Court-referred Clients

You will continue using the same scenario of the interagency that you developed. Using the provided information  and at least one resource of your own,  process what strategies you would implement for your agency regarding court-referred clients.

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--You may choose to focus on  working with other agencies involved, such as the court system, the referral source, and/or confidentiality.

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--You will  develop 4-6 strategies and discuss reasons for each strategy. Think about the policies of your agency.  For example, you are writing the policy that governs this population.  How will you protect confidential therapy sessions? What is allowable to be disclosed to the referring agency? What are the rules for not attending scheduled sessions for the client? Does the clinician need special training?

Use the resources provided to help you write strategies to outline how this service will be handled in your agency.

2

The Harmony Community Wellness Center is a non-profit, integrated outpatient psychiatric and medical community. Bringing mental health and medical services under one umbrella bridges gaps to fulfill the needs of the client with this integrated approach. Staff at the institution include a psychiatrist, main care physician, mental nurse practitioner, two medical assistants, an administrative supervisor, two licensed therapists, and five case managers. This type of structure or setting provides both mental and physical health interventions and assures there will be coordination and progression.

1. Community Outreach Team for Integrated Agency

Harmony Community Wellness Center, which provides physical and mental health services, would benefit from a Community Outreach Team that intervenes and prevents mental health crises. It would provide immediate support and preventative education to reduce mental health crises, especially suicides, by collaborating with local law enforcement, emergency medical services, schools, and other community stakeholders. Individual team members would provide emergency response, crisis counseling, follow-up, and access to resources and support services to solve difficulties.

2. Responsibilities and Skills of Counselors in Crisis Response

Crisis response team counselors provide psychosocial first aid and assistance to victims of crisis, catastrophe, or other traumatic situations. Some of their duties include evaluating mental and emotional states, providing urgent therapy by helping clients process their reactions and understand their situation, and connecting people to long-term mental health resources (Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program [CCP], n.d., CCP Goals and Principles section, para:1).

Specific Skills and Knowledge: Counselors must be professional, empathetic, and non-judgmental during stressful situations. Counselors require wide skills to join an interdisciplinary emergency management response team. Crisis intervention, active listening, empathy, cultural competence, and staying calm in difficult circumstances are key abilities. These practitioners require trauma-informed treatment, psychological first aid, and de-escalation skills. They must also comprehend disaster psychology, grieving, and community resources (How to Become a Crisis Counselor, n.d., How Crisis Counselors Help section).

3. Training for Emergency Management

According to the SAMHSA Native Connections article (n.d., Training section, pp. 2-3), important areas for training include: adult basic mental health first aid, which enables counselors to recognize the situation and react appropriately in a mental health crisis; suicide prevention training, like ASIST or QPR, which prepares the counselor to identify situations of suicide and how an intervention could be done; crisis intervention training focuses on the management of severe emergencies in mental health and collaboration with other services; critical incident debriefing training focuses on helping individuals cope in the aftermath of a traumatic event; HIPPA confidentiality training, which focuses on training counselors in confidentiality and ethics to assure confidentiality to patients and act in accordance with ethical principles in behavior; and lastly, grief recovery/counseling training (SAMHSA Native Connections, n.d., Training section, pp.2-3). According to the SAMHSA Train your CCP staff article (n.d., Required Trainings section), there are two programs, an immediate or regular services program, that each contain five trainings: Core Content Training, Transition to RSP Training, RSP Midprogram Training, Disaster Anniversary Training, and RSP Phasedown Training.

4. Roles and Responsibilities in Harmony Community Wellness Center

Under the Emergency Management response team at Harmony Community Wellness Center, counselors would take important roles in addressing mental health crises. I would assign a team leader to coordinate efforts of responses to ensure continuous flow of communication and collaboration with other agencies in support of team members. There would be training for crisis counselors who would deliver direct psychological support, assessing the needs of individuals in crisis, providing immediate counseling, and referring them to additional services as necessary. I would also assign a follow-up specialist to ensure that individuals receive ongoing care and resources post-crisis, supporting their recovery and reintegration into the community.

There would also be a Community Liaison at Harmony Community Wellness Center who would engage community stakeholders in internal roles, such as building partnerships, bringing issues to light concerning mental health in the community, and offering education on preventive measures. Its crisis response team would work with local law enforcement, fire departments, emergency medical services, schools, and social services agencies for a more deeply integrated response to crises in mental health. These partnerships are essential in offering a holistic approach towards crisis management; thus, allowing coordination for an effective response to evolve at the community-wide level.

5. Exploration and Future Directions

To grow Harmony Community Wellness Center's community outreach program, lasting relationships are essential. I would first reach out to other outreach programs locally to see what resources I would need to start and to receive guidance. Collaborations between local agencies and community groups help crisis response teams operate. Open communication, shared objectives, and mutual support are needed to respond to mental health emergencies together (Individuals and Communities, n.d., para. 1). Regular meetings, training, and community activities may enhance stakeholder connections and create trust and collaboration.

Obtaining sufficient cash and resources is also important. I would investigate grant writing, local business and charitable contributions, and government funding campaigning for obtaining financial assistance (FEMA Grants, n.d., p.1). To assess crisis response team effectiveness, precise metrics and assessment procedures are essential. This might include limits on the number of people serviced, ongoing monitoring and evaluation of community mental health, and user feedback. Regular assessments may assist enhance programs, demonstrate their effectiveness, and secure financing (Training and Education, n.d., Continuing Training Grants [CTG] section).

References

Crisis counseling assistance and training program (CCP). SAMHSA. (n.d.-a). https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac/ccp

FEMA grants. FEMA.gov. (n.d.-a). https://www.fema.gov/grants

How to Become a Crisis Counselor . Bradley University. (n.d.). https://onlinedegrees.bradley.edu/blog/how-to-become-a-crisis-counselor/

Individuals and communities. FEMA.gov. (n.d.-b). https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/individuals-communities

SAMHSA Native Connections. (n.d.). Building a community-based Suicide Crisis Response Team. https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/nc-oy1-task-3-building-comm-based-suicide-crisis-respons-team-2018-12-06.pdf

Train your CCP staff. SAMHSA. (n.d.-b). https://www.samhsa.gov/dtac/ccp-toolkit/train-your-ccp-staff#core-content

Training and education. FEMA.gov. (n.d.-c). https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/training