As our society changes, counselors will find themselves increasingly called upon to assist individuals in crisis. These services could occur in a variety of locations ranging from private practice settings to major incidents and disasters, such as terrorist attacks, school shootings, hurricanes, and earthquakes. Consequently, counselors will find themselves facing legal and ethical dilemmas, as well as engaging in roles outside of the traditional counseling setting. In order to provide an appropriate standard of care and respond to these needs, counselors must gain training and competence in the areas of crisis prevention and intervention, ethics, and legal obligations related to confidentiality and its limits. Furthermore, counselors should
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Some of these roles may include advocacy, collaboration with other professionals regarding the creating of crisis response plans, providing education related to mental health and resilience, holding leadership roles on multi-disciplinary crisis response teams, serving as media liaisons, assessing the needs of those affected by disasters, providing crisis intervention and support, and assisting with death notifications. Furthermore, CMHCs may fulfill the following roles and responsibilities when assisting those in crisis:
• Assessing an individual’s level of safety and assisting them in creating safety and/or harm reduction plans.
• Determining if an individual is a danger to themselves or others and taking appropriate steps to ensure their safety; including involuntary commitments and referrals for treatment.
• Assisting individuals in accessing resources to meet their needs, such as, food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and long-term counseling …show more content…
Consequently, I was looking forward to this class to both gain a better understanding of how counselors can provide services related to crisis intervention and prevention, and to see if this is an area that I would like to specialize in. Because I work in a law enforcement role that focuses on traffic enforcement and crash investigation, my experiences related to areas such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and involuntary commitments are more limited. Conversely, my experiences related to trauma related to motor vehicle crashes is greater than many other law enforcement officers. Not only did this course provide me with a better understanding of the variety of roles CHMC and school counselors fill in regard to crisis, disasters, and trauma-related experiences, it provided me with a greater knowledge and understanding of those areas that I do not currently have as much experience
Some of these roles may include advocacy, collaboration with other professionals regarding the creating of crisis response plans, providing education related to mental health and resilience, holding leadership roles on multi-disciplinary crisis response teams, serving as media liaisons, assessing the needs of those affected by disasters, providing crisis intervention and support, and assisting with death notifications. Furthermore, CMHCs may fulfill the following roles and responsibilities when assisting those in crisis:
• Assessing an individual’s level of safety and assisting them in creating safety and/or harm reduction plans.
• Determining if an individual is a danger to themselves or others and taking appropriate steps to ensure their safety; including involuntary commitments and referrals for treatment.
• Assisting individuals in accessing resources to meet their needs, such as, food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and long-term counseling …show more content…
Consequently, I was looking forward to this class to both gain a better understanding of how counselors can provide services related to crisis intervention and prevention, and to see if this is an area that I would like to specialize in. Because I work in a law enforcement role that focuses on traffic enforcement and crash investigation, my experiences related to areas such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and involuntary commitments are more limited. Conversely, my experiences related to trauma related to motor vehicle crashes is greater than many other law enforcement officers. Not only did this course provide me with a better understanding of the variety of roles CHMC and school counselors fill in regard to crisis, disasters, and trauma-related experiences, it provided me with a greater knowledge and understanding of those areas that I do not currently have as much experience