Select and describe one issue of interest. Describe advocacy processes needed to address institutional and social barriers that impede access, equity, and success for clients. Identify public policies on the local, state, and national levels that affect the quality and accessibility of mental health services.
The current issue of interest to me is how there is a need for mental health counselors in the VA hospital. There is around 120,000 mental health counselors that would love to work in the VA hospital to help veterans. In 2006 the United States congress and the president made legislation into law recognizing mental health counselors as clinicians in the VA hospital. According to the ACA two years after the law was approved mental health counselors are still not allowed in the VA hospital. Then in 2012 the VA had about 1585 positions open and only fifty-eight were available to mental health counselors the other ones were only open to
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I could not find any organizations on the internet; however the ACA and the branches of ACA is advocating for mental health counselors as equals to other counseling professions. I mentioned earlier that the congressman that is advocating for veterans to receive treatment by mental health professionals under the TRICARE program.
Discuss why they may or may not be advocating in the same manner as clinical mental health counselors.
They are advocating for mental health counselors, because mental health counselors can help these veterans. There is tremendous amount of veterans that are suffering and cannot receive mental health treatment
Explain why it is important to support counselor advocacy and influence public policy and government relations on local, state, and national levels to enhance equity, increase funding, and promote programs that affect the practice of clinical mental health
Second, friends and family need to get their loved ones to a hospital and talking to someone who can professionally help them. Finally, the Veterans Affairs office must educate friends, family, employers, and institutions like colleges and community organizations, as to how best to recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so that they can get them help sooner rather than later. It is time to stop veteran suicides and to get people to understand that they are the first stepping stone to getting their loved ones the assistance they need. Friends, family, institutions and organizations must appreciate that they are capable of stopping their loved ones from committing suicide on account of the traumas inflicted upon them by military
A doctoral degree combining both supervisory professional mental health counseling skills and counselor education has always been at the forefront of both my personal and professional goals. Being afforded the opportunity to pursue a doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision will allow me the ability to enhance my professional competencies and achieve my set goals. My primary desire is to obtain a position as a college professor that will allow me to nurture the professional growth and maturity of future mental health professionals. Pursuing the doctoral degree will simultaneously assist in developing skillsets that will further prepare me for advanced opportunities in not only teaching but supervision and research. Additionally, I desire to devote time and research to small rural communities to establish prevention based programs that will bridge communities as it relates to mental health challenges. A PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Capella University will afford me the opportunities to positively impact change in future professionals and the communities for which I serve.
In today's society where opinion matters, people have been extremely vocal about the lack of support the government has provided to our veterans. Many feel as if the government should do more, while others feel as if they are doing enough. Everyone will have a difference of opinion no matter if they have severed in the military or not. No matter how one may feel, is extremely important to take care of our veterans. As they have sacrificed their lives, time, and family to protect our country. Contrary to one's belief, the government provides a substantial amount of programs, which support the veterans. Honestly more could be done. On any given day you could see women and men standing on the corner holding signs implying they are homeless veterans and will work for food. A few programs the government offers our veterans are funding for mental health services, The Wounded Warrior Project and Vocational Rehabilitation and Education, which will be discussed throughout this essay. When you research the programs, they make it sound as if all proceeds are going towards the best treatment and care money could buy.
Mental Health America contributes to the successful management of health care resources. Mental Health America wants our nation’s schools, businesses, health care systems to have knowledge and resources they need to respond to the mental health of their constituencies and achieve their missions. Americans to afford prescription drugs and treatment for there diseases.
A mental health counselor often helps their clients make positive choices and changes due to the decisions and insights they help facilitate. Many counselors work in hospitals with psychiatric patients or with mentally ill adults in continued day treatment programs. Some choose private practice or practice in counseling centers, government agencies, and corporations and youth homes. They usually work in pleasant and comfortable surroundings, working a standard workweek. Some counselors are available weekends or evenings for the convenience and needs of their clients. Mental health counselors are an extremely valuable part of the healthcare system.
In today’s society, veterans health care system is troubling to those aware of the problem in the outside world. Veterans are people that have sacrificed so much for the United States, yet receive very little in regards to their health and well-being, which poses a great problem. The U.S Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is very vocal about the lack of health care options for veterans and is actively trying to make reforms and provide solutions to these problems. The Department of Veterans Affairs "strives to ensure that you have access to all of your needed services wherever you receive your VA health care” (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). They also claim that our veterans deserve the best care possible (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). While all seems well, there are still a large percentage of veterans that get denied veteran services. The goal of this study is to pinpoint the disparities among veteran health care, shine a light on the issues to increase awareness within the community, and then attempt to create solutions for these problems. This can
Mental Health Counselors are some of highest interacting people in the career industry. Having the highest ability to communicate with peers, you are faced with new challenges every single day. Many different types of people bring many different problems to the table. They are not expected to close the door due to the fact of not knowing how to help one. You will need a very high comprehension of the world around you, to be able to achieve high success rates in this career.
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) has been tasked with providing support and benefits to Veterans after they have completed their service. However, many Veterans are reporting difficulty accessing care due to systematic barriers within the VA’s Veterans Health Administration (Oliver, 2007). Complex eligibility requirements, long wait lists and lack of providers are a few of the issues Veterans are faced with when trying to access health and mental health care. Additionally, studies indicate that veterans, predominantly those from the recent wars in Iran and Iraq, have disproportionately high amounts of mental illness (Shim & Rust, 2013). These same veterans are experiencing difficulty accessing mental health care due to issues around a backlog of healthcare eligibility applications and a shortage of mental health providers through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which operates the Nation’s largest, integrated health care delivery system (APA, 2014). In 2014, at the request of the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the merit of the allegations of mismanagement at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) and the Health Eligibility Center (HEC).
This is like a bomb waiting to go off: Family of veterans have to live with fear, hoping that their love one would recuperate, be happy, or simply a civilian again. The Veterans Affairs Department (VA) should put a better effort to better assist veterans, and their family with a better plan to reduce this preventable death. Many veterans find it difficult to admit, control, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), let alone reaching for help; when they do so, they are considered just another number at the VA. At any moment, a veteran?s sacrifice for this country should end
The purpose of this paper is for me to present a summary of a personal interview had with Heather Smith, a clinical mental health counselor. It will further explore a day to day basis on how working as a clinical mental health counselor, may be. Lastly, it will also reflect my personal reflections about my future as a counselor based on information learned in this course.
The mental health professional I interviewed was Carol McClelland of Freedom House Recovery Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Carol has worked with Freedom House for a year as the directory of outpatient services and is licensed as a LPC, LPCS, LCAS, CCS, and MA. Carol’s job requires her to be responsible for the direct oversight of all clinical operations and clinical integrity for outpatient services at Freedom House. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, along with a crisis and detox center that is available for contact 24/7. Carol has plenty of experience in the mental health field, such as working as a dual diagnosis/substance abuse outpatient therapist, working with the severely mentally ill, working as a criminal justice outpatient therapist, and also working in a methadone clinic. She chose this career after her experiences in working with mental health, and her extensive education in psychology and counseling. Carol stated that outpatient services was the most interesting out of her job experiences, so when she was offered the job at Freedom House, she accepted.
Counseling is a relatively young profession when compared to other mental health professions. In my brief personal and professional experience with the field, I have come to define counseling as a process of engagement between two people, both of whom are bound to change through a collaborative process that involves both the therapist and the client in co-constructing solutions to concerns.
Many challenges still remain as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seek available access to mental health care. These challenges include the resistance and stigma to seek care, lack of
My informative speech was on what factors influence access to mental health care facilities in the United States. I spoke on how government access, mental health stigma, and public awareness all affect how people can get proper treatment in mental health care facilities. I described how mental health care facilities include school, hospitals, as well as outpatient centers across the nation. I explained why physical and mental health should be treated equally; not with one type of health having more power over the other. My passion for this topic was driven by my desire to be a therapist in the future. I plan on going to graduate school to earn a master's degree so I can help make a difference in people’s lives as a counselor. In my speech,
Access to mental health care is not as good as than other forms of medical services. Some Americans have reduced access to mental health care amenities because they are living in a countryside setting. Others cannot get to treatment for the reason of shortage of transportation or vast work and household tasks. In some areas, when a