Counseling Specializations and Multidisciplinary Teams

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Collaboration between Specializations

Ashley is a 12-year-old girl who is experiencing depression, and low school performance because her mother has remarried and she’s having a difficult time adjusting to life with her stepfather and his two children. Ashley shares the information with her teacher. The teacher can refer Ashley to the school counselor. The counselor talks to Ashley to fully understand her concerns. The counselor decides that although she can work with the teacher to come up with some sort of intervention to help Ashley overcome her academic challenges, they will need to reach out to a Marriage and Family Therapist because Ashley’s problem is a result of family conflict and the whole family could benefit from outside counseling. In the first session, the counselor would meet with the entire family. The therapist decides to use a cognitive behavioral therapy approach, which “focuses on teaching the client rational, self-counseling skills that can be practiced through weekly homework and applied to daily situations outside of the therapy session” (Newman & Newman, 2015). After a couple of sessions of meeting with the family to identify the source of the family’s problem, the therapists decides to give the family an assignment for the next couple of sessions. The therapist refers Ashley’s parents to a very reputable program, The Triple P. http://www.triplep.net/glo-en/home/, The Positive, Parenting Program. This program is designed to offer leveled programs to parents who are having difficulty in parenting and who need assistance gaining skills to manage their problems in the home. Their assignment is to choose one of the programs and try and implement the skill and report back at the next session. They would also have the task of spending time as a family at least one night per week, in order to begin building some level of open communication amongst the family. The school counselor will coordinate with Ashley’s teachers to arrange for her to sit next to another student to help her improve her social skills. In addition, she would be placed in a group counseling setting for adolescents who are coping with similar experiences. The school counselor, will share the child’s progress with the parents weekly. Based on Ashley’s resiliency the therapist will decide the next phase of therapy. Although their functions may be different, school counselors and marriage and family therapists, they want whatever is in the best interest of their client.

Team Member Collaboration and Communication

The counseling profession is yet struggling with a clear identity. The reality is there is not a profession in its solidarity that can concentrate on all the social matters an individual may encounter in isolation (Mellin, Hunt, & Nichols, 2011). Thus, to successfully participate in interprofessional collaboration, counselors must be able to communicate their professional identity and demonstrate an understanding of the connections between counseling and other help professions. Collaboration between professions give way for professionals to learn new skills and gain respect for their own skills. Professionals should strive to take on the point of view of another through possible case studies, role plays and documentaries of other professions. In addition coming together as a team lessens chances for out-dated practices, with the intention of improving health care (McAllister, Morrisey, Auliffe, Davidson, McConnell & Reddy, 2011) and strengthening strategies. In a study that was conducted, 32 mental health students from various social sciences attended a placement preparation workshop to determine the impact of multidisciplinary approach and it revealed that over 72% of the participants found the placement program workshop was extremely helpful (Mellin, Hunt, & Nichols, 2011). This transformative learning provides a way for professionals to communicate, not just in vision, but in action to change an individual’s world views (McAllister, Morrisey, Auliffe, Davidson, McConnell & Reddy, 2011). A report conducted by the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation found that interprofessional collaboration produced an overall positive experience for patients, clients, service providers and the healthcare system (Purvis, 2010). A prime example of successful collaboration amongst professionals is 20/20 A Vision for the Future of Counseling, that came together in an organized effort to advance the counseling profession (Kaplan & Gidding, 2011).

Conclusion

Collaboration is vital component of the counseling profession for addressing the countless challenges in acquiring mental health care. When professionals allow for interprofessional collaboration, it gives them the opportunity to coordinate numerous services in schools, community centers and such the like in order to promote mental health for the individual and the family (Purvis, 2010). The ultimate objective for professionals is to be open minded enough to do what is best for the client, anything else would be unethical.

References

Bakken, C. G., Simpson, J. P., Bakken (Eds.), Collaboration: A multidisciplinary approach to educating students with disabilities (pp. 237-252). Waco, TX, US: Prufrock Press

Conyne, R. K. (2015). Counseling for wellness and prevention : helping people become empowered in systems and settings. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral. Proquest.com.library.capella.edu.

Kaplan, D. M., & Gladding, S. T. (2011). A Vision for the Future of Counseling: The 20/20 P Principles for Unifying and Strengthening the Profession. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 89(3), 367-372.

Kuehl, B. (2008). Genogram of family therapy. Family Therapy Magazine, p.13-21.

Laundy, K., Nelson, W., & Abucewicz, D. (2011). Building Collaborative Mental Health Teams

In Schools Through MFT School Certification: Initial Findings. Contemporary Family

Therapy: An International Journal, 33(4), 384-399. doi:10.1007/s10591-011-9158-2

Mellin, E. A., Hunt, B., & Nichols, L. M. (2011). Counselor Professional Identity: Findings and

Implications for Counseling and Interprofessional Collaboration. Journal Of Counseling

& Development, 89(2), 140-147.

Metcalf, L. (Ed.). (2011). Marriage and family therapy : a practice-oriented approach.

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