Clinical Assessment Through a Social Justice Lens

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Clinical Assessment Through a Social Justice Lens (2HR)

$32.00

Course Description

Transform traditional assessment practices by incorporating social justice perspectives and understanding systemic influences on mental health. This course challenges mental health professionals to reimagine clinical assessment through a social justice framework. Participants will critically examine how traditional assessment approaches often overlook systemic influences on mental health and perpetuate inequities in diagnosis and treatment. By integrating social justice principles into assessment practices, participants will develop skills to more accurately conceptualize client concerns while avoiding pathologizing responses to structural inequities, ultimately leading to more ethical, equitable, and effective mental health care.

Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to:

Describe social justice in clinical assessment, recognizing systemic inequalities, power dynamics, and sociocultural contexts that impact mental health.
Recognize the limitations of traditional assessment approaches and apply key principles of cultural humility, strengths-based practice, and intersectionality to conduct more culturally responsive and socially just clinical assessments.
Implement strategies to expand assessment domains beyond individual pathology, incorporating social determinants of health, systemic influences, and client expertise to develop a more holistic understanding of clients’ experiences.

Social workers completing this course receive 2 Cultural Competency asynchronous continuing education credits.

For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 2 hours of Cultural Competency continuing education training.

Course Instructor: Dr. Kara Beckett, DSW, LCSW

Recording Date: 09/18/2025

Course Format

NBCC ACEP # 7091, CE Training Workshops has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP #7091. Programs that do not qualify are clearly identified. CE Training Workshops is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. CE Training Workshops designates this continuing education activity for 3 continuing education hours.

CE Training Workshops, LLC, #1770, 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: 08/02/2025 to 08/02/2028. Social workers completing this course receive 3 Clinical continuing education credits.

Meet Your Facilitator

Dr. Kara Beckett is a Doctorate of Social Work, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and the founder of the Georgia Center for Mental Wellness, LLC, a private practice in Atlanta, GA. With over 20 years of experience, she specializes in supporting individuals dealing with anxiety, mood disorders, and trauma, using evidence-based approaches such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Dr. Beckett earned her Bachelor of Science in Family Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park, a Master of Social Work from Howard University, and a Doctor of Social Work from Rutgers University. As a social work educator, Dr. Beckett teaches courses with a focus on micro social work, diversity, social justice, and advanced clinical practice. She is also passionate about mentoring social work students, and helping them navigate their educational and professional journeys. Her research focuses on the intersection of racism, racial trauma, and their impact on Black men’s mental health, equipping clinicians to provide culturally sensitive care. As a speaker and writer, Dr. Beckett provides impactful workshops on topics such as clinical strategies for social work practice, cultural humility, and implicit bias. Passionate about helping others grow, she inspires individuals to overcome challenges, unlock their potential, and create meaningful change in their lives and communities.

Syllabus

Introduction
• Overview of learning objectives
• Personal reflection on assessment practices
• Review of traditional assessment models

Objective 1: Social Justice in Clinical Assessment
• Defining social justice in mental health care
• Identifying systemic inequalities affecting assessment
• Examining power dynamics between clinician and client
• Understanding the role of sociocultural context

Objective 2: Key Principles for Socially Just Assessment
• Practicing cultural humility
• Using a strengths-based assessment focus
• Applying an intersectional lens
• Recognizing clients as experts in their own experiences

Objective 3: Expanding Assessment Domains
• Assessing social determinants of health
• Identifying systemic and environmental influences
• Incorporating client knowledge and lived experience into assessment

Practical Implementation Strategies
• Translating social justice principles into real-world assessment practices

Ethical Considerations
• Balancing clinical responsibility, equity, and client autonomy

Closing Reflection & Q&A
• Reflecting on shifts in assessment perspective
• Questions, discussion, and key takeaways