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- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
There is an increasing interest in the health and human services professionals to better serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other gender/sexual minority (LGBT+) individuals. This course highlights the unique needs of bisexual clients or those who otherwise identify in a non-binary way in the realm of sexual identification and expression. Professionals will learn valuable tools and approaches for strengthening their rapport with bisexually identified clients, with an emphasis placed on evaluating one's own biases around sexual identify and expression. The course also presents a basic plan for addressing oppressive cognitions as part of trauma-focused care.
- INTRODUCTION
- FOUNDATIONS: IDENTIFYING BISEXUALITY AND RELATED DEFINITIONS
- THE TRAUMA OF THE BISEXUAL EXPERIENCE
- CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TRAUMA TREATMENT PLANNING FOR BISEXUAL CLIENTS
- CLINICAL COMPETENCE IN WORKING WITH BISEXUAL UMBRELLA CLIENTS
- CONCLUSION
- RESOURCES
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This introductory course is designed for psychologists who work with clients on a regular basis or who teach/supervise those working with clients who identify as bisexual or non-binary.
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs. NetCE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0240. This course is considered self-study by the New York State Board for Psychology.
NetCE designates this continuing education activity for 5 credit(s).
The purpose of this course is to provide psychologists with the knowledge and resources necessary to improve the care provided to bisexual or sexually fluid individuals.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Define bisexuality using several well-accepted definitions in the LGBT+ literature.
- List and briefly define other identifiers generally described as non-binary that often get discussed alongside bisexuality.
- Identify concerns unique to bisexual clients.
- Discuss the concept of trauma and oppressive cognitions in LGBT+ clients and explain how such cognitions can complicate recovery for bisexual clients.
- Articulate a basic trauma-focused treatment strategy for working with bisexual clients.
- Evaluate one's own personal biases surrounding bisexuality and working with bisexual clients.
Jamie Marich, PhD, LPCC-S, REAT, RYT-500, RMT, (she/they) travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts, and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice and online education operation, the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, in her home base of northeast Ohio. She is the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy and the developer of Yoga for Clinicians. Dr. Marich is the author of numerous books, including EMDR Made Simple, Trauma Made Simple, and EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma Focused Care (written in collaboration with Dr. Stephen Dansiger). She is also the author of Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery. In 2020, a revised and expanded edition of Trauma and the 12 Steps was released. In 2022 and 2023, Dr. Marich published two additional books: The Healing Power of Jiu-Jitsu: A Guide to Transforming Trauma and Facilitating Recovery and Dissociation Made Simple. Dr. Marich is a woman living with a dissociative disorder, and this forms the basis of her award-winning passion for advocacy in the mental health field.
Contributing faculty, Jamie Marich, PhD, LPCC-S, REAT, RYT-500, RMT, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
James Trent, PhD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.