Counseling LGBTQIA+ Clients with Disabilities: Skills, Strategies, and Approaches

Counseling LGBTQIA+ Clients with Disabilities: Skills, Strategies, and Approaches

Presented by Amanda Tashjian, PhD, CRC, LPC (AZ, MI), LCPC (IL)

Friday, April 15th, 2022
8:00am-10:00am PDT / 10:00am-12:00pm CST / 11:00am-1:00pm EST

Event held online via Zoom. Link to access provided upon registration.

When attended in full, program offers 2.0 CEs for Psychologists (APA), 2.0 IL CEUs for Counselors and Social Workers, 2.0BBS California CEUs for Counselors, Social Workers, and LMFTs, and 2 NBCC Clock Hours.

Workshop Description:
This presentation will focus on practice strategies to best support individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ and disabled through the lens of intersectionality. Intersectionality is rooted in the notion that everyone has their own unique experiences that relate to one’s identity. Identity is the construction of many key facets of a person which may include, but are not limited to, race, sexual orientation, gender orientation, class, physical ability, and disability. When providing therapeutic support to an individual who identifies as being a part of any marginalize group, the therapist must be skilled in their cultural awareness and intervention selection to best support the client. Therapists need to be skilled in their clinical approach when working with individuals who have an intersection of more than one marginalized identity to provide a safe and progressive therapeutic environment.

With that, not all interventions are appropriate for all individuals. For example, affirming cognitive behavioral therapy approaches have been shown to be more effective that cognitive behavioral therapy interventions as is for gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients (Pachankis et al., 2015). However, from a disability-centered lens, cognitive behavioral therapy might not be appropriate for all individuals with disabilities (e.g., individuals with moderate to severe cognitive impairments). In addition to this, there is scant information available to practitioners that is tailored LGBTQIA+ clients.

The goal of this presentation is to discuss the implications of having limited information to rely on that provides specific interventions based on the intersection of disability and sexuality and gender orientation, while highlighting key concepts, like affirming cognitive behavioral therapy that can be tailored to meet the needs of disabled LGBTQIA+ clients.

Workshop Learning Objectives:
After attending this intermediate level workshop, participants will:

Learn about key strategies of practice and specific interventions that are considered best practice for individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ and have a disability.

Think critically about practices that are least appropriate for individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ and have a disability.

Program Standards and Goals:
This program meets APA’s continuing education Standard 1.1: Program content focuses on application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that have overall consistent and credible empirical support in the contemporary peer reviewed scientific literature beyond those publications and other types of communications devoted primarily to the promotion of the approach.

This program meets APA’s continuing education Goal 1: Program is relevant to psychological practice, education, and/or science.

Workshop Schedule (Shown in CST):
10:00 am – Event Begins

12:00pm – Event Ends

Registration and Fees:
ACSSW Members: Free

General Admission: $40.00

TCSPP Staff/Faculty/Students: Free

TCSPP Alumni: $20.00

Community Partners/Site Supervisors: $20.00

Non-TCSPP Students: $10.00

Refund Policy: 100% of tuition is refundable up to 48 hours before the program. Within 48 hours of the program, tuition is nonrefundable.

References:
Dispenza, F., Elston, N. C., Huffstead, M. E., Suttles, M. G., & Golubovic, N. (2017). Rehabilitation Counselor Preparation to Work With LGBTQ Persons Living With Chronic Illness/Disability: A Qualitative Content Analysis. Rehabilitation Research, Policy and Education, 31(1), 27-39.

Hunter, T., Dispenza, F., Huffstead, M., Suttles, M., & Bradley, Z. (2020). Queering Disability: Exploring the Resilience of Sexual and Gender Minority Persons Living With Disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 64(1), 31-41.

Kort, J. (2018). LGBTQ clients in therapy: Clinical issues and treatment strategies. WW Norton & Company.

Miller, R. A., Dika, S. L., Nguyen, D. J., Woodford, M., & Renn, K. A. (2021). LGBTQ+ college students with disabilities: demographic profile and perceptions of well-being. Journal of LGBT Youth, 18(1), 60-77.

Moe, J. L., Finnerty, P., Sparkman, N., & Yates, C. (2015). Initial assessment and screening with LGBTQ clients: A critical perspective. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 9(1), 36-56.

Moody, R. L. (2019). REBT with LGBTQ clients. In REBT with diverse client problems and populations (pp. 359-381). Springer, Cham.

Continuing Education:
Target Audience: Healthcare and Mental healthcare professionals, hypnosis practitioners, University faculty and students. Members the TCSPP community.

Psychologists. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 2.0 continuing education credits. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is also committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods. If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns and any complaints to Danielle Bohrer at 312-467-2364. There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.

Social Workers. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 2.0 hours of continuing education. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to provide continuing education programming for social workers. License Number: 159.001036

MFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs. Course meets the qualifications for 2.0 hour of continuing education credit for MFTs, LPCCs, and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. If you are licensed outside of California please check with your local licensing agency to to determine if they will accept these CEUs. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to offer continuing education programming for MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and/or LCSWs. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is an accredited or approved postsecondary institution that meets the requirements set forth in Sections 4980.54(f)(1), 4989.34, 4996.22(d)(1), or 4999.76(d) of the Code.

Participation Certificate. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is able to provide students and other participants who simply wish to have documentation of their attendance at the program a participation certificate.

Non Psychologists. Most licensing boards accept Continuing Education Credits sponsored by the American Psychological Association but non-psychologists are recommended to consult with their specific state-licensing board to ensure that APA-sponsored CE is acceptable.

*Participants must attend 100% of the program in order to obtain a Certificate of Attendance.

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content.