Clinicians Are Required to Determine

¶ … clinicians are required to determine when clients need extra support and treatment, outside referral, and termination of their relationship with the client; their communication and interviewing skills are also applicable to human service managers. The human service manager assists his/her staff to continue growing through reinforcing their skills, providing outside referral to address development issues and managing release or termination of staff.

Tom Martin is a thirty-two-year-old, divorced worker employed as an individual counselor for adult clients in the Family Support Services Center. This employee is generally regarded as an adequate but not exceptional counselor based on the results of current assessment. Through this assessment, Tom has had several recent issues including two unconfirmed client complaints and termination of counseling services for four females without an explanation. Furthermore, one of his female clients has informed the supervisor about inappropriate sexual comments and treatment from Tom, which he initially denied but admitted to being attracted to the client.

In this scenario, the most suitable communication and interviewing skill would be release or termination of the counselor. Termination or release is a transition process with which an individual gradually moves to other support and problem solving systems (Murphy & Dillon, 2011, p. 410). A planned release could be appropriate in helping the counselor to analyze, compare anticipations with certainties, and prepare for the future. The release or termination of Mr. Tom Martin is the best possible solution because he has disregarded the need to ensure that his counseling relationships are effective, safe, and focused on addressing the clients' needs.

Since Tom is a divorced man, some of the information to be elicited from him include whether he is using his profession as a means to get another wife. While his sexual behaviors towards female counselors need to be addressed and changed, the boundary issues to be addressed are the safety of his clients, and the need to focus on the clients' needs rather than his. Based on the professional code of ethics and many state laws, sexual relations and contacts with clients are strictly forbidden and punishable (Murphy & Dillon, 2011, p. 338). The ending issues include legal and ethical considerations and the establishment of a corrective plan of assistance.

Case Study Two:

Janice Wellington is twenty-year-old single female counselor that has worked with the Family Support Services Center for about two years. She works as a child and family counselor who displays effective therapeutic skills throughout her work. According to the current assessment, Janice is well-liked by clients though she has a problem of client case logs that normally incomplete and submitted in an untimely way. While she is a good counselor, Janice states that she is incompetent and unsure of how to handle certain situations she is exposed to and feels more contented and at ease working with children instead of the whole family.

In this case, reinforcement is the most suitable solution as it seems that Janice is suffering from lack of confidence. These reinforcement strategies could include offering positive response to develop her confidence and creating a schedule that enables her to find time to complete the paperwork on a daily basis. Through the use of focused awareness interviewing technique, Janice will be able to disclose reasons for feeling inadequate with families and adult clients though they are impressed by her work. Consequently, the transition issues involved in this scenario include providing Janice with extra supervisory support and staff development initiatives in attempts to build her confidence and enable her to feel at ease with adult clients. This could be followed by evaluation after a given period of time regarding her goals, achievements and decision about her profession.

Case Study Three:

Michael Thompson is a married forty-four-year-old African-American who has worked with Family Support Service Center for 16 years as a substance abuse counselor. He is a recovering addict with 18 years of soberness working under a lot of stress at home because of financial obligations. While he has an exceptional work record, Michael has had periods of repeated absence from work, depression, and unsure of whether he can relate to clients' addiction issues. Consequently, the staff is worried that he may have experienced a relapse or is considering drug use.

The most suitable recommendation for Michael is referral to appropriate professional and support networks to assist him during the difficult period. The counselor has a huge responsibility of ensuring his relationship with clients is safe, effective, and suitably centered on the needs of the client (Murphy & Dillon, 2011, p. 334). Michael's uncertainties on how to relate with clients' issues shows that meet this requirement and needs help through referral. During this process, he should be informed of the concerns of his co-workers and given an opportunity to respond. The human service manager should however commend his behavior of continuing to work despite of the underlying stress and depression issues while referring him to the employee assistance program and policy. The possible transition issues include retraining, referral for outside assistance, mentoring, and extra supervisory support.