Clinical Mental Health Interview and Reflection

Introduction

The objective is to get to learn about the lives of a mental health counselor from how they carry on their duties, practices as well as how they handle various obstacles in their careers. The mode of interview selected was a one on one session so that the interviewer would acquire sufficient information from the interviewee during the course as the method is more effective as compared to others. The health counselor was to be from the locality. Several licensed mental health counselors were selected based on their popularity in the region and were vetted based on their prevalence of work in the area. The one who was considered to have won proceeded on to the interview which took place inside the school premises. The discussion was divided into two categories one which based on the organization that the mental health counselor was based while the other section was about the mental health counselor personal career life.

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Organization Information

What is the name of the organization?

I am a mental health counselor who is based at New South Wales hospital that dwells in several mental disorder cases such as trauma, alcoholism and drug abuse as well as other mental related issues.

What are its mission and primary goals?

The institution has been focused on several activities based on patient wellness over the years. The activities involve a commitment to helping the community overcome health problems. My department is mainly engaged in the mental health cases in the community which come in various forms such as childhood trauma, alcoholism, family, careers, disorders in eating, suicide as well as the seniors among other problems (Palinkas et al., 2015). We have been committed to seeing to it that the welfare of our patients remain the most critical priorities to all counselors by making sure that such cases are handled on the right time to avoid damages. Mental health patients are treated and a followup made on them to ensure that they do not fall prey of the same problems in the future by empowering them. The organization is guided by a mission statement that requires all mental counselors to put patient as their priority inside and outside work. This has been the discipline and building block for the success of the institution.

Who does it serve?

As mentioned before, the institution treats quite several problems. Therefore, the people who get treated here vary from children, adults, old people, drug addicts as well as veterans in the community who may be having mental or other related issues. The organization is not limited to any group thus serve everyone who seeks assistance.

What services and programs does it offer?

There are various services offered in the institution such as treatment of child tremor, stress, career problems, old age issues, parenting problems, drug-related problems, advocacy, eating disorders and mental issues treatment.

What is the administrative structure of the organization?

The organization is headed by the hospital director who acts as the chief administrator and also the final decision maker. All consultancy and high caliber matters, directed to him. He is assisted by two assistants being the human resource manager who is responsible for first administrative services as well as regulation of the hospital welfare. The other assistant is the hospital attorney who is responsible for representing the organization in case I am involved in any legal dispute. He also advises the organization on how to undertake various matters that concern the hospital. The two are assisted by two other personnel one being the chief executive for patient welfare. Any issues that affect the patients in the form of disputes and protection are presented to her. The second assistant is the senior doctor's category one who is responsible for overseeing health matters in the hospitals. The welfare of all doctors including that of the health metal counselor is her duty. The final administrative unit is that of the various heads of departments who are categorized based on what the department specializes in. Ours is the mental health department.

What are other types of professionals employed in the organization?

New South Wales hospital is a big hospital that treats various health issues apart from mental health problems. It initially started as a mental health institution, but over the years it has evolved into a cancer treatment center, cardiology, ENT center as well as a surgery center for complex health problems. The type of professionals you find in the organization apart from mental health counselors are neurosurgeons, doctors, nutritionists, nurses, and therapists.

How is it funded? What insurance does the organization accept?

The institution is a government-owned organization; therefore all fundings come from the government. This also means that the organization is open to all legal health insurance policies so long as they are allowed by American law.

What type of opportunities for staff development are available?

New South Wales hospital is one of the leading organization in terms of providing employee growth. Staff training is one of the most considered programs in the institution whereby various learning programs offered per department as an opportunity for growth. Those who perform well during and after the training stand to be rewarded with better opportunities like high career ranks as well as salary increment. Team building programs are also on the forefront, and their primary purpose is to enhance teamwork among members especially those working in the same department.

How does it determine its client's needs, and how does it evaluate its services and programs?

The organization has for a while been part of the community especially locally. It has sponsored events such as sports and also offered free medical checkups to members of the community which are provided door to door hence making an immense impact. The community has reciprocated by showing massive support to the organization. This makes it easy for the organization to collect feedback from the clients thus enable it to make improvements where need be. The involvement in the community has also made it easy to evaluate the services and programs offered therefore determine how effective they are and what need to be improved. Regular, random surveys are taken and involve questioning patients on their satisfaction regarding the hospital thus playing a critical role in self-evaluation.

Personal Information

What is the professional Counselor job title?

A professional counselor in my department is referred to as a health counselor.

What does she or he do?

A health counselor is responsible for helping patients through problems that are attached to their emotions by propelling them through their difficulties and eventually overcoming.

What does a typical day look like for him or her?

A typical day for a health counselor begins typically at around 10 a.m since most clients do not attend counseling sessions early. It is then followed by a brief of the patients expected as well as the time of sitting and afterward courses that generally do not exceed one hour (Crowe, Inder & Porter, 2015).

What are the challenges of a counselors position?

Counselors are typically faced by various problems such as violent and non-cooperating clients, having to put their emotions aside, being their counselors as well as working in an environment in which they do not receive the necessary support that they require.

What are the benefits of a counselor position?

Mental counseling is one of the most enthusiastic careers as it allows one to interact with people as well as get to understand them. Using this platform, one can be able to reach out to many people and consequently to solve their problems or to help them get through challenging situations in life.

What type of knowledge and skills are typical in performing this kind of job?

One of the most crucial skills that a mental health counselor should possess is the ability to listen to others as well as can attach interest into people's problems because the expertise enables them to work with the patient by being able to handle them efficiently(Crowe et al., 2015). A counselor should also have the ability to look into themselves and not judge others based on whatever they may be going through. Finally, a counselor should have the knowledge and understanding to be able to handle various circumstances like when a patient turns violent; they should improvise skills to help them calm down.

How does the counselor think his or her workday is similar or different from other mental healthcare professionals who work in the same client population?

Current mental problems face the society, so the type of the issues handled by other counselors in the same population are likely to be the same in a way because people tend to share ideologies as well as belief(Westra et al., 2016). This makes it easy to find a redundant problem being an essential subject of concern in a specific population.

What are some of the things that a counselor does that as a mental health counselor that he or she is is never expected to do?

Sometimes a counselor overlooks some ethical issues that are maybe creating a constraint to helping a client thus ignore them to offer the required help such as eliminating boundaries that restrict relationships outside work for the session to work on a patient as it should be.

What does a professional counselor do to prevent burnout?

Counseling can be overwhelming, and whenever one feels worn out, physical exercise is one of the most effective personal care solutions. At some point, one is required to take a break from work to help in recovery (Westra et al., 2016).

What insurance pannels do individuals use for reimbursement?

Governmental insurance panels are the best when it comes recovery of a loss as they are the most effective as well as easy to access.

Reflection

For one to become a mental health counselor, individual commitment is highly required because it is an involving career. It has various challenges whereby one is needed to grow into their counselor before attending to others by putting personal feelings and pain aside for the sake of others. This shows the ultimate sacrifice as noted by (Crowe et al., 2015). Challenges such as reluctant patients or even violent who do not want to be questioned, working in a system that does not support you, having to set a relationship between you and the patients aside. Some times the patients can be going through a very trying time, and the temptation to come in as a person to help them by offering personal advice is always a bad idea hence making it a problem to balance. A person who aspires to become a mental health counselor should be fully aware that it is not easy; hence the need to be personally committed before deciding to be part of the department.

Mental health counselors are prepared in the utilization of different treatments to help patients with mental and intense mentality matters, just as issues, for example, work issues to get better. Requiring sympathy and magnificent listening aptitudes, this profession is best for people who are candidly steady and developed. So as to turn into authorized mental health counselors in many states, a graduate degree is required. Schools offer graduate degrees in guiding, brain research and other related emotional well-being fields.