Summary:
This pre-conference session reviews some of the key ethical and legal challenges facing faith-based mental professionals, including psychologists, other licensed mental health professionals, as well as pastoral counselors and coaches. Faith-based mental health professionals have faced increased challenges to provide caregiving consistent with and originating from their sincerely held beliefs and values. Many have experienced increased resistance, skepticism, and even hostility toward their free expression in areas such as education, training, practice, and continuing education. This session reviews foundational worldview changes in ethics codes and legal and legislative developments that have impacted religious freedom in the mental health professions. Despite the significant challenges, the session concludes with reasons for hope and means of purposeful involvement by faith-based mental health professionals.
Learning Objectives:
Review, compare, and contrast aspirational principles of primary codes of ethics in the mental health professions.
Evaluate the importance of ethical and legal developments that affect the religious freedom of faith-based mental health professionals
Review and formulate ways to advocate more effectively for psychologists and other mental health professionals integrating spirituality, faith, and religion into individual, organizational, and social programs of mental health service delivery