This workshop includes all the most current information available about this life-threatening illness that affects many families. Contents include: overview, current treatments, cultural issues, legal & ethical issues, counseling clients and their partners, friends and families as well as referrals to community resources for those affected by H.I.V. and A.I.D.S.

At the completion of this course participants will be able to:
1. Communicate effectively with clients and professional colleagues on a range of social, psychological, interpersonal, and medical issues related to the care and treatment of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
2. Identify factors critical to the assessment of individuals at risk for the acquisition or transmission of HIV to determine appropriate counseling and intervention strategies.
3. Demonstrate a culturally-competent understanding of the impact of HIV on specific populations with regard to race, ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation.
4. Identify and apply legal and ethical considerations with regard to treating clients with HIV/AIDS.
5. Utilize appropriate methods and skills for counseling clients with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS.

This course satisfies the requirements for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences mandatory Continuing Education course in HIV/AIDS.

Presented by Kris Topaz, MA, MFT

Kris comes from a background of teaching people from birth to adult, having received a MA in Human Development with a specialization in parent-community work, teaching credential, and MA in MFT at Pacific Oaks College. In addition to teaching at Gerry Grossman Seminars, she is faculty in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Phoenix, where she teaches the MFT, practicum and psychology courses. Kris maintains a practice providing energy balancing healing and pastoral services, teaches courses in meditation and healing, and has taught in public schools. Kris worked for fourteen years as a bilingual foster care social worker and parent educator. Having passed the exams on her first attempt due to Gerry's seminars, she has been licensed since 1997 working in various clinical settings. Kris serves as the Clinical Director, L.A. Chapter, A Home Within and as a Director on the Board of Directors, Ca. Division of AAMFT.

Kris uses a Humanistic therapeutic style in her private practice in Monrovia, and works in Spanish with the Latino community. In her leisure time Kris enjoys riding her horse which lives with her on her ranchette on the edge of the national forest.