Behavioral health professionals are encountering a critical and growing need—how to effectively support BIPOC clients who are navigating the lasting effects of racial and ethnic trauma. Telehealth opens new doors, but without anti-racist practices, these virtual spaces risk replicating the same disparities clients face in the real world.
Whether you are a clinician working in community mental health, private practice, or an integrated care setting, this course offers essential guidance for fostering healing, equity, and safety in your telehealth sessions with BIPOC clients.
Dr. Ritchie Rubio brings over two decades of global clinical and academic experience to this course. A clinical psychologist, expressive arts therapist, trauma consultant, and systems-level leader in San Francisco’s Department of Public Health, Dr. Rubio is deeply immersed in implementing diversity-responsive and trauma-informed care. His work spans continents and communities—bridging clinical excellence with cultural humility.
In this training, Dr. Rubio presents a practical and culturally-anchored approach to anti-racist telehealth practice. He draws on frameworks like the HEART model, culturally adapted TF-CBT, and trauma narrative work, while integrating neuroscience, expressive arts, and body-based strategies tailored to clients’ lived experiences.
Topics explored include race-based trauma theory, culturally adapted mindfulness, intergenerational trauma transmission, storytelling in therapy, distress tolerance tools rooted in cultural traditions, narrative processing (including sandtray and art therapy), trauma-informed telehealth strategies, and tools to address the digital divide and platform inequities.
Key Takeaways:
Understand racial trauma in clinical context: Learn how racial/ethnic trauma uniquely manifests and how it impacts assessment, treatment planning, and engagement.
Implement culturally-adapted telehealth strategies: Gain practical methods for adapting evidence-based trauma interventions across diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.
Bridge the digital divide in telehealth: Explore accessible tools and approaches for increasing equity in telehealth service delivery.
Why This Course?
Equity-driven and clinically grounded: This course integrates evidence-based trauma care with anti-racist, culturally affirming practices for telehealth delivery.
Learn from a globally-informed expert: Dr. Rubio’s depth of experience ensures the course speaks directly to the challenges faced by today’s behavioral health providers.
Tailored for meaningful change: You’ll leave with practical, adaptable tools—not just theories—that can transform your virtual care with BIPOC clients.
Learning Objectives:
Define racial trauma within the context of behavioral health assessment and intervention of BIPOC clients.
Identify and describe at least two ways of addressing telehealth inequities and the digital divide when working with BIPOC clients.
Illustrate at least two methods of culturally-adapting trauma-focused interventions using telehealth platforms when working with BIPOC clients who present with racial/ethnic trauma.
By combining cultural insight with clinical rigor, this course helps clinicians build safer, more effective telehealth spaces that acknowledge trauma and affirm identity.
Add this course to your cart as you deepen your commitment to justice and healing in your practice.
This is a non-interactive self-study course. Instruction consists of 1.5 hours of video instruction and a post-test.
Availability: From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.
Who Should Attend: This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.
Teaching Methods: This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.
How to Attend: Instructions for attending and completing a course can be found here.
Ritchie Rubio Ph.D.
Ritchie Rubio Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist has and works as a clinical child psychologist, play and expressive arts therapist, researcher-storyteller, program evaluator, statistical consultant, data analyst, telehealth trainer/consultant, and associate professor/lecturer in a variety of clinical and academic settings including public health systems, universities, pediatric hospitals, community mental health settings, schools, and research institutes in three countries: the Philippines, U.S.A., and New Zealand. Dr. Rubio moved from the Philippines at the age of 25, completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a Child and Family emphasis from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) through a Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program (IFP) grant. He is currently the Director of Practice Improvement and Analytics of the Children, Youth, and Families System of Care (CYF-SOC) Behavioral Health Services (BHS) at the San Francisco Department of Public Health in California, USA. In that role, he plans and coordinates a clinical practice improvement and evaluation program focused on identifying best trauma-informed and diversity-responsive practices; and utilizing implementation science to design and strengthen clinical assessment and interventions. He is also an adjunct Associate Professor at the Counseling Psychology programs of the University of San Francisco and the Berkeley Wright Institute. He teaches courses such as Research and Statistics; Crisis and Trauma Counseling; Neuroscience; Child and Adolescent Counseling; Family Violence and Protection; Individual, and Family Development; and Clinical Assessment and Measures. His clinical work was/is primarily with immigrant and multicultural children/youth and their families. He mostly integrates psychodynamic, attachment, family systems, multicultural, expressive arts, play therapy, and CBT orientations.
Disclosure Statement: The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.
Credit Hours: This course consists of 1.5 ethics continuing education hours of credit.
Counselors:
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Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No, 6693. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors. #MHC-0048.
Marriage and Family Therapists: Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations. You can check with your board to determine if your licensing board would accept this course.
Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0135, effective May 8, 2025.
Social Workers:
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Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2024 – 05/02/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.5 ethics continuing education credits.
Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers #SW-0435.
Addiction Professionals:
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This course has been approved by Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits. NAADAC Provider #193104, Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is responsible for all aspects of the programming.
Psychologists:
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Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0128.
Art Therapists: Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Creative Arts Therapists #CAT-0093.
Other Professionals: This course qualifies for 90 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.
This is a non-interactive, self-study course.
