Questions to Ask Your Clients With Disabilities

Many clinicians do not receive graduate training in working with clients with chronic conditions or disabilities (CID). Yet 20% of the population lives with CID, and virtually every clinician will work with individuals or families with CID. A mistake would be to either over-or under-emphasize the CID without putting it into the proper positioning within a case formulation and hence treatment. This can lead to alienating a client, early drop-out, or unsuccessful outcomes. Asking just a few questions about key CID variables can show a client you understand common CID experiences, respect the individuality of their CID experience, and help clinicians properly center the CID.

1 hour CE. Recorded video format (non-interactive)

ESTIMATED COURSE LENGTH: 1.1 hours 

CE CREDITS: 1.00 continuing education/contact hours for social workers, psychologists, counselors, and marriage and family therapists

TARGET AUDIENCE: Mental Health Practitioners

LEVEL OF INSTRUCTION: Introductory

PREREQUISITE(S): None

INSTRUCTIONAL METHOD: Recorded video format (non-interactive)

ACCESSIBILITY ACCOMMODATIONS: Closed captioning of audio components. In order to request further accessibility accommodations, please email support@psychhub.com.

COMPLETION REQUIREMENTS: To obtain your CE certificate, learners must complete a pre-test (not scored), progress through all course segments, complete a participant evaluation, and obtain a score of 80% or higher on a post-test. Learners are expected to complete the quiz within 3 attempts. If unable to do so, the learner will need to re-review the course segments.

FINANCIAL/COMMERCIAL SUPPORT STATEMENT: This course has no commercial support.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:  This course has no potential conflict of interest or outside commercial support. Psych Hub's conflict of interest statement is found in the footer of the training center.

GRIEVANCE AND REFUND POLICIES: Grievance and refund policies are found in the footer of the training center.

PARTICIPATION COSTS:  The cost to participate in this CE activity is included in the subscription registration fee.

COURSE CREATION DATE:  8/22/2023

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Utilize four questions to ask clients about the way their CID affects them
• Assess clients’ management of microaggressions
• Utilize language that best fits the disability model of clients with CID

1. What does chronic conditions or disabilities (CID) include?
   1. Understanding chronic conditions, disabilities, and health
   2. Diagnosis versus functional limitations
   3. ‘Overshadowing’ and intersectionality
2. How to phrase your first question
1. What to say and what not to say
3. Nine areas that personalize the CID experience
1. The disability triad (pain, fatigue, weakness)
2. Sleep
3. Falls
4. Lifestyle
5. Activities of daily living
6. Longevity
7. Mood
4. Microaggressions
1. Does the client over or under notice these?
2. How do they manage microaggressions?
3. What if you commit a microaggression?
5. Emotions and interpersonal interactions
1. At home, at work, in public
2. With the therapist