Ethical Considerations with Sexually Marginalized Clients On-Demand CE Webinar for therapists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists

 

Ethical Considerations with Sexually Marginalized Clients - 3 hours


To access the discount form for registering for multiple workshops or participants, please click here.

  • CE Hours Included: 3 (please see below for details)
  • Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”, Non-Interactive) ~ At your leisure this recorded video is to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
  • Investment: $87 (provides lifetime access!)
  • Presented by: Rachel Anne Kieran, PsyD (see bio below)
  • Date of Recording: September 16, 2026
  • Instruction Level: Intermediate
  • Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists
  • This workshop is not yet available; by pre-registering, you will receive immediate access when it becomes available in September.

Learning Objectives:

After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:

  • Assess ethical principles and calls to action from APA, ACA, NASW, NASP, and AAMFT guidelines relevant to practice with sexually marginalized populations
  • Apply ethical principles to clinical dilemmas involving sexual, gender, and relational diversity.
  • Evaluate personal values and distinguish these from professional responsibilities in treatment decision-making.
  • Assess the limits of competence and appropriate referral pathways.
  • Discuss how bias and silence function as ethical risks.
  • Outline ethical decision-making as an ongoing process rather than a fixed standard.

Workshop Description:

Working with sexual, gender, and relational diversity (SGRD) requires more than good intentions—it requires ethical clarity. This intermediate workshop moves beyond definitions to examine real-world clinical dilemmas through an applied ethics lens.
Participants will explore how bias, silence, and hetero/mono/cisnormative assumptions can unintentionally shape clinical judgment; how consent and autonomy function as ethical infrastructure; and how dual relationships, misinformation, and small-community dynamics complicate practice. Through case examples and structured ethical decision-making tools, clinicians will strengthen their ability to navigate ambiguity, protect client dignity, and uphold professional standards.
Ideal for clinicians who already have foundational SGRD knowledge, this workshop sharpens ethical reasoning, deepens competence, and supports equitable, evidence-informed care across diverse client populations.

Workshop Agenda:

  • Section 1 — Setting the Stage (15 min)
    • Consent Check & Framing
      • Modeling consent in professional spaces
      • Participation invited, not required; discomfort allowed, harm is not
      • Curiosity over judgment; questions welcome
    • SGRD Core Concepts — assumed knowledge
      • Working definitions: sex, gender, relationship
      • Diversity across gender identity/expression, desire (ace spectrum), sexual behavior (kink spectrum), relational identity/structure
      • Between-groups vs. within-groups differences; minority stress framing
      • Social norms vs. clinical significance distinction
  • Section 2 — Ethics in Action (60 min)
    • Core Concepts
      • Relevant ethical principles: Autonomy, Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Justice, Integrity, Respect for Rights & Dignity
      • UN Declaration of Human Rights as grounding frame
      • 2021 APA Practice Guidelines — specific naming of CNM as a neglected/harmed population; stigma around CPE
    • Ethical Principles & Codes in Action — "StorieTime" Case
      • Case 1: The CE Training Room (misinformation as ethical risk)
        • APA 2.04 (Bases for Scientific Judgments), 3.01 (Unfair Discrimination)
        • NASW 4.06 (Misrepresentation)
        • AAMFT 3.6 (Development of New Skills)
        • NASP 8 (Equitable Practices)
        • ACA A.1.a (Client Welfare/Primary Responsibility), A.1.d (Support Networks), A.4.a/b (Avoiding Harm/Personal Values), A.7.a (Advocacy), C.5 (Nondiscrimination), C.7.c (Harmful Practices)
  • Section 3 — Making It Real (55 min)
    • Case Studies
      • Case 2: Whose House Is It? — Ash & Spruce
    • Competence, Referral & Repair
      • APA 2.01 (Boundaries of Competence), 3.03 (Other Harassment)
      • ACA C.2.a (Boundaries), C.2.e (Consultation on Ethical Obligations), C.2.f (Continuing Education)
      • NASP II.1.1 (Practice in Area of Competence)
      • AAMFT 3.1 (Maintenance of Competency), 3.6 (Development of New Skills)
      • NASW 1.04 (Competence)
  • Section 4 — Beyond the Therapy Room (35 min)
    • Ethics Beyond the Therapy Room
      • Case 3: The Information You Didn't Ask For
      • Case 4: Big City, Small Worlds — Juniper & Oak
        • APA 4.01 (Maintaining Confidentiality), 4.02 (Discussing Limits), 3.05 (Multiple Relationships), 10.05–10.08 (Sexual intimacies standards)
        • ACA A.8 (Multiple Clients), B.4.b (Couples and Family Counseling)
    • Consent When It's Complicated
      • Case 5: Knife Play
        • A-B-C-D-E Decision Model: Assessment → Benefit → Consequences & Consultation → Duty & Documentation → Education
  • Section 5 — Integration & Wrap Up (15 min)
    • Creating access and equity in therapy; discrimination from service providers as a barrier to care
    • Q&A, references, resources (books, directories, podcasts)

Presented by: Rachel Anne Kieran, PsyD

Dr. Rachel Anne Kieran (Psy.D.) is a psychologist, writer, and educator, and the founder of StorieBrook Therapy & Consulting, LLC, an affirming therapy practice rooted in justice, community, and cultural humility. Her clinical work focuses on sexual, gender, and relational diversity (including kink and consensual non-monogamy), neurodivergence, fat and disability justice, and clients from non-majority spiritual and pagan paths.
Dr. Kieran’s practice model emphasizes accessible, bespoke collaboration with clients, including sliding-scale options and a community space designed to be welcoming, trauma-aware, and identity-affirming. Through StorieTree Professional Education, she creates continuing education programs for mental health and allied professionals that center ethics, intersectionality, and dismantling systemic barriers to care.
Her current writing projects include a book on finding and crafting mental healthcare for non-majority spiritualities, and related work on “rainbow sheep” identities—those who never fully fit either mainstream or countercultural norms. Across her roles as therapist, educator, and author, Dr. Kieran is committed to the belief that affirming care is a right, not a privilege.

3 "Asynchronous" CE Hours Included - Details by License Type Below:

  • PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
  • COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
  • SOCIAL WORKERS: The Knowledge Tree, a Summit Professional Education Company, provider #2470, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 1/14/2026-1/14/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 3 ethics continuing education credits. Please click here for more detailed information.
  • MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: TKT has applied for approval for this workshop through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT). If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

Registration: To register for individual workshops, you may use our online payment option, or to pay by check you may print and complete the Registration Form and mail or fax it to our office. The registration form is available on our website: www.theknowledgetree.org. Registration is permitted until the time the workshop begins, unless otherwise specified.

Multiple Workshop Special: There is a 10% Discount with registration for two workshops. There is a 15% Discount with registrations for three or four workshops. There is a 20% Discount with registration for five or more workshops.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: Once purchased, participants have access immediately to all materials for On-Demand (Asynchronous) webinars. Because of that, refunds are not available. However, if the course has not yet been completed, participants can request a credit transfer to apply to a different course within seven (7) days of purchase date. After seven (7) days, credit transfers for on-demand (asynchronous) webinars are not available. More information about refunds/cancellations can be found here.


Attendance Policy: 100% attendance, completion of a course evaluation and passing a post-test with a score of 70% or higher (you will have 2 retake opportunities) is required at any asynchronous CE program in order to receive credit for that CE program. No partial credit is given. Certificates of completion will be available in each attendee’s account once these completion requirements have been met.

ADA Requests: We will make every effort to accommodate any reasonable ADA request. Please call or email us at least two weeks prior to the event. Payment and registration are required to fulfill an ADA request.

No Conflict Policy: Neither The Knowledge Tree nor its speakers have received any commercial support for this program or its contents and will not receive any commercial support prior to or during this program. 

System Requirements: Live Interactive Webinars are facilitated via Zoom. System requirements for the Zoom platform are linked at our FAQ page.

We are an approved vendor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for easy reimbursement of educational expenses for VA employees.


Get Started!



 


For information about our Continuing Education Workshops, please contact our Customer Service team at:

404.913.2005

theknowledgetree@summit.zendesk.com

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Stay up to date with the latest courses, announcements, and articles.

The Knowledge Tree, a Summit Professional Education Company, offers courses that provide continuing education hours as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and holds Approved Continuing Education Provider/Sponsor status with professional organizations including APA and NBCC. Each licensee should check our detailed CE information page and ensure courses taken meet their specific state board requirements.