Research on Counselor and Client Safety COUN5252- Crisis Assessment and Intervention Abstract Within a therapeutic relationship, both counselor and client safety are crucial to success. Although not a priority in the past, mental health counselors should receive safety training within their counselor education program. Counselors can be targets to both verbal and physical threats. Counselors must do their best to evaluate client safety in crisis situations. Self-harm, suicide and intimate partner violence are examples in which a counselor should be actively assessing levels of safety and risk of a client.
Running head: SUICIDAL CLIENTS 1 Working with a Suicidal Client Daron Elam Walden University Working with a Suicidal Client Determining: Suicidal or Not? Most suicide attempts occur in the context of interpersonal discord or other severe life stress (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2006, p.292). In determining whether a person is suicidal or not, there are trends or commonality populations that make it easier for a counselor to narrow the process. Mood disorders, separated or divorced persons, borderline personality and anti-personality disorders also come at a heightened risk. (Butcher, Mineka & Hooley, 2006).
Sometimes a different approach to the same problem is all that is required. Stress can bring on a relapse of M.E and it is a fact of life that everyone has stress in their lives. For people who suffer with M.E, it would be very beneficial for them to put in there screeds about how they can handle stress in the future. There are many ways of doing this in someones screed, sometimes even without them realizing
I personally have seen the results of these consequences. Emotional disorders and anxiety often consume these individuals. In some situations, these result in the individual taking their own lives to escape the ever present depression. I am a survivor of child abuse. I have often thought that it would be so much easier to just end it all rather than deal with the sometimes overwhelming anxiety that associates to the abuse.
Not everyone respond in the same form to a crisis, so the respond will always be different and so will the intervention for the individual. It is always very important for a worker to understand the way a client may take information of a crisis. There are different kinds of intervention mechanisms that can be used to help a client recover with his or her feelings. There are ways that most individuals may cope with a crisis some may try to harm him or herself through homicide or suicide. You have those who just pass out and then you have some who just became mute and in a sage of
Lawrence Crabb claims that the goal of counseling should be psychological and spiritual maturity. Counselors should also seek to assist their clients in reaching their full potential for a life of service. He explains that this accomplished through the counseling relationship. This relationship will vary from client to client. Despite the variations amongst all individuals, Crabb believed that it is important to “abstract a game plan” (Crabb, 1986, p.149) which can be applied to a wide range of situations.
This type of therapy helps patients overcome phobias and self-destructive behavior. Techniques used are flooding, systematic esensitization, counter-conditioning, and modeling. Cognitive therapy focuses on changing ones thought pattern. This type of therapy goes under the assumption that thoughts precede moods that cause false self-believes, which led to negative emotions. Each of these therapies have helped many overcome his or hers psychological disorder.
In the mini-lecture by Dr. Sue he states, “MCT can be defined as both a helping role and process that uses modalities and defines goals, consistent with the life experiences and cultural values of clients.” He also states that MCT involves broadening the role that counselors plays and therefore need to play multiple roles that involve not only the traditional role but systems intervention as well. It is important to avoid a blind application of techniques to all situations and all populations. Another important role is building a therapeutic alliance using empathy, positive regard, respect, warmth and genuineness, self-disclosure, management of counter transference and agreement on goals between the counselor and client (Sue & Sue, 2013) What is the significance of a client's social and cultural context within MCT? Multicultural therapy balances the individualism approach with the collective approach and acknowledges families, significant others, communities and cultures (Sue & Sue, 2013). In MCT the client’s social and cultural background is of importance.
It serves five main purposes: 1) clarifying the nature of ethical responsibilities to its members, 2) helping support the mission of the association, 3) establishing principles that define ethical behavior and best practices, 4) serves as an ethical guide to help members construct a professional course of action and 5) serves as a basis for processing ethical complaints and inquiries (American Counseling Association (ACA), 2005). However, they should be considered by counselors in arriving at a professional and ethical course of action. The Ethical Standards are set enforceable rules for conduct of counselors. Most of these standards are written so they apply to counselors that have various roles within the field. The ACA enforces members and student residents to comply with the standards of their ethics code and the procedures and rules that are used to enforce them.
But this can be difficult when there are other issues in the equation and that is the presence of mental disorders. In assessing clients for the proper therapies to administer, it is important to get to the underlying causes for the addiction. If that aspect is not addressed it is certain that they will relapse or yet form another addiction (Recovery Connection, 2012). The relationship of addictions and co-occurring disorders exists on several levels for several different reasons. SUD sometimes form as a way of coping with co-occurring disorders; “statistics show that nearly half of all people with a severe mental disorder are affected by substance abuse, and 29% of all people diagnosed as mental ill abuse either alcohol or drugs.