PART 1 Mental Health Counseling for People Living with HIV-AIDS: History, Medical Facts, Cultural Awareness, Social Determinants of Health, and Ethical Issues (3.75 CE hours, including 1.75 L&E)

The California Board of Behavioral Sciences requires 7 hours of training on assessing and working with people living with HIV/AIDS for LPCCs, LMFTs, and LCSWs at their first license renewal. (See BBS CE requirements here – click on Mandatory Coursework then First-time License Renewals to read about this particular requirement.) This two-part course by Resonant Equity, Inc. is designed to meet that requirement by providing video lectures, readings, first-person accounts, and resources specific to mental health counseling. The course includes statistics and resources relevant to California, while also integrating information from other states and countries, given how HIV/AIDS impacts all geographies and populations. Counselors outside of California would also benefit from this training, especially since this disease is not well covered in most master’s counseling programs. Continuing education credit awarded by Resonant Equity is accepted by most state licensing boards.

This is Part 1 of the two-part course. Find Part 2 here. Part 1 provides mental health counselors with a foundational understanding of HIV, including how the virus is transmitted, how it affects the immune system, and how it progresses if it is not treated. Part 1 covers key concepts in current medical care and common acronyms, such as viral load, PrEP which is a protective treatment taken by someone who is not infected, and the role of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in suppressing the virus and preventing transmission. While counselors do not provide medical care, having a clear grasp of these basics supports informed, affirming, and collaborative work with clients living with HIV, and allows clinicians to confidently integrate psychoeducation and advocacy into their practice when appropriate. Legal and ethical considerations specific to counseling people living with HIV and disclosures are covered. The next lesson presents social determinants of health and intersectional oppressions, and then the third lesson shares lived experience and the history of populations particularly impacted by the AIDS pandemic when it first arose in the 1980s.

Note: You must complete all lessons in both parts of the course to earn the total of 7 CE hours. A CE certificate will be generated at the end of each of the two parts. Post-tests will be taken periodically through each module to check your knowledge when it is fresh. After going through all the content and passing the post-tests in Part 1, you’ll submit a course eval and receive your Part 1 CE certificate, which will be for 3.75 CE hours (which includes 1.75 law and ethics CEs). Then, Part 2 can be purchased separately and provides for an additional 3.25 CE hours with 0.25 law and ethics CE hours. Partial CEs cannot be awarded.

Resonant Equity, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7682. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Resonant Equity, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.