3 research outputs found
An Investigation of Healthcare Professionalsâ Perspectives on the Tasks of Mental Health Counselors in Hospital Settings
With the global mental health implications reported by the spread of COVID 19 (Javed et al., 2020) and the amplified mental health illnesses reported by the State of Mental Health in America (Reinert et al., 2021), there is an increased need to address psychological and emotional health along with physical health. Mental Health Counselors (MHCs) can be the next professional body to support the multidisciplinary teams within hospital settings to complement holistic care focusing on physical and emotional well-being. Researchers have demonstrated addressing the psychological needs of patients from their first admissions to the hospital has significant positive implications on their recovery outcomes as well as psychological, social, and relational well-being post-discharge (Zhang et al., 2016; Ng et al., 2007; Schoultz et al., 2015; McCombie et al., 2016; Hatch et al., 2011). Research on the effects of therapeutic intervention has effectively prevented PTSD in the general population when provided in the first month after trauma exposure (Bryant et al., 2008). Therefore, early therapeutic interventions in hospital settings to identify emotional and psychological reactions (Weinert & Meller, 2007) before discharging patients can significantly impact patientsâ post-discharge mental health. However, since counseling is a new profession entering the medical field, role confusion within multidisciplinary teams appears to impact counselorsâ effective integration into healthcare as they provide counseling services to hospitalized patients. Therefore, in this study, I address the gap in the literature by exploring the perspectives and expectations of healthcare professionals on what MHCs do in hospital settings. This study was guided by a social constructivist paradigm utilizing an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, concept mapping (Kane & Trochim, 2007). Healthcare professionals conceptualized MHCsâ tasks in hospital settings to facilitate medical and mental health services and enhance patientsâ well-being in 104 statements grouped in 11 clusters forming three central regions. The three main regions include: âOverarching Roles and Responsibilities of MHCs in the Hospital Settingâ (Region I) contained two clusters (i.e., âFundamental Roles and Responsibilities in the Hospital Setting,â & âSpecific Roles and Responsibilities in Different Hospital Unitsâ) of MHCsâ tasks, while âMHCsâ Specific Roles in the Hospital Settingâ (Region II) entailed four clusters (i.e., âBuilding Relationship with Patients,â âAssessing/Evaluating Patientsâ Mental Health Status,â âAssisting and Supporting patients with Physical, Psychological, and Social Challenges in Relations to their Medical Conditionâ & âEducating Patientsâ) and âMHCâs Roles and Responsibilities as a Multidisciplinary Team Memberâ (Region III) hosted five clusters(i.e., âAdvocating for Patients in the Multidisciplinary Team,â âMediating Communication Between Healthcare Professionals, Patients, and Families,â âCollaborating with Other Multidisciplinary Team Members on Patientsâ Care,â âTraining Other Multidisciplinary Members on General Wellness and Mental Healthâ & âOffering Trainings and Emotional Support to Other Multidisciplinary Team Membersâ). The top three higher-rated clusters as being most important for participants were cluster 7 âadvocating for patients in the multidisciplinary team,â cluster 5 âassisting and supporting patients with physical, psychological, and social challenges in relation to their medical condition,â and cluster 11 âoffering training and emotional support to other multidisciplinary team members.
Preparing Counselors in Training to Work within Interdisciplinary Settings: What Are Superviseeâs Needs from Supervision
Counselors are increasingly required to work in diverse and multicultural settings and within interprofessional and multi-professional teams (Schmit et al., 2018). For counselors to work effectively with professionals from other disciplines, they need training in collaborative competencies that include knowledge of each professionsâ roles, responsibilities, and expertise (Arthur & Russell-Mayhew, 2010). Arthur and Russell-Mayhew identified supervision as possible leverage to support counselors in acquiring competencies to learn with and from other disciplines. However, there is limited research on how supervision supports health professionals, particularly counselors, in an interdisciplinary team (Owens et al., 1999). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the perceived supervision needs of counselors in training (CITs) working in interprofessional settings to contribute to the gap in the literature.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gradposters2021_education/1000/thumbnail.jp
An Investigation of Healthcare Professionals\u27 Perspectives on the Tasks of Mental Health Counselors in Hospital Settings
In this study, we attempted to understand what other healthcare professionals considered mental health counselorsâ (MHCs) tasks in their hospital setting to facilitate medical and mental health services and enhance patientsâ well-being. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design (concept mapping), we obtained 3 regions of MHCsâ tasks (i.e., Overarching Roles and Responsibilities of MHCs in the Hospital Setting, MHCsâ Specific Roles in the Hospital Setting, and MHCsâ Roles and Responsibilities as a Multidisciplinary Team Member) represented in 11 clusters. We discussed the results with implications for MHCs, healthcare professionals, counselor educators, and researchers, along with the current study\u27s limitations