Course Summary

Practice Level: Intermediate

Mental health care providers must be familiar with existing interventions that are designed to address bias. Implicit bias refers to prejudicial attitudes toward and stereotypical beliefs about a particular social group or members therein. Implicit bias exists outside of one’s awareness and can be more difficult for clinicians to identify and work through. Mental health care providers should strive to identify and address their own biases and the biases held by others, which will help clinicians maximize care efficacy and minimize discrimination.

This intermediate-level learning material describes implicit bias and outlines existing research into its pervasiveness, nature, and history. It also describes the effects of implicit bias, how to screen for it, and ways to mitigate its influence on care. It is necessary for clinicians to learn about the evidence base for these approaches and to recognize the importance of interventions beyond implicit bias training. Doing so helps them address inequity in health care service delivery and client outcomes. Clinical examples are provided throughout to offer insight into real-world examples of implicit bias in clinical encounters. This learning material also includes illustrations of implicit bias prevention as well as interventions to inhibit its influence on behaviors and repair the harm it may cause.

Course Format

This course contains downloadable online lessons (PDF) and a practice test.

Learning Objectives

  1. Identify key concepts that relate to implicit bias.
  2. Recognize the effects of implicit bias on health care outcomes.
  3. Describe characteristics of interventions that effectively reduce bias and its effects.
  4. Identify ways to recognize implicit bias and reduce its influence on one’s actions.

Course Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Overview of Implicit Bias
    • Types of Bias
    • Importance of Addressing Bias
    • Types of Implicit Bias
    • Implicit Bias and Marginalized Populations
    • Guidance From Professional Codes of Ethics and Organizations
  • Effects of Implicit Bias on Clinical Care
    • Bias in Health Care Provider Education, Assessment and Measures
    • Treatment Disparities: Access and Efficacy
    • Treatment Decision Making
    • Patient Relationships and Communication With Providers
  • Screening for Implicit Bias
  • Strategies for Mitigating Implicit Bias
    • Interventions for Clinicians
    • Addressing Effects on Clients
    • Measures of Improvement
    • Future Work/Limitations of Existing Knowledge
  • Additional Resources
  • Summary

Author

Jessie Timmons, LCSW

Jessie Timmons, LCSW, is a seasoned therapist and teacher of social work, as well as a practiced advocate for cultural humility and inclusive advocacy. She is a former faculty member of Temple University’s School of Social Work and is a current board member, having served two years as the board president for the Pennsylvania Society for Clinical Social Work (PSCSW). Her teaching and professional development have focused on ethical practice and in particular on making inclusiveness and affirmative advocacy an integral part of the ethical practice of social work and social work education.

Accreditation Approval Statements

CE4Less.com is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CE4Less.com maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

CE4Less.com, provider #1115, 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: 8/8/24-8/8/27.

Social workers completing this course receive 3 cultural competency continuing education credits.

NBCC

CE4Less.com has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6991. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CE4Less.com is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

We are committed to providing our learners with unbiased information. CE4Less never accepts commercial support and our authors have no significant financial or other conflicts of interest pertaining to the material.