CCPS Co-Sponsors Professional Development Event on Atlanta Campus

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ATLANTA — Mercer University’s Department of Counseling and Human Services and its new School Counseling program are co-sponsoring two free continuing education opportunities for professional counselors, titled “Ethics and the Law,” on Mercer’s Atlanta Campus. The two one-day workshops are scheduled on July 20 and 21. The presenter for the events is Carolyn B. Stone, Ed D., a leading expert in the area of ethics and law in counseling children and teens.

Dr. Stone is a past president of the American School Counselor’s Association and the co-creator of MEASURE – Mission, Elements, Analyze, Stakeholders, Unite, Reanalyze and Educate – a seven-step process that assists school counselors in delivering a data-driven school counseling program supporting the accountability component of the American School Counselor Association National Model. She has worked closely with the Education Trust and American School Counselor’s Association to reorganize the role of school counselors in the Florida school systems. She is a recognized authority in the areas of school counseling training, counselor accountability and ethics and the law as it pertains to minors.  Dr. Stone is also the author or co-author of several books, including Transformed School Counselors (2006) and School Counseling Principles: Ethics & Law (2005).

Dr. Stone will provide an insider’s view and challenge attendees to view their sphere of influence from a systemic perspective and develop an awareness of the major ethical, societal and educational changes impacting the school counselor, including the changes in the law, economy, technology, family structures, standards-based education and diversity, according to event organizer Dr. Diane M. Clark, associate counseling program coordinator in the school counseling program of Mercer’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies.

The workshops are co-sponsored by Mercer’s College of Continuing and Professional Studies, Gwinnett County Public Schools Office of Advisement and Counseling and the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia. Professional counselors and school counselors attending the seminar are eligible for eight hours of ethics for continuing education credit, which have been approved through the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia.

“We’ve designed these workshops for those who are counselors or school counselors or in the school counselor education programs or considering entering this field,” Dr. Clark said. “For those studying counseling, the workshops will provide an excellent window into the ethical and legal aspects of the profession. For those who are already counselors, the workshops will provide them training in sound ethics for dealing with children and teens. In addition, the workshops will provide tips for essential risk-management techniques to prevent malpractice suits and give specific steps to take if you are served with a subpoena or named in a lawsuit.”

The seminars are identical each day, running from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will take place in the Chapel of Mercer’s Atlanta Administration and Conference Center, located at 2930 Flowers Road S. in Atlanta.

For more information or to register for this event, contact (678) 547-6047, clark_dm@mercer.edu or dianne_thompson@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

About The College of Continuing and Professional Studies:
The College is committed to meeting the educational goals of working adults. The College offers undergraduate degree programs in organization leadership, public safety, liberal studies, human resources administration and human services, and graduate programs in counseling, school counseling and public safety leadership. Its programs are offered on Mercer’s Macon and Atlanta campuses and at the University’s regional academic centers in Henry County, Douglas County and Eastman.

About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has approximately 7,600 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah; three regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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