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Understand the types and methods of counseling service delivery and delivery settings.

1-Results of Self-Directed Study

2-Complete Professions Matrix

Group 1:Helping Professionals This is the summary of possible treatments for John, the college student who is in the hospital for over drinking. We decided we would suggest the following resources as possibilities for help in John's situation.

Substance Abuse Counselor- Method - Direct with John; Role and Function - Assessment, Counseling, Referral, Evaluation; Setting - in/out patient facility, health center, hospital; Credentials - NAADAC, High School graduate, state license, CRC, masters

Counseling Psychologist- Method - Direct with John and/or family; Role and Function - individual counseling, family counseling; Setting - community mental health center, private practice, VA (if app.); Credentials - Ph.D., APA license

Student Personnel Counselor- Method - Direct with John and/or family, fraternity; Role and Function - individual counseling, training, prevention, consultation; Setting - university; Credentials - masters for CACREP acc. Program, LPC

Marriage and Family Therapist- Method - Direct with John and/or family; Role and Function - consultation, teaching, relationship expert, therapy; Setting - private practice, colleges, hospitals, community mental health centers, inpatient facilities; Credentials - masters from AAMFT acc. Program with 2 years practice,

GROUP 3 CASE

Our group was assigned the role of personnel director of DP Industries. Our client, Tracy, expressed anxiety about his/her perception of the impending closure of the plant where he/she had been employed since graduation from college. We approached the problem from two main perspectives. First, as personnel director, we would know if the plant was actually closing. If so, then a specific plan of action was formulated to assist Tracy in finding alternate employment and/or exploration of other avenues (retirement, etc.) and also helping Tracy and his/her family cope with the emotional strain of the life change.

Our second option considered the possibility that the plant was not closing, and that Tracy was delusional. In this instance, we mapped out potential sources of assistance for Tracy regarding his/her mental health and that of the family. From the first perspective (the plant is closing), we focused on two areas: assistance in job placement for Tracy and assistance in coping with the life change.

To help Tracy find another job, we hypothesized referring her to the Employment Office, where a certified career counselor could do assessments of her job skills, conduct mock interviews, update her resume, conduct searches for job openings (computer data bases, etc.), and hopefully find a workable solution for Tracy. Another potential avenue would be to concentrate on Tracy's social network. Having lived in the same town and worked at the same place for so long, we thought that Tracy might have community resources (friends, church members, family, acquaintances, etc.) who might have knowledge of possible job opportunities for her.

Also, an Employee Assistance Program offered through the corporation could help Tracy both in finding a new job and with the personal implications of her life change. Counselors either on-staff with the company or referrals could assist Tracy with a diverse range of problems and issues, such as marriage/family issues, financial planning, basic counseling to deal with the job change, etc. These counseling options would theoretically be financed by company insurance, and the company would set the standards for counselor training (what level of training do they require for their on-staff or referral counselors?) Another potential resource for Tracy is union membership. If Tracy is a member of a union, union members can serve as worker advocates to obtain federal money for retraining, etc., for Tracy, and can also help her find another job.

Another career option we explored was college career placement services available from Tracy's university. Tracy could theoretically bring her situation to them, and they could utilize university resources to help find her another job. We also explored the possibility, given the scope of Tracy's age and her tenure with the company, of offering her early retirement, something she could determine a feasible option for her or not, depending on the specifics of the retirement plan and her needs.

The second perspective from which we approached the problem concerns Tracy's emotional reaction/stress from the impending life change. First, though, if Tracy was delusional (the plant's not really closing), we considered the possibility of her getting assessed and/or counseled by the EAP, with a possible referral to a psychiatrist or psychologist, depending on Tracy's level of impairment (has she just been misinformed or is she experiencing more serious problems?)

In any case, to assist Tracy with the stress associated with her perception of the impending life change, we hypothesized sending her and her family to a marriage/family counselor, to help her and her family deal with the anger, frustration, and disappointment of her imminent job loss. These measures would be both remediative and preventive, as they deal with a problem already manifested but also serve to prevent the current problem from getting worse and to eliminate the potential for new problems to develop.

Her children, depending upon their ages, which we estimated to be approximately jr. high or high school age, and quite possibly college-age, could be referred to their school counselor, either high school or university level, depending upon their respective ages, to help them learn to cope with the change in their lives as a result of Tracy's job loss (or perception thereof).

We also considered the possibility of a pastoral counselor for Tracy, depending upon her religious convictions. If she is a member of a church, this could be a very viable option. Another potential possibility, depending upon the level of problems had by Tracy and her family, could be the intervention of a social worker, who could assist the family, particularly the children.

We also considered support groups for workers, either through the EAP or a consulting counselor, who could assist the workers in communicating with one another and expressing their feelings about their impending job loss. This is an overview of the alternatives we explored to assist Tracy's predicament

Homework for Session 6

1-email me your paper topic if you haven't done so 2-complete peer evaluation forms and return next week; 3-bring print out of session 6 web site to class with you 4-email me the rest of the info needed to complete professions and systems matrices 5-Session 7 group problem report should be emailed to me by this time 6-readings