The Importance Of Mental Health Intake Interview

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) define counselling, along with psychotherapy, as being “umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies” (BACP, 2012: 1). In addition, counselling is provided by practitioners who “work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing” (BACP, 2012: 1). Those who practice counselling in a professional manner undergo intensive training and personal development, the latter of which has been “defined in terms of self-awareness and change” (Wheeler, 1996: 75). These changes, according to Johns, “influence the

This essay will explore the counselling relationship along with the benefits and limitations as well as discussing other factors that have an important impact in relation to the outcome of counselling. Counselling is an interpersonal relationship between the client and qualified therapist, the relationship involves communicating with the client and using skills to explore the client's feelings. The counselling/ therapeutic relationship can be used in all types of counselling such as psychodynamic, humanistic, behavioural, person centred and cognitive therapy. As mental health disorders increase so does the need to deliver effective counselling, which means that the therapeutic relationship is more crucial than ever. (Miller, Hubble, Duncan and Wampold 2010; Norcross and Lambert 2011).

Counselors should never talk to others about things that are discussed during a session. That way the client feels free to talk about anything. For a clients to receive help they may have to give private and personal information about themselves that they might not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else. Counselors can do many things that friends and family cannot. For example, a friend or family member may share that private information with others or they might give advice that is not in the client’s best interest. Counselors are specially trained and experienced in helping people solve problems, change how they act or think, and learn new ways of doing things. It is also essential for Counselors to be experienced with working with many people that have similar

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.

This particular mental health intake form contains seven pages of questions concerning the client’s current mental health status and past mental health status, as well as addresses medical history and social environment. The form appears to completely cover the client’s medical and mental health history, as well as gathers pertinent information about the client’s family history. However, there seems to be a lack of questions regarding the client’s environment. For example, there are no questions concerning the client’s living situation.

As a counselor in training, I believe that counseling is a collaborative process between you and I. Counseling is a personal and safe process that deeply respects and honors each individual’s unique life experiences. Here are some aspects of counseling and therapy as I perceive and practive it: Therapeutic counseling

This intake packet is lengthy. I do believe it would be beneficial to the client if there were not so many questions. People coming in for services already have concerns or issues they are trying to work through. Many times, clients feel overwhelmed or anxious about beginning mental health services. This intake form, with all its questions and nine pages, may contribute to increased anxiety or be overwhelming for people. The questions are

They may interact with psychiatrists who are medical doctors. They may have relationships with other counselors with whom the may collaborate, confer or refer to another counselor or professional as needed. Counselors may have a need to help a client get in touch with another type of service such as a social worker or rehabilitation facility. A counselor may give advice to another counselor if their opinion is sought out. If a counselor works within a facility as part of a team they may be interacting with any number of professionals involved within the care of a particular client. Being cognizant of what the role is as a counselor is constant. Counselors will establish boundaries depending on these roles (Remley & Herlihy, 2016). Counselors will also develop relationships with employers, supervisors and

I currently work at an SMI clinic for TERROS and I selected an intake form off of the internet instead of the intake for my work because our intake is a template that generates into a document once signed by all appropriate parties. I must say this random mental health intake form I found is extremely similar. I think these forms are now somewhat standardized and having just recently started filling out assessments of this nature and doing service plans with behavioral health recipients. I must confess it is difficult to get all of these answers out of clients and to keep their attention long enough to complete this paperwork. I feel often times we must resort to generic answers that do not give us a full understanding f who these people are and what their needs are, but it is a good resource to have a basic understanding of a client and when sharing information with other people on the clinical team good note taking skills and complete forms makes communication and client service much more efficient.

(5) "Counseling" means one or more consultations as necessary between a state licensed psychiatrist or psychologist and a patient for the purpose of determining that the patient is competent and not suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder or depression causing impaired

The form also includes history of substance use, trauma, relationships, occupation, education and caffeine intake which are all vital aspects of identifying a client’s presenting problem as well as getting to know the client. The form even asks about spiritual health which is another component of overall well-being. Therefore, the mental health intake form chosen asks all the necessary questions to determine what the client’s presenting problem is since it considers lifestyle, history, spirituality, relationships, etc.

A counselor should be very observant and able to interpret non-verbal communication for example if the patient looks angry, and then find out the cause of his/her anger first. An effective counselor should provide non-possessive warmth in a counseling environment. Smile and show concern and acceptance by showing comfort, empathy, and understanding to the patient.

Becoming acquainted with a potential client’s history, personality and present concerns is necessary in forming a foundation for counseling interventions. This information gathering phase is referred to as assessment (Mears, 2010). While some mental health professionals will use an interview as their primary assessment tool, others will utilize testing

SUBJECTIVE/STATUS: The therapist met with the client and introduced self as the intern therapist. The client reported that he was content with having a different therapist. The client was open to sharing about his impairments of depression, mood swinging, and anxiety, which he identified struggling with on a daily basis. The client was aware of the reasons why he is here at the facility and aware of his symptoms. The client reported that he needs to work on his depression, anxiety, and mood swinging. The client stated, "I want to learn more about the daily life skills, the coping skills, and communication skills I need to be able to deal with people after discharge from the facility to be happy, sober, and to make better choice.” The client