Consultation, Supervision, and Advocacy Plan

Consultation, Supervision, and Advocacy Plan

COUN5223: Introduction Clinical Mental Health Counseling

There is a large population of individuals living in poverty with PTSD that do not get the continued counseling needed to adjust and thrive in today’s society. This includes but not limited to Veteran minorities, adults and children raised in poverty.Murdoch, M., Michelle, v. R., Hodges, J., & Cowper, D. (2005) mentioned,“Documented disparities in PTSD disability awards, the apparent mitigating effects of such awards on low income, and known adverse associations between low income, health, and quality of life underscore the urgent need to better understand this process.”Furthermore,Nikulina, V., Widom, C. S., & Czaja, S. (2011) mention,“Results from HLM (hierarchical linear modeling) revealed that childhood neglect and childhood family poverty uniquely predicted PTSD and adult arrest.” The purpose here is to address the counseling needs of this population, the agencies involved across the continuum of care, consultation plan, supervision plan and advocacy to reduce barriers for these individuals.

ServingPoverty Stricken Individuals with PTSD

These individuals are denied initial accessed and continuum access to counseling programs that can help them maintain throughout their adjustment period. With living in poverty these individuals find themselves with nowhere to turn when crisis strikes. Some end up homeless, turning to drugs, fall into depression, commit suicide and/or commit crimes. The services provided to this population are testing, rehabilitation or medication. Under these conditions they are temporarily sustaining with no positive re-enforcements to help them thrive and truly get back well-being. Career, vocational rehabilitation and mental health counselors can provide services or direction to services committed to their journey to well-being.

Counseling Services across the Continuum of Care

In concerns to military personnel VA (Veteran Affairs) along with TRICARE health care services, they can refer our services as continuum of care.Their job will be to establish and coordinate care,outpatient services, inpatient services, partial hospitalization, and aftercare options.

Consultation Plan

Starting with a system focused approach to consultation it is important that all parties involved in care understand the individual’s problem and needs for recovery. This would include the psychologist, TRICARE and the VA. It is dually important to establish both the professional and client barriers. These barriers could includeorganization systems with discriminatory or incoherent interpersonal dynamic, either inter-professional or provider to client.

Supervision Plan

“Group supervision complements individual supervision and provides another forum in which to implement the roles, learning objectives, and responsibilities agreed to in the supervisory contract.” (Erford, 2014 p.439)This group supervision can be conducted by APA board certified senior personnel and DOD psychologist.

Advocacy Steps to Reduce Barriers for Clients

Counseling professionals could advocate at the state or national level to reduce barriers that impede access, equity, and success for poverty stricken individuals with PTSD by advertising the effects on families, communities and society in general. Also, presenting outcome data to state and national agencieson individuals not in structured programs and individuals currently in programs that are structured to hurtle these barriers. Counseling professionals can develop core curricula with military constructs and PTSD therapy. It would be dually beneficial to organize and inform community based coalition how to inform individuals on accessibility and availability to treatment and services (Mental Health America, 2012).

References

Erford, B. T. (2014). Orientation to the counseling profession: Advocacy, ethics, and essential professional foundations. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Inc.

Mental Health America. (2012, June). Position statement 33: Substance use, abuse, or dependence and co-occuring interactive disorders. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/positions/co-occurring

Murdoch, M., Michelle, v. R., Hodges, J., & Cowper, D. (2005). Mitigating effect of department of veterans affairs disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder on low income. Military Medicine, 170(2), 137-40. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/docview/217075202?accountid=27965

Nikulina, V., Widom, C. S., & Czaja, S. (2011). The role of childhood neglect and childhood poverty in predicting mental health, academic achievement and crime in adulthood. American Journal of Community Psychology, 48(3-4), 309-21. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library.capella.edu/10.1007/s10464-010-9385-y