On Thursday November 3rd, Dr. John Travis Spoede, Jr., director of the Center for Research/Doctoral Studies and assistant professor of education, and Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Siegrist (from Renewing Hope Counseling Center) presented, “Ethics of Spiritual Issues in Addiction Counseling” at the Texas Counseling Association’s Professional Growth Conference in Dallas, Texas. In this session, participants learned about ethical considerations as they relate to spiritual issues in addiction counseling. This session included information from the ACA code of ethics, the DSM-5, and ACA’s Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) Competencies. Application of all of these standards was reviewed and discussed, and participants were given a practical understanding of how to use this information in counseling practice.
On Friday November 4th, Dr. John Travis Spoede, Jr. & Angela Spoede, JD presented, “Mental Health Professionals as Mediators and Advocates” at the Texas Counseling Association’s Professional Growth Conference in Dallas, Texas. In this session, mental health professionals were given a better understanding of how to develop a specialty as a credentialed mediator. This presentation provided an overview of ethical considerations and how mental health professionals appropriately interact with the legal system through mediation. There was a discussion of how mental health professionals can use their training in the dispute resolution process. Basic counseling skills that translate well to mediation settings and how to get involved were reviewed.