Ever wonder what a mental health counselor does? Previously, I wrote about a day in the life of a mental health counselor both in private practice and at an agency. This time, I’ll write more generally so that you can get a clearer picture of the various duties.
The duties will vary a bit according to the setting in which you work. More specifically, if you are working in an agency, your specific duties will be dictated by the guidelines under which the agency operates. Since most agencies accept money from the government, they must operate in accordance with what those governmental bodies require. As a result, you will be doing a lot more paperwork working in an agency than you will in private practice. Still, many of the duties are similar between agency and private practice work, and that is what I will discuss in this series of posts. This post will describe the assessment process.
Before you can treat a client, you must figure out what is wrong with them and what their goals are. If you are in an agency, you will likely have a specific form that you will need to fill out. It’s usually called a “psychosocial” or a “biopsychosocial” and you’ll sit with the client for about two hours and fill it out based on how the client responds to the questions. In essence, you are interviewing the client based upon the questions in front of you. They respond verbally, and you record their answers.
If you are in private practice, you may opt to have a shortened version of this form that the client fills out prior to actually seeing you, and/or you may opt to interview the client personally in either a formal or informal manner. Most therapists in private practice have an abbreviated version of the form for the client to fill out prior to their appointment, and then they interview the client informally. Unless you are working under contract, or accepting governmental funds, as a private practitioner you are free to develop your own method for assessing clients.
Once the information is gathered, the practitioner determines what the clients’ issues are and how best to treat them. This process will vary somewhat based on the setting. In an agency, generally a formal diagnosis is made using the DSM-IV as a guide. This diagnosis is then entered into the client record, and is used to determine goals and treatment interventions. In private practice, clinicians generally don’t make a formal DSM diagnosis unless they are being reimbursed for insurance. In that case, the diagnosis is made in a similar way to the agency practitioner. Otherwise, if no formal diagnosis is required, the clinician will still make some sort of determination as to what the issue(s) are, however, there is no need to place a specific label on the client.
My next post will be about how mental health counselors establish goals.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Barb LoFrisco
Also check:
• https://mastersincounseling.org/counseling/multicultural-considerations-for-latino-clients/
• https://mastersincounseling.org/counseling/what-a-mental-health-counselor-does-part-2-goals/
• https://mastersincounseling.org/resources/top-50-addiction-counseling-blogs/
