When Helpers Are Your Clients: Working with Medical, Mental Health, First Responder and Educator Clients

When Helpers Are Your Clients: Working with Medical, Mental Health, First Responder and Educator Clients (3HR) Presented by Danielle Doskocil,

$45.00

Course Description

This comprehensive course will enhance mental health practitioner skills in supporting other helping professionals. Participants will deepen their understanding of the unique stressors faced by medical and mental health professionals, first responders, and educators, and how these career and environmental factors impact mental health. Attendees will be equipped with evidence-based interventions and preventative strategies to address common mental health challenges such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression, while promoting resilience and coping mechanisms tailored to these clients.

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

Assess the unique stressors and environmental factors that contribute to the mental health needs of medical, mental health, first responder and education professionals.
Advance communication and trust building techniques with helping professional clients.
Implement tailored interventions and prevention strategies with helping professional clients and their families

Social workers completing this course receive 3 Clinical asynchronous continuing education credits.

For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 3 hours of Clinical continuing education training.

Course Instructor: Danielle Doskocil, LMHC

Recording Date: 09/11/2026

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

Dannie Doskocil is a Licensed North Carolina Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional, a Licensed K-12 School Counselor, and a Board Certified Telemental Health Provider with over two decades of experience. After obtaining her Master of Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Florida in 2001, she earned a second master’s in Clinical Social Work from the University of Central Florida in 2005, with specializations in addictions and social policy.

Dannie was a pioneer in the field of telemental health, establishing her virtual private practice in 2016 where she specializes in treating preteens, teens, and emerging adults. When the world shut down in 2020, she played a critical role in training school counselors and social workers in one of the largest U.S. districts and authored their inaugural policy manual for virtual services. Her expertise has been showcased at national platforms like the 2017 National Conference on Addiction Disorders. As a “trainer of trainers,” she has been influential in shaping discussions around clinical assessments, trauma, and telehealth.

Dannie is an author and mother of a very sassy Hufflepuff with special needs. With a trauma-informed approach, Dannie remains committed to making mental health services accessible to everyone.

Syllabus

Introduction

Who are helper clients?
Medical, mental health, first responder, and educator roles
Learning objectives and participant discussion

Objective #1: Assess Unique Stressors and Environmental Factors Affecting Helpers’ Mental Health

High responsibility and exposure to trauma
Role conflict, emotional labor, compassion fatigue, and burnout
Professional isolation and help-seeking barriers
Shift work, safety risks, resource limitations, and workplace culture
Moral injury and secondary traumatic stress
Vicarious trauma, secondary trauma, and burnout: video and discussion
Mark and Jalisa case discussions

Objective #2: Advance Communication and Trust-Building Techniques with Helper Clients

Active listening and validation
Confidentiality and boundary clarity
Professional culture, personal culture, ethics, and values
Building rapport with professional peers
Addressing resistance to seeking help
PTSD, anxiety, and depression assessment considerations
PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
Stress-capacity demonstration and discussion
Amaya case discussion

Objective #3: Implement Tailored Interventions and Prevention Strategies for Helpers and Families

Integrated Workforce Trauma and Resilience Model
Trauma-informed care and cognitive-behavioral strategies
Psychoeducation tailored to career context
Trauma-informed agency policies and procedures
Peer support, supervision, and debriefing
Stress management, mindfulness, and work-life balance
Organizational wellness initiatives
Family education, communication, coping, and resilience
John and Michael case discussions

Summary/Q&A

Key takeaways
Questions and discussion