A Call to Action: Ethical Counseling and Advocacy for Clients with Chronic Illness

Event Description: 

Counselors have an ethical duty to engage in social justice advocacy and provide culturally responsive care to clients with invisible disabilities (ACA, 2014). However, there is a paucity of training in counseling programs related to those with invisible disabilities (e.g., chronic illness) and therefore, lower counselor self-efficacy (Deroche et al., 2019; Bang et al., 2021). Individuals with chronic illness face systemic stressors including ableism and medical trauma, which negatively impact both mental health and physical health (Olkin et al., 2019; Uhlenbusch et al., 2021). Therefore, this population has reported a need for affirming counseling services, and counselors play a crucial role in supporting this population (Wilson & Spencer, 2022). Despite increased awareness of this population’s needs and evidence that this population can benefit from trauma-informed and culturally responsive therapy due to enhanced coping (e.g., self-compassion), relational support, and storytelling (Foroutan et al., 2020; Lew & Xin, 2021; Petsagourakis et al., 2024), clients with chronic illness still tend to go underserved. Therefore, this presentation calls for increased ethical counseling for this population and will highlight relevant ACA ethical standards, including avoiding harm and imposing values; boundaries of competence; and continuing education (ACA, 2014). The presentation will also advocate for trauma-informed best practices for those with chronic illness and call for disability justice (Invalid, 2017). Handouts with resources will be provided.

Objectives:

1. Participants will be able to identify three ethical standards that are relevant in working with clients with chronic illness.
2. Participants will be able to identify three approaches to advocate for those with chronic illness, including affirmation of intersectionality, recognizing wholeness, and commitment to cross-movement organizing.
3. Participants will be able to outline three evidence-based techniques for supporting clients with chronic illness including dialectical behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, and group counseling.

1 ETHICS CE

For accommodations, special requests, or with additional questions, please contact: theresilientcounselor@gmail.com. Click here to view the event flyer.