard for professional counseling practice. Using contemporary case studies, this workshop examines ethical issues that may arise in counseling. The presentation invites exploration of the counselor’s personal ethical stance and encourages counselors’ continual self-monitoring of how their values and self-care practices may impact their effectiveness.

The losses caused by everyday racism run deep and wide in the lives of minoritized clients but are not generally recognized by society. The non-finite losses and chronic sorrow of minoritized clients are heavy weights on their shoulders and may have never been explored from a grief and loss perspective. In this presentation, we talk about the ways that professional counselors can recognize and respond to ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief experienced by Black clients, with an emphasis on helping clients guard their mental health.