According to John W. Herdman in managing the case of a client, a counselor may use consultation and referral functions. Case Management provides some kind of plan to help achieve goals that the client may have. As Counselors we have to come up with some kind of plan to take care of what might be one of many problems the client may need in regards of treatment. As well as counselors understanding the explanation for case management services are given to the client’s, answering whatever questions the client’s may have. The Case Management activity to me seems like it would start with a treatment plan and continues throughout the whole treatment to actually discharge to continue aftercare. Service coordination which includes case management and client advocacy establishes a frame work of action to enable the client to achieve specified goals. Counselors may use consultation and referral functions. A counselor understands that the explanation for case management services is given to the client, briefly stating the rationale and answering any questions the client may have. IC & RC define Case Management as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals. It may involve liaison activities and collateral contacts” (John W. Herdman). There are numerous skills that case managers will use to accomplish what is needed for a client and each case manager will develop his or her own personal style of performing those skills. Some case management skills are learned informally through life experiences while other are learned theoretically through formal training. In addition to a set of skills the case manager needs to put onto some basic values of the helping relationship. These values help the case manager ensure that actions taken demonstrate respect for those with whom the case manager works. When the basic skills and values are demonstrated case managers are able to accomplish the tasks needed to be successful. Crisis Intervention “Crisis intervention refers to the methods used to offer immediate, short-term help to individuals who experience an event that produces emotional, mental, physical, and behavioral distress or problems. A crisis can refer to any situation in which the individual perceives a sudden loss of his or her ability to use effective problem-solving and coping skills. A number of events or circumstances can be considered a crisis: life-threatening situations, such as natural disasters (such as an earthquake or tornado), sexual assault or other criminal victimization; medical illness; mental illness; thoughts of suicide or homicide; and loss or drastic changes in relationships (death of a loved one or divorce, for example)” www.minddisorders.com. Crisis intervention has several purposes. It aims to reduce the intensity of an individual's emotional, mental, physical and behavioral …show more content…
Herdman). Clients who have needs that go beyond the scope of the program are candidates for a referral. The counselor must have a client signed authorization to release information. This is a required documentation for counselor to communicate effectively with additional agencies pertaining to client needs. It’s not very often that a counselor will be able to meet all the needs of a substance abusing client, therefore the counselor must be aware of his/her limits. “Client strengths and weaknesses are many and varied, and therefore a counselor should feel continually challenged to think of the ways the client’s varying needs can be met. “Clients will experience a variety of feelings when a referral is suggested by a counselor. Their feelings may range from anger to confusion to hope. The more related the referral is to the specific reason for seeking treatment, the more understanding the client will be in accepting the referral” (John W. Herdman). The counselor must be able to identify and recognize client’s needs and determined the appropriate referral. There are several reasons a referral may be made however, the referral must be reflective of the individual and specific needs of client. Tap 21 defines referral as “the process of facilitating the clients use of available support systems and community resources to meet needs identified in clinical evaluation or treatment planning” (www.samhsa.gov). On a daily basis referrals are made between agencies, from social worker to social worker, and from the court system to the programs. Each participating professional has an ethical responsibility to utilize best practices for client benefit and client support system. When professionals work together for clients everyone