You're Taking What?! The Ethics & Practice of Collaborative Psychiatric Care
October 17, 2025 9:30am-12:30pm (Pacific Time)
w/ Brett Howard, PhD, APRN
Taborspace-Portland
About The Workshop
Supporting clients as they navigate the world of psychopharmacology can be difficult. Most therapists are not prescribers, and are thus ethically prohibited from giving what might be construed as medical advice. And yet we want to be helpful. Or we hear accounts that concern us. How can we effectively navigate ethical issues related to the complexities of psychopharmacological knowledge and effective collaboration with prescribers and our mutual clients? Psychotropic medication use is becoming increasingly prevalent, and therapists must navigate a nuanced ethical landscape that acknowledges the wide variance in treatment responses and the multifaceted nature of medication management. As therapists, it behooves us to navigate this unfamiliar context with skill, sensitivity and awareness.
The workshop will use a contextual behavioral lens to explore a number of ethical issues beginning with how to maintain appropriate professional boundaries while advocating for clients' best interests when collaborating with prescribers. With this foundation in place, we will explore ethical considerations in discussing medication effects, side effects, and alternatives with clients. This will include a look at the placebo effect and the diversity of client responses to psychiatric medications, illustrated through case studies. Finally, we will cover the importance of non-pharmacological interventions and the impact of client-provider relationships on treatment efficacy. Throughout the workshop, we will highlight the importance of therapist willingness, values-based action, and flexible perspective-taking in navigating these ethical dilemmas.
This interactive workshop combines didactic instruction with experiential learning. Participants will engage in small and large group discussions to explore ethical challenges and solutions. Role-play exercises will illuminate the complexities of ethical care and inter-professional collaboration.
Meet Your Instructors
Brett D. Howard, PhD, APRN
Brett D. Howard, PhD, APRN is one of the lead prescribers for True North Psychotherapy in Washington, DC. He is a specialist in organizational psychology, practice management & human performance. Brett's clinical practice has specialties in career counseling, professional derailment, work and job dysfunction, ADHD and collaborative psychiatric medication management. Brett's recent organizational work includes his direction of Organizational Performance & Wellness at Hawaii News Now and internal performance coaching & organizational development consulting to businesses local to Honolulu, Hawaii. Brett also regularly consults with mental health and psychiatric business owners across the country on the strategic, personnel, organizational, and management aspects of private practice. Brett is an Adjunct Professor of Nursing at Chaminade University of Honolulu and has been an active practitioner and trainer of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) for over 10 years.
AUDIENCE
This workshop is suitable for therapists at all experience levels seeking to refine their ethical practice in the evolving landscape of mental health treatment, where the intersection of psychotherapy and psychopharmacology presents unique challenges and opportunities for client care.
INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL
Introductory-Advanced
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Explain at least 2 ethical implications of discussing psychopharmacology with clients
- Use at least one strategy for setting appropriate boundaries when collaborating with prescribers
- Describe 3 ways in which therapists can support clients as they navigate psychopharmacological treatment.
WORKSHOP LOCATION
Taborspace-Annex
5441 SE Belmont St. Portland, OR 97215
EXAMPLE SCHEDULE (for both days)
- 9:00am - Registration begins
- 9:30am- Workshop begins
- 12:30pm - Workshop ends
SCHOLARSHIPS
We reserve a number of partial scholarships for potential attendees who could not otherwise afford to come. We give particular priority to those who would add diverse and underrepresented voices to our field. To submit an application, please click here.
CE CREDITS
Portland Psychotherapy Clinic, Research & Training Center is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Portland Psychotherapy, Clinic, Research & Training Center maintains responsibility for all programs and content.
3 Ethics CE credits (with the purchase of Professionals with CE Certificate ticket, completion of the Learning Activity Evaluation, and attendance of the entire workshop)
Refund/cancellation policy:
We charge a $15 administration fee for cancellations made more than one week before the training event. For cancellations within one week of the training event, we will refund 50% of the tuition. Alternately, participants may elect to apply 100% of their tuition to a future training event. No refunds will be given after training events.
Special Accommodations :
Please contact us if you need accommodations to enable you to fully participate in the workshop. We will work with you and do our best to find a way to ensure your participation.
