Assessment In Mental Health Counseling

To ensure that all possible clients of all walks of life are successfully benefiting from the counseling profession, advancement in the assessment field should be of a primary concern for present and future counselors. It is understood and respected that a multitude of counselors vary in the foundations of their theoretical framework and collectively not all counselors participate in assessment with their clients, but as the counseling profession continues to grow the demand of expansion is critical.

In the lives of counselor’s assessment plays a great role. Assessments are what shows the counselor what it is that their client is in need of help in. Like our book states, assessment is a complex, problem solving process that allows us to collect information in order to better serve our client (Drummond, Sheperis, & Jones, 2016). I was not aware of how involved counselors are in the testing process until I began this class. I now see that assessments also helps the client understand their own problems as well, it is just up to us to help them interpret the assessment.

The philosophy that underlies the counseling profession is unique among mental health professionals. According to Remley & Herlihy (2014), the philosophy is made up of four components. First, counselor 's view mental health challenges through a positive, wellness-oriented lens. The primary goal of the wellness model is for the client to achieve the highest degree of mental health possible. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers follow the medical model of mental health. The goal of these clinicians is to cure the client’s illness, which differs drastically from counselor’s view of clients.

Counseling uses two types of assessment to get a better understanding of their clients which are testing and diagnosis. Clients have the privilege to understand the purpose of what an assessment process involves and counselors are responsible to maintain the security test that they use and the proper supervision for the test-taking process (Remley & Herlihy, 2014, p.289). Chapter 11 discusses the dynamics of using psychological tests when assisting to resolve clients’ problems.

In order for the counseling process to be effective for the client the characteristics and behaviors of the mental health counselor must be effective. To be an effective mental health counselor the process must include both the art and science of helping clients when they struggle. This paper will address both effective and ineffective characteristics of the given transcript along with an explanation of how a counselor’s characteristics or behaviors influence a session with a client.

Counseling is defined as ”the use of therapeutic strategies to help clients address personal concerns and mental health issues” (Nystul, 2016). Pursuing counseling as a career involves many years of formal study and certification or licensure. After receiving licensure to practice as a professional counselors it is a requirement to maintain involvement and certification in certain associations in order to hold your license. These association often require further education and/or professional practice in order to maintain membership in these associations. It is quite obvious that counseling requires a large amount of commitment and passion in order to pursue it as a career and maintain a title as a counselor. I have conducted an interview with a professional counselor in order to further understand the experience of being a counselor. The interview that I conducted explores the requirements of maintaining and receiving a counselling career, the experience of being a counselor, and what characteristics or skills a professional may have. The Individual who agreed to the interview was a counselor by the name of Susie Facio. Susie Facio, through this interview, will be giving us a look at what influenced her to become a counselor, what her work entails on a day to day basis, and what qualities and skills she has acquired in order to become a successful counselor.

I believe counseling is a collaborative partnership between client and counselor. Furthermore, this collaborative partnership is built from trust and acceptance of both client and counselor. I hope in conjunction with clients to understand the issues and concerns so to help them tap into their wisdom, creativity, and strengths to meet their current challenges. I believe in a comprehensive perspective through which clients can better comprehend themselves in the framework that our thinking about events can lead to emotional and behavioral upset. Moreover, counselors are to provide a safe environment for clients to explore their challenges and identify ways to move differently in overcoming these challenges.

I consider mental health assessment to be a collaborative process, and I am trained in a variety of assessment instruments that will address your unique needs and provide us with a holistic picture of your experience (ACA, 2014, § E.2 Competence to Use and Interpret Assessment Instruments; Corey, et al., 2015, pp. 392). Together, we will look carefully at the assessment results and co-create a diagnosis that takes into account your strengths, resources, cultural orientation, family background, and social context, as well as your individual concerns (ACA, 2014, § E.5. Diagnosis of Mental Disorders; ACA, 2014, § E.8. Multicultural Issues and Diversity in Assessment; Corey, et al., 2015, p. 385). This assessment process will allow us to formulate a treatment plan uniquely designed to meet your individual needs, and we will continue to use tools throughout the course of therapy to evaluate the progress of our work together (Corey, et al., 2015, p. 378-379). I strive to achieve cultural sensitivity in my practice and I believe that you are the final expert in your own life; therefore, I invite your active involvement in the assessment

Most scientists, researchers and health care professionals understand the importance of being able to employ effective basic strategies for evaluation after a specific strategy has been employed be it in a research project or in clinical work. Evaluation is key as it forces professionals to truly scrutinize and zero-in on the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of a given strategy. In a mental health care setting, being able to lucidly determine and assess the effectiveness and success of mental health care counseling based on the outcomes is a vital component of therapy at large.

Case conceptualization explains the nature of a client’s problem and how they develop such problem ( Hersen, & Porzelius, p.3, 2002) In counseling, assessment is viewed as a systematic gathering of information to address a client’s presenting concerns effectively. The assessment practice provides diagnostic formulation and counseling plans, and aids to identify assets that could help the client cope better with concern that they are current. Assessment is present as a guide for treatment and support in the “evaluation process. Although many methods can be employed to promote a thorough assessment, no one method should be used by itself” (Erford, 2010, p.269-270). Eventually, it is the counselor's job to gain adequate

Whether intentional or unintentional, the misdiagnosis of client concerns is a problem that can have implications for counselors and clients. Mead (1997) reported the

A counselor’s attitude is very important and it is his or her job to encourage, display non-judgmental understanding, respect, support and (when needed) to challenge the client. This will provide the client with clarity and a clear sense of understanding and mutual respectfulness. in the client/helper relationship. The counselor must also communicate their desire to understand and appreciate his or her client’s perspective. There are many positives and negatives regarding the Person-Centered Theory of Helping.

Mental Health is a person’s condition regarding their mind and emotional welfare and a philosophy offer an understanding of the client’s needs and it helps the mentor to define the problems and to assess it by finding the right techniques to help meet the goals of the clients. Counselors assist clients and groups with theories that gets applied in their work. The theory that counselors use will provide them with a good structure and appropriate interventions for the clients. Counselor can then devise a proper plan of action that they find the best. Every counselor has their own unique way of conducting meetings. Whenever a counselor does not have the proper tools and

The purpose and practice of assessment is the collection of information data in order to identify, classify, interpret, rate and respond to the problems or outstanding issues, and circumstances of clients in a counseling relationship. Assessment is used as a base for identifying a problem, coming out with interventions so as to help the clients in resolving and guiding them through their problem. (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2002)

Whiston in section three of her book provided an in-depth analysis of applications and issues of assessments in counseling as assessment and diagnosis are vital concepts in the counseling process. It therefore becomes imperative for differing counselors to understand formal diagnostic procedures and the fact that “diagnosis is the prevalence of individuals with significant psychological difficulties” (p. 296). Diagnostic systems are used to provide professionals with a general language governing diagnostic terms to eliminate individuals’ use of personal definitions. The most widely used diagnostic systems within the mental health service are; the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV- TR-TR) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM). The use of diagnostic systems is also considered “helpful in conceptualizing cases” (p. 296). Effective use of a diagnostic system requires a “thorough appraisal of a client’s problems, physical condition and symptoms, and environmental influences” (p. 297). A diagnosis is usually derived from client information obtained from either informal or formal assessment tools or simply an amalgamation of both.