This webinar includes 1.5 CE credits in Ethics.

Clients sometimes bring spiritual beliefs, faith traditions, or religious wounds into the counseling space. As counselors, navigating these sacred tensions requires both ethical sensitivity and cultural humility. This presentation will explore how clinicians can ethically and compassionately support clients engaging in spiritual exploration, integration, or deconstruction. We will begin by identifying common professional biases that may emerge when counselors hold or encounter faith-based worldviews, particularly in settings where religious or spiritual identity is marginalized or misunderstood. Presenters will discuss how to hold space for clients’ evolving spiritual identities while remaining grounded in professional ethics and honoring diverse worldviews. The presentation will also examine the therapeutic dynamics of religious deconstruction and reconstruction, drawing attention to the potential for grief, liberation, identity confusion, or trauma. We will explore how to maintain clinical presence with clients in this process while also tending to our own countertransference, values, and ethical responsibilities. Case examples will be used to demonstrate the application of ethical codes and culturally responsive practice when working with clients from various religious or spiritual backgrounds. Special attention will be given to language, power dynamics, and the importance of client autonomy in spiritual matters.

Meet the Presenters:

Monique Barber is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a National Board-Certified Counselor, and a Board-Certified TeleMental Health Provider. She is a counselor, educator, leader, scholar, and advocate for the counseling profession. Monique completed her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Liberty University. Her dissertation focused on the intersection of ethnicity, faith, and advocacy within the counseling profession. Monique holds a Master of Science in Counseling, Marriage, Couples, and Families from Northwest Nazarene University, with an emphasis in Addictions, and an undergraduate degree in English Literature with an Addictions focus from Boise State University. Monique serves as a Board Member of ICA, as well as the Secretary for the Idaho Association for Addiction Professionals. She is the Founder and Fellowship Director of Ever Forward Counseling x Neurofeedback.

Savannah O’Toole is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Clinical Fellow at Ever Forward Counseling x Neurofeedback. She works with teens and adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, spiritual integration and religious challenges, including deconstruction, and chronic health issues. Savannah offers an integrative approach grounded in person-centered care, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and polyvagal-informed trauma work. She has experience supporting clients from diverse backgrounds, including those in the LGBTQ+ community, those with autoimmune and women’s health concerns, and individuals exploring boundaries, identity, and emotional regulation.