By Ashlee Larrison
GCU News Bureau
What does doing good mean?
That was one of the main questions speakers Elizabeth Forsyth and Dr. Steven Farmer were tasked with clarifying Thursday morning at the three-hour continuing education ethics workshop hosted by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS). A group of about 40 community members looking to renew their ethics training traveled to Grand Canyon University to participate.
Forsyth, an adjunct professor at GCU and a past president for the Arizona Counseling Association, and Farmer, Associate Clinical Professor and Program Coordinator at Northern Arizona University, worked to create a discussion on what to do during ethical situations within both their personal and professional lives in fields such as counseling and social services.
“They both bring a wealth of experience and in-depth knowledge of ethics because they both teach ethics,” said Kathy Britton, Clinical Manager for CHSS. “They’re looking at ethics combined with personal value.”
In 2014, when requirements changed and updated for therapists, the challenges of personal values not lining up with the clientele they were getting became a hot topic. It was an issue that was discussed throughout the workshop through multiple controversial client scenarios.
The event, a collaboration of GCU and NAU, gave back to the community and fellow professionals in the field.
“We see this as a community service because a lot of professionals need to get continued education units,” said Dr. Noé Vargas, Assistant Dean for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We provide the service which we invite guest speakers to provide a workshop and we invite people from the community to come for free and receive this workshop where they get their units.”
Vargas said workshops such as this one help build relationships and collaborations among organizations, opening more connections for students seeking internships.
“We want to make sure that we have a good relationship so they know us well and we know them well, so we can actually have our students get their hours and get out into the world,” he said. “It’s a good thing, I think, for everybody.”
Britton said the goal is to bring workshops like this to campus quarterly to allow professionals the chance to earn their Continuing Education Units (CEUs) at GCU.
Contact GCU staff writer Ashlee Larrison at [email protected] or at 602-639-8488.
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