Assignment:
Background
Persons in crises can access services through many means. For this written assignment, the client is calling via a hotline for assistance. This hotline can also be part of the client’s employment benefits whereby a crises counselor is available as part of the behavioral health/mental health benefits.
The client is a 40-year-old adult working full time in an office scheduling patients all day long. Work has become challenging, especially with the increased pressure to do more at work with fewer people. The client was planning to move ahead on the job through taking classes. However, this is not possible given the recent separation as a result of marital issues, one of which was long term spouse unemployment. There is no fighting regarding custody of the adolescent children who are residing with the client in their suburban/rural home. Concerns include ability to pay the bills, children expressing anger with the other parent. This is evidenced through not doing school work, and complaining about not being able to do what they could with friends. The client was in moderately good shape, but is now having trouble focusing, thinking and doing the job as parent and employee. Smoking has increased as has weight gain. Friends are primarily work friends. Family are not local. The client is hesitant to tell you, as crises counselor, anything else.
The written assignment
Assess the client using the American Academy of Crises Interventioners Lethality Scale (Greenstone and Leviton, p. 17) and the Triage Assessment Scale (James, p. 61-65).
What information is needed to more fully complete the assessment so that you can address the client’s needs? What information was available? What does the assessment show regarding client functioning? Additional information that may be needed includes prior coping strategies, cultural diversity, resiliency and other information that can be found in the readings, the assigned readings, and in the online resources in this module. Explain how that additional information would help you help the client.
