Fun with Z-Codes: The Clinical Mental Health Counselor’s Guide to Diagnosing Non-Disorders

Description: 

Some mental health counselors erroneously believe that once they've slapped a disorder label on an assessment, they've done their due diligence in formulating a DSM-5 diagnosis, but they're missing out on an important and critical aspect of diagnosis-- z-codes! What are "z-codes?" If they aren't disorders, will insurance companies pay for them? If not, then why are they important? A comprehensive list of z-codes is an integral part of diagnosis. When clinicians learn to efficiently and effectively list z-codes, they can save themselves and others a great deal of time, write more meaningful treatment plans, more easily identify what's missing in their interventions, and thereby improve client outcomes. Whether you're a therapist seeking to improve your clinical skills or a forensic evaluator who wants to write a more effective evaluation report, this training should equip you to start having fun with z-codes.

CE Broker Tracking #: 20-850786

This is an event sponsored by FMHCA. This course is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, LMHC, LMFT, LCSW – FMHCA CE Broker #: 50-748

Learning Objectives:

1. Define z-codes and learn an efficient method for where and how to find then in the DSM-5.

2. List reasons why z-codes are so important for thorough assessment and treatment planning.

3. Identify several z-codes in a case scenario

About the Presenter:

Aaron Norton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy serving as Executive Director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, Adjunct Instructor at the University of South Florida, Southern Regional Director for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, and President of the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. He has nearly 20 years of clinical experience at Integrity Counseling, Inc., was awarded Mental Health Counselor of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association and Counselor Educator of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Research of the Year by Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2020, and has been published in several social science journals and professional magazines in clinical mental health counseling.