Counseling Psychologist Roles

Spokane, A., Inman, A., Weatherford, R., Davidson, A., & Straw, R. (2011) describe the counseling psychologist’s role in recovery operations following a disaster. Professional counselors can be just as effective in these roles counseling psychologists. Specifically, three roles identified by the authors stand out as applicable to professional counselors. First, counseling psychologists collaborate with community groups to assist survivors during a disaster, ensuring basic needs are met and to minimize feelings of insecurity following the event. In the article, the authors mention collaboration with a local church to rebuild a fence at the school to lessen the memory of the disaster for the students. Professional counselors work with other agencies daily to obtain resources for clients in an effort to promote wellness for the client. Second, professional counselors can provide crisis assessments to determine if individuals may harm themselves or others and provide referrals as necessary. Finally, counselors can prepare holistic psycho-educational resources that cover areas such as mental health, spirituality, and career issues.
In the August 2017, Volume 60 of Counseling Today, Laurie Meyers highlighted …show more content…
After reviewing the article as a CMHC, I understand that professional counselors are in demand following a disaster and will work with other professions to help with recovery efforts. Furthermore, professional counselors are part of a response team that may be called to preform duties out of the ordinary, such as assist with more concrete efforts such as dispersing supplies to the community and doing wellness checks to help find family members. Being open to your assignment as part of the team and willingness to serve are critical qualities for leaders responding to