Psychopharmacology for Counselors: Ethical, Confident, and Faith-Informed Practice

Friday, August 21, 2026

9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church
Marietta, GA

Breakfast (prior to workshop start) and Lunch will be served.

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Workshop Description

Many counselors feel underprepared to navigate conversations about psychotropic medications. This training equips clinicians to engage these discussions with clarity, ethical confidence, and a counseling-centered lens, strengthening their ability to support clients without stepping outside their professional role.

This 6-hour workshop provides foundational knowledge of major psychotropic medication classes, along with practical skills in interpreting medication lists, recognizing treatment response and side effects, and engaging in collaborative care. Emphasis is placed on the counselor’s scope of practice, informed consent, and ethical decision-making in medication related conversations.

Grounded in a Christian worldview that honors the whole person as body, mind, and spirit, this workshop also explores the meaning of psychiatric medication within faith-based contexts. Participants will examine common theological tensions, consider culturally and spiritually responsive approaches, and develop greater confidence integrating psychopharmacology awareness into clinical practice.

Presenter: Kathleen E. Bazile Ph.D., LPC, ACS, NCC

Dr. Kathleen E. Bazile is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Counselor Educator, and Director of Clinical Training at Richmont Graduate University, where she prepares master’s-level clinicians for ethical, clinically sound, and culturally responsive practice. She holds a doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from Mercer University and has over 17 years of experience across community mental health, private practice, and higher education. Dr. Bazile brings a grounded, practitioner-educator perspective to her work.

Dr. Bazile teaches psychopharmacology within a counseling framework, equipping clinicians to understand how medications intersect with client presentation, case conceptualization, and the therapeutic process. Drawing on her background in ethics, she emphasizes the counselor’s role in informed consent, scope of practice, and guiding clients in making thoughtful, values-aligned decisions about medication.

She approaches clinical training and practice through a faith-informed lens, believing that whole-person care honors the spiritual dimensions of human experience alongside the biological, psychological, and social.

Dr. Bazile is the founder of Stillpoint Counseling & Wellness, a private practice specializing in supporting high-achieving women navigating perimenopause, midlife transitions, anxiety, and burnout. A frequent presenter regional and national conferences se is known for translating complex concepts into clear, practical applications that clinicians can immediately use in their work.

 Learning Objectives: At the end of this workshop, the participant will be able to: 

• Describe the basic mechanisms of action for the major classes of psychotropic medications, including antidepressants, anxiolytics, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, and stimulants.
• Interpret a client’s psychiatric medication list and identify common side effects, interactions, and treatment response indicators relevant to counseling practice.
• Apply a faith-informed, biopsychosocial-spiritual framework to understanding mental health concerns and the role of psychotropic medication in treatment.
• Differentiate ethical and legal boundaries of the counselor’s scope of practice in relation to psychotropic medications, including considerations specific to faith-based settings.
• Demonstrate effective communication strategies for collaborating with prescribers and other healthcare professionals in support of client care.
• Integrate psychopharmacological knowledge and spiritual considerations into case conceptualization and treatment planning to support whole-person care.

For questions, including information about accommodations, please contact Amy Estes at ContinuingEd@Richmont.edu.

There is no known commercial support for this program.

Richmont Graduate University has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 4534. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Richmont Graduate University is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

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

Presentation References:

Cohen, J. N., Lee, J. H., Nadkarni, A., Rustad, J. K., & Stern, T. A. (2025). Collaboration Between Primary Care Providers and Mental Health Professionals: Rationale and Clinical Practice. The primary care companion for CNS disorders, 27(6), 25f03977. https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.25f03977

Goldberg, S. G., & Wagner, K. (2019). American Psychological Association practice guidelines for psychopharmacology: Ethical practice considerations for psychologists involving psychotropic use with children and adolescents. Journal of clinical psychology, 75(3), 344–363. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22705

Hook, J. N., Worthington, E. L., Davis, D. E., Jennings, D. J., Gartner, A. L., & Hook, J. P. (2010). Empirically supported religious and spiritual therapies. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 46–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20626

Hughes, P. M., McGrath, R. E., & Thomas, K. C. (2024). Simulating the Impact of Psychologist Prescribing Authority Policies on Mental Health Prescriber Shortages. Professional psychology, research and practice, 55(2), 140–150. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000560

Ingersoll, R. E., & Rak, C. F. (2016). Psychopharmacology for helping professionals: An integral exploration (2nd ed.). Cengage Learning.

McMinn, M. R., Staley, R. C., Webb, K. C., & Seegobin, W. (2010). Just what is Christian counseling anyway? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(5), 391–397. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018584

Metzl, J. M., & Hansen, H. (2014). Structural competency: Theorizing a new medical engagement with stigma and inequality. Social Science & Medicine, 103, 126–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.06.032

Pearce, M., Haynes, K., Rivera, N. R., & Koenig, H. G. (2018). Spiritually integrated cognitive processing therapy. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 7, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2164956118759939

Remmers de Vries, S., & Gonzales-Wong, C. D. (2022). Herbal remedies, over-the-counter drugs, and dietary supplements: A primer for counselors. The Professional Counselor, 12(2), 113–128. https://doi.org/10.15241/srdv.12.2.113

Stahl, S. M. (2021). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Voderholzer, U., Barton, B. B., Favreau, M., Zisler, E. M., Rief, W., Wilhelm, M., & Schramm, E. (2024). Enduring effects of psychotherapy, antidepressants and their combination for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in psychiatry, 15, 1415905. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1415905