Advocacy with Respect: Ethically Supporting Adult Clients With Accommodation Requests

ABOUT

Adult clients are asking clinicians for help navigating academic and workplace accommodations, yet many clinicians receive little guidance on what that support should look like in practice.This training provides practical guidance for supporting adult clients in college and work settings as they request accommodations. Participants will explore current disability statistics, discuss why accommodations are often essential for access and retention, and learn how higher education institutions and employers typically handle accommodation requests.

The training focuses on the clinician’s role in the process, including documenting functional impact, communicating clinical observations appropriately, and avoiding common mistakes. Participants will review real-world examples of clinician support letters, with attention to ethical language, tone, and scope of practice.
This training is designed to reduce uncertainty, increase clinician confidence, and support client access while maintaining ethical and professional boundaries.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Recall the prevalence of disability among adults in higher education and workplace settings and summarize why accommodations are a clinically relevant issue.
Explain the self-identification and accommodation request processes commonly used by colleges, universities, and employers.
Draft ethical, appropriate letters of support that describe functional impact.

Dana Cea (they)

Meet the Presenter:

Dana M. Cea (she/they), PhD, MS, CRC, LCHMC, NCC, QS is a disabled clinician, educator, and advocate whose work centers on access, disability, and ethical clinical practice. Drawing from lived experience and clinical work, Dana supports clinicians in understanding accommodation processes, documenting functional impact appropriately, and helping adult clients navigate disclosure in academic and workplace environments. Dana is committed to improving accessibility while empowering clinicians with clear, practical guidance for supporting clients seeking accommodations.

Rave Reviews from Previous Conferences

I learned more from this conference than I did from most of my grad school classes. As a queer nonbinary provider working with primarily queer and gender nonconforming folks, it is so important to hear from others who share these identities in how to best support and affirm my clients. I also really appreciated the letter writing training as it has allowed me to help so many clients access affirming care. I look forward to attending this upcoming year and continuing to listen and learn!

Every presenter was amazing and brought a wealth of information and experience to each session. I continue to use what I learned in the conference and in Van’s other trainings as a jumping off point to do my own self work and to better support my clients and the community. I've gotten so much out of previous conferences and I can't wait to attend this year's!

Attending this conference was a game-changer for me. It took me from being informed to embracing an affirming lens and practice, and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience. If you're looking to level up your understanding and support of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, trust me, the Do Something Identity(ies) conference is where it's at. You won't regret it!

As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and addiction specialist, I was blown away by the quality of content and selection offered during the conference. The robust selection of top-notch presenters was impressive and the topics covered a wide array of timely and relevant material. I would strongly encourage anyone working in any helping profession to attend this conference if at all possible. It is exactly this kind of content and presentation that is needed in order for us to heal ourselves and those around us.