Research Paper on "Roles and Functions of CMHC Impacts"

Research Paper 5 pages (2064 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Roles and Functions of CMHC

IMPACTS of PUBLIC POLICIES on the ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES of CMHCs

ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES of CMHCs WHILE PROVIDING SERVICES to DIVERSED CLIENTS

DIFFERENTIATED INTERVENTIONS

THE AFFECT of LOCAL, STATE, and NATIONAL PUBLIC POLICIES on the QUALITY and ACCESSIBILITY of CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

ROLES and FUNCTIONS of CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELORS.

To begin with, I would give a brief description about who CMHCs are and how they play an effective role in a society. CMHC stands for Clinical Mental Health Counselor, who is highly trained professionals with proper education and clinical practice to cater mental health problems to pull out people from their disturbing issues through the combination of psycho therapies and clinical treatments. They are similar to behavioral counselors, psychologists or therapists but they have different approach to deal with their patient's issues. For instance, after restoring their client's mental health, CMHC sometimes plan their future activities to prevent them from falling back into their previous mental illnesses. Statistically, according to the report issued by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the year 2010 says that the demand of CMHCs are increasing rapidly and a growth of 24% in expected in later years. CMHCs can work in both public and private sectors and can sometimes join up together to cater client's needs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report in 2004, which stated that 100,500 CMHCs are licensed for independent practice. (Lewis, Dana and Belvins, 2010, pg 3)CMHCs are bound to follow to the code of ethics and meet the professional standard before start practicing. They can work in different settings like independent practice, integrated delivery systems, social and behavioral health care centers, substance abuse treatment clinics and in hospitals. CMHCs are fully trained to cater complete range of services which includes examination, assessment and diagnosis, psycho-therapy, treatment strategy and recreational review, Solution oriented therapy, Drugs and Substance abuse treatment, educational and prevention programs.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

In this part of paper, I would discuss the impacts of Public Policies on the roles and responsibilities of CMHCs and how they approach accordingly in different conditions to overcome their client's problems due to mental illnesses. I would elaborate my discussion about the times when CMHCs need to collaborate with other health professionals or go for professional consultation when needed differentiated interventions.

IMPACTS of PUBLIC POLICIES on the ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES of CMHCs:

CMHCs play a vital role in reconstructing a well balanced society through their abilities to deal patients suffering from mental illnesses from almost all age groups, backgrounds or communities. Strong legislations, professional advocacy and supporting but strict policies have compelled CMHCs to work devotedly and passionately to help decrease the costs and burdens that public and private payers bear annually. It is quite alarming for CMHCs as different public policies are being upgraded to make a positive change but all these policy changes or implementations suggests that CMHCs should adopt their course with professionalism and efficiency. Reforms are in progress by Federal Government to ensure an economical health care delivery system and this could alter CMHCs in great numbers to go for private counseling. AMHCA (American Mental Health Counselors Association) was founded in 1976 as a professional organization to streamline all upcoming CMHCs with a proper code of conduct, ethics, proper training and standardized education. This organization also worked hard and collaborated with federal government to form firm legislations and to provide CMHCs with a proper professional identity. AMHCA have made some reforms to alter the cost and to rectify the inefficient outcomes of the services provided as compared to the original international standards but it never wanted to cut down the career opportunities of CMHCs. It is done easier by (Finley, 2012), TRICARE Management, that designed a certification plan for CMHCs to win recognition as independent counselors. This would enhance their professional standing at the federal level and could serve TRICARE beneficiaries in the long run. AMHCA appreciates and cooperated with TRICARE but warns at the same time that it is very important for CMHCs to adopt these sorts of upgraded certifications or else they would be excluded from program participation by 2015. It is a critical time for CMHCs but there are still ways left for improvement.

Medicare and Medicaid is now refocusing under ACA (Affordable Care Act) to slash down the costly delivery programs for the betterment of the health care environment. ACA supported through Medicare and Medicaid, a new piloted performance-based model by ACO (Accountable Care Organization) to control, check and balance out the quality of services, costs and check on the readmissions in hospital. It possesses the group of efficient health providers who are capable of dealing long-term and acute care, home care, primary care and different behavioral health. (Finley, 2012) According to the survey conducted in 2011 September that 154 ACOs are already in the field and catering almost 2.4 million Medicare beneficiaries and three quarters of all ACOs are sharing clinical information with different hospitals and primary care settings. The worst part for CMHCs will not be included in the emerging health delivery system because they are excluded from the list of Medicare recognized provider and have lost their independent provider status; therefore they cannot participate in the payment model as well. It is quite disappointing and would prove to be harder for CMHCs in the market place. ACOs are incentivized to exclude CMHCs from their groups as Medicare is not at all ready to accept CMHCs without their recognition status. A huge haphazard situation would arise when ACA will increase the number of beneficiaries of insurance plans by 15 million and approximately 17 million recipients will be added to comprehensive mental care benefits in the upcoming years but none would be served by a CMHC but by Medicare ACOs. AMHCA condemns these policies and working to overcome this issue through congressional advocacy.

ROLES and RESPONSIBILITIES of CMHCs WHILE PROVIDING SERVICES to DIVERSED CLIENTS:

United States of America is a diversified multicultural society and holds almost one-third of the population of minority groups. It is the fastest growing segment is U.S. And needs to be addressed with competence in all walks of life. Similarly, a huge responsibility lies on CMHCs, while they deal with clients of diverse cultural values and it works out best when a CMHC is a Cultural Competent Counselor. (NCBI, see8)Diversity not only included race, color or creed but it is comprised of different factors like sexual preferences, mental and physical capabilities, age, geographic location, economic stability etc. Moreover, a counselor has to understand and learn the abuse and addiction extents from their client's cultural group. It should not be assumed that counselors from same cultural background can serve the best or could feel the insecurities that a client is going through; in fact, a counselor is trained to understand and approach for different treatments or therapies according to his/her client's cultural originality and follows unbiased assessment tools while assessing clients from diverse cultures. It is very common that clients from minority groups are more sensitive and needs long-term support and counselor is the one who guides and treat them properly to stop the reoccurrence of their mental illnesses. Research has predicted that some groups are more comfortable with counselors who belong to similar race, whereas Asians find it easier to discuss their issues with a counselor who is not from the same ethnic group. But it is inconclusive that similar race between counselor and client would surely benefit or bring positive outcomes. Federal agencies are working hard to shape up cultural competent counselors through proper training programs and recognized certifications.

(NCBI, see8) Cultural Competence is gained by a continuum of six stages strategy program which has to be practiced by each individual counselor. Stages are about Cultural Destructiveness, Cultural Incapacity, Cultural Blindness, Cultural Pre-competence, Cultural Competence and Cultural Proficiency. Once a CMHC gets efficient enough to practice these then he would be considered as a Cultural Competent Counselor.

DIFFERENTIATED INTERVENTIONS:

Every individual has its own way of coping a mental illness though the reasons might be similar to many other people but the outcomes of mental illness could differ due to individual's strength, physical well being, will power or immunity etc. Professional Literature serves four major categories of interventions like: Affective intervention, Cognitive intervention, Behavioral intervention, and Systematic intervention. As Beck (1976) explains, it is observed that therapists or counselors tend to end up with similar therapies but with different intervention combinations. Here a question rises that how a counselor would suggest a particular intervention or he would go for text as directly as written? Of course not! (Hackney, 1992) He would extract out the main problem which laid the foundation of different behavioral, cognitive or development changes in a person and would then use his expertise and experience to suggest the most suitable integrated therapeutic treatments. For instance if someone says, "I feel sad about myself" its cognitive and another multi-dimensional problem, "I feel tired all the time" referring… READ MORE

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