Ethics and Co-occurring Disorders | 1 CE Hour

Ethics and Co-occurring Conditions

This on-demand course explores ethical mandates of integrated care and the foundational principles that inform coordinated services and supports. Designed for a wide array of behavioral health professionals, the course offers an opportunity to approach complex care situations with greater clarity and confidence.

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100% Online | On-demand | 1.0 CE Hour | Only $9.95

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Why Take This Course

Ethical care is at the heart of effective integrated treatment for co-occurring conditions. Supporting individuals with co-occurring addiction and mental health conditions often involves balancing competing priorities and navigating ethics dilemmas. In this course you will:

Explore the responsibilities and ethics principles that guide integrated treatment for co-occurring conditions.
Better understand the tensions that can arise in involuntary care, including considerations related to client autonomy.
Examine how core ethics principles inform services and supports for individuals with co-occurring conditions.
Build a stronger understanding of ethics considerations that can inform thoughtful decisions across mental health and addiction treatment settings.

What You'll Learn

By the end of this course, you will be better able to:

describe the ethical mandates of integrated co-occurring conditions services and supports (ICCSS);
recognize the tensions inherent in involuntary care; and
identify ethics as a foundation of ICCSS core principles.

Who Developed This Course

Senior Instructor Teresa McDowell

Teresa McDowell, EdD, LMFT is professor emerita at Lewis & Clark, where she served as department chair and co-founded the college’s Problem Gambling Services. With over 40 years of experience as a clinician, educator, administrator, and consultant, Teresa focuses on workforce development, equity-based clinical practice, integrated treatment for problem gambling, and clinical supervision. She is a social researcher, program evaluator, and consultant with Partners in Social Research and Senior Instructor for ACORN. Dr. McDowell has authored more than 50 scholarly publications and is lead author of Socioculturally Attuned Family Therapy: Applying Third Order Thinking to Theory and Practice (3rd Ed., 2026).

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at your pace, 100% online

$9.95

1.0 CE Hour

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What About CE Hours

A certificate of completion will be available on the Student Dashboard after you complete all required course activities and the course evaluation survey.

ACORN is approved by the Mental Health & Addiction Certification Board of Oregon (MHACBO), Provider ID: 26-0044, to provide continuing education courses. Additionally, ACORN is approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7274. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. ACORN is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Who This Course Is For

This course is designed for behavioral health professionals who provide services and supports to individuals with co-occurring conditions. It is particularly relevant for those seeking to strengthen their understanding of ethics responsibilities, involuntary care, and the principles guiding integrated treatment. This includes a wide range of professionals such as:

mental health counselors (MHC / LPC), marriage and family therapists (MFT / LMFT), art therapists (AT / LAT), social workers (SW / LSW / LCSW), psychologists;
Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors (CADCs) and Certified Gambling Addiction Counselors (CGACs);
Qualified Mental Health Associates (QMHAs) and Qualified Mental Health Professionals (QMHPs);
peers and behavioral health supervisors.

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Important Disclaimer

The information provided in this course is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Laws, rules, regulations, and professional codes may change, and information presented in this course may not reflect the most current requirements at the time it is reviewed. You should not act, or refrain from acting, based solely on information provided in this course without reviewing current laws, administrative rules, professional codes, and board guidance, and seeking legal advice from qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction when appropriate.