The Functions of a Mental Health Counselor - Term Paper Example

?Introduction This paper is aimed at developing an understanding of the functions of professional counsellor and the scope of the work undertaken by him or her in this capacity. It contains a discussion of the interview of Susan Eeds who is a licensed professional counsellor, and uses the insights gained from the interview as well as from book readings and literature review, to develop the profile of the work performed by a counsellor during a typical day. It also contains a reflection on the new insights that were gained from the interview and which added to my knowledge from my readings. Summation of the Interview Susan Eeds is a licensed professional counsellor who offers counselling services for different psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder and physical, emotional and sexual abuse. The interview findings reveal that mental health counsellors work in the broad domain of social service. A routine day for Eeds does not just involve meeting clients and conducting counselling sessions, it also involves dealing with paper work, insurance related issues, billing and constantly educating and updating oneself on new techniques and theories. As she is in private practice, Eeds does not deal with Medicaid or court cases. However, on some occasions, she deals with subpoenas. In addition, she ensures the confidentiality of the clients by adhering to the ACA code of ethics. Her practice is influenced by different psychological theories such as Cognitive Behavioural therapy, development theory of Erick Ericson, energy psychology, emotional freedom technique and eye movement desensitization reprocessing solution therapy. If the client is open to it, she also uses spirituality in her therapy. Eeds finds the understanding of multiculturalism important because it gives a perspective to each case and hence, the clients feel comfortable. Eeds was trained as a marriage and family counsellor, but with experience she found that she was much more connected to the clients who had issues of depression, trauma and anxiety. Eeds is of the opinion that therapy is also important along with psychotropic medication. Therefore, she ensures that she has tried her best so that the client’s needs only minimal possible medication. Though Eeds never had to deal with situations such as natural disasters or crisis, she regularly encounters clients who face PTSD crisis. It is necessary that the clients get timely support, else the condition can worsen. To help such clients, she has provided them with emergency contact numbers where support is always available on the phone. In addition, she also keeps a flexible schedule to handle such crisis situations. As Eeds is in private practice, she is responsible for her own accountability. She shares her office with another therapist, which is a good way of making sure that both the therapists watch out for each other’s accountability. Additionally, she also gets in touch with other therapists just to make sure that there are no repercussions on her own emotional or mental health because of constant interaction with the clients who are in crisis situation. Another aspect of her role is to determine when to seek consultation or supervision. For example, during her training, she encountered a client who was not getting any better after three months of therapy. In this scenario, she approached her supervisor who recommended that some clients would require years of therapy before they got better. Eeds is a strong advocate of Energy psychology. She also supports MOCSA (Metropolitan Organization for Counter Sexual Assault) that supports women who have been sexually assaulted by providing them emotional and mental support, helping during court cases and conducting therapy sessions for the victim. According to Eeds, being a counsellor has resulted in both personal and professional growth. She practices the Emotional Freedom Techniques to improve her self-esteem and confidence. She too had a past of trauma and with her work, she has been able to recover from it and connect more with her clients. She finds the experience of clients recovering to be very rewarding. Story: A Day in the Life of a Mental Health Counselor A day in the life a Mental Health counselor involves many different activities. Typically, the day begins with preparation for the meeting sessions with clients. The counselor would go through the client files to understand the progress so that the sessions can be well-oriented. Thoroughly understanding the history and progress of the client is necessary for any session (Erford, 2010). Depending on the time schedule and convenience, the counselor may have anywhere between six to 10 clients per day. An important part of each day is the client session, where counselor interacts directly with the client. Counselors have their own approach to these sessions depending on the theory that they follow (Hackney, 1992). For example, Susan Eeds follows the development theory of Erick Ericson. These counseling sessions can be like a casual chat conversation or an intensive session of probing, depending on the situation in hand (Kaut, 2007). For instance, in the cases of PTSD, intensive therapy may be required along with medication for depression. If it is a new patient, then the counselor should make use of the session to get as much information about the condition of the client, along with any relevant history (Harrison and Westwood, 2009). The first session is critical because it forms the basis of all the subsequent diagnosis and treatment plan (Bradley et al, 2005). As a part of meeting the clients, the counselor is also required to communicate with the families or the guardians to give them timely updates when working with minors and children. In addition, counselors also have to finish paperwork regarding each of their clients so that information is documented well. The next task at hand would be to make sure that all the information, however minor it be, is documented well with the help of assistants (Pearson, 2004). Filing all the paperwork and documentation is extremely important when it comes to counseling sessions. After meeting each client, the counselor also has to undertake the process of evaluation (Erford, 2010). Monitoring progress is an important step of the mental health counseling process. This stage can help in deciding the future strategies of intervention (Barrio-Minton and Myers, 2008). For example, if a person shows no change even after repeated sessions, then it is important to find out the reasons for lack of progress. Such revelations come out only during effective evaluation sessions (Astramovich&Coke 2007). As newer theories and techniques continue to be discovered, it is necessary for the counselor to keep himself or herself updated with the latest information (Smith et al, 2009). Therefore, counselors also spend some time educating and training themselves so that they can use the newest techniques in handling difficult client situations. In addition, clients also trust them more when they know that the counselor is aware of all the latest advancements. From time to time, intervention programs also need to up changed and remodeled (Erford, 2010). The counselor is directly involved in deciding how these programs need to be changed and redesigned for the clients or the patients. It is a common myth that mental health counselors are required only for individual case assessments. The truth is that they have an important role to play even situations of national crisis or large-scale disaster (Dingman and Kinter, 1995). Therefore, they also have to be prepared for such emergencies. Consultation also forms an important part of the day to day life of a mental health counselor (Worthen and Lambert, 2007). Often, the patients that come for counseling may have multiple issues which would require consultation with other psychologists. Consultation and effective collaboration can have a big impact on the way in which the patients can benefit. It also proves to be useful for the professional development of the counselor. Certain trauma situations also require legal and police involvement, where the patients would often look for support to their counselors (Erford, 2010). For example, a sexual assault victim may request the counselor to give witness statements in case they are involved in a legal battle. In the end, some amount of time also needs to be devoted to administrative tasks such as insurance and billing. While this is not directly connected with the actual process of counseling, it is necessary to finish these tasks so that the counseling centre or the department runs in a smooth manner (Erford, 2010). A Reflection on both the interview and the books/literature that you have studied that responds to the questions below: What did you learn from the interview that you didn’t learn in your readings? The interview gave the actual practical implications of the readings. The readings elaborated on the theoretical concepts, but the interview explained how the theoretical learning translated into application. For example, a high amount of focus is given on how to handle cases related to national crisis or disasters. However, the practical implication of how Eeds used it with clients who undergo PSTD. Another aspect of learning from the interview was how being a mental health counselor enriches the personal life of the counselor. Eeds felt that she could overcome any challenges related to her lack of confidence and low self esteem with the help of this career choice. What, if anything, did you learn from the interview that contrasted with what you learned in your readings? Overall, there was no major issue of contrast between what came out in the interviews and the readings. However, the application of the readings is slightly different because the Susan Eeds is a private fractioned and works independently. For example, she has not participated in any court cases and also does not deal with Medicaid. Another learning that I gathered from the interview was that even if one has a traumatic past of traumatic events, it is still possible to become what one wants to be and to use those traumatic events to help other. For example, in my own life, I have been through several traumatic events, including physical, sexual and verbal abuse. I have let my past define me instead of letting it help pursue my life goal of helping others. After this interview and reading other counselors biographies I have found that a past of abuse or specific events have influenced their choice in becoming a counselor. What do you now understand better from the main book as a result of doing the interview? Doing the interview was beneficial because it supports the concepts provided in the main book. For example, the main books talks about how each counsellor takes up a different approach and theory that informs their practice. This was seen in the case of Susan Eeds who uses her specific eclectic approach and some theories as a part of her counselling process. Similarly, the way in which consultation or supervision can be used was also seen clearly from the interview. The process of assessment, accountability and advocacy which were mere concepts could be understood with the help of specific examples after the interview. What came to life in the interview so that the information you gained in the literature/book reading is more meaningful and relevant now? The specific examples related to some questions made the concepts in literature much more meaningful and relevant. For example, it helped in understanding how decisions need to be taken in situations like recommending medication or external consultation for the clients are taken. It also illustrated the fact that a mental health counselor is not just a person who provides support to the patients with the help of counseling sessions, but can also help in other ways, for example by being a court witness. How do you anticipate the impact of being a mental health counselor on who you are personally? The role of a mental health counselor can be one which can enhance the personality of an individual. It can make a person more practical, sensible and sensitive to others needs or requirements. It can improve the confidence level of an individual. As the career is one that is emotionally rewarding, it can bring in a deep sense of satisfaction to the person. I have been a peer counselor in the school system since middle school and I also created the Bacchus and Gamma Peer Education Peer Counseling program at my university while working on my undergraduate degree. From the age of nine, my interests lay in choosing mental health counseling as a career. Though I had to face many different challenges while pursuing my goal to help others, I am looking forward to being license and helping others. References Astramovich, R. L., & Coker, J. K. (2007). Program evaluation: The accountability bridge model for counsellors. Journal of Counseling& Development, 85(2), 162–172. Barrio-Minton, C. A., & Myers, J. E. (2008). Cognitive style and theoretical orientation: Factors affecting intervention style interest and use. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 30(4), 330–344. Bradley, L. J., Sexton, T. L., & Smith, H. B. (2005). The American Counseling Association practice research network (ACA-PRN): A new research tool. Journal of Counseling& Development, 83(4), 488–491. Dingman, R. L., & Ginter, E. J. (1995). Disasters and crises: The role of mental health counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 17(3), 259–263 Erford, B. T. (2010). Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations. 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