[humanser] Clinical Counseling

Sat May 10 18:25:52 UTC 2014

Hi Robert,

I have my Masters degree and license in social work and am currently
job hunting.  I'm interested in substance abuse, mental health, or
working with senior citizens.  Here are my four answers below:

1. I have not had any experience with the electronic records system
that J.D. mentioned.

2. At my internship at a partial care program for the mentally ill,
interestingly, none of the clients had any issue with my blindness.
In fact, many were quite interested.  One even said, if anyone decided
to mess with me, he'd kick their butts (keeping it clean for this
list) for me!

3. One time, I applied for an internship (before I went to grad
school) with a substance abuse program.  The reverend who ran the
program interviewed me and invited me to stay for the day to observe
the various groups there.  Then, I didn't hear back, so called to see
what was up.  His wife called me back, saying there was no space for
an intern.  Granted, the building was relatively small, but I suspect
the wife talked the reverend out of accepting me for the internship.
After I graduated, I had an interview at another partial care program.
 When the man saw me, he claimed the job required driving.  Driving
wasn't mentioned in the job ad!  I think he was lying through his
teeth!

4. As you might already know, social work school is quite demanding,
especially with the internship requirement.  If you've worked while in
school, you might not be as thrown by it.  The LSW exam isn't too bad,
as long as you study your butt off.

Serena

On 5/10/14, JD Townsend <43210 at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
> Hello Robert,
>
> The Human Services Division is a fine place to explore your career goals.
> Many members of this division are psychotherapists, several are students,
> like you, in or contemplating entry into a graduate program..
>
>
> You asked 4 questions, my responses are below each.
>
> The tools that mental health professionals use are increasingly
> electronic-for example, I am currently participating in counseling myself,
> and the intake interview and subsequent assessments were all done
> electronically. Overall, I believe that this holds great promise for blind
> counselors, but that doesn't mean the tools in their current state are
> accessible. Does anyone have experience with computerized counseling
> tools-testing, assessment, etc. and are they largely accessible? If not, are
>
> their accessible alternatives? As a blind counselor, how have you managed
> the task of administering psychological tests and assessments?
>
> Interestingly psychotherapists are not commonly trained or involved in
> psychological testing.  I do use several inventories, such as the Beck and
> Hamilton Inventories to assess progress as well as some other tests, these I
>
> most commonly have the patient mark and we review their responses.  For some
>
> I will keep a copy on my braille note taker and ask & mark the responses.
> If you are trained in projective tests, just mark the pictures in braille on
>
> the back of the card and proceed with noting patient responses word for word
>
> as usual.
>
> The electronic medical records are an issue that this Division is currently
>
> engaged in addressing on the national stage.  The NFB is asking that EMR
> records be fully accessible in legislation to, hopefully, become policy in
> 2015.  Each of us is dealing with this issue individually at the present
> time.  Some systems are fully accessible while others are far from
> accessible.
>
>
> 2.        How do clients react to having a visually impaired counselor? Has
>
> this impacted-whether positively or negatively-the way you interact with
> clients? If so, explain, especially if you have experience working with
> children in this setting.
>
> I have been working as an outpatient psychotherapist for the past 12 years
> in a large hospital.  Last week a 14 year-old asked me lots of questions:
> do I wear loafers because I couldn't tie shoelaces?  Does my wife have to do
>
> everything for me?  He has an anger management issue along with ADHD &
> Autistic Spectrum Disorder.  An adult patient would be shy to ask, but I
> invite these questions, always focusing on the patient needs.  For example
> asking about my wife related to his ideas as a 14 year-old male with a
> disability wondering if he might ever have a girlfriend.
>
> 3.       Do you believe that blindness affected your employment prospects in
>
> this area?
>
> Of course.  There is discrimination in every area that a blind person
> enters.  The trick is not to be the blind job applicant, but being the best
>
> qualified applicant for the job.  If you wear "blind guy" to an interview,
> that is how you will be remembered.  My employers, like my patients, often
> forget that I am blind.  Often patients attempt to show me pictures on their
>
> smart phones, only to gasp in surprise that I cannot see.
>
>
> 4.       Is there anything else you'd like to mention about mental health
> counseling and related fields-the coursework, internship, state and national
>
> exams, or job itself?
>
> Few careers are more rewarding to the soul and less rewarding to the
> pocket.
>
>
> Feel free to further this discussion on this list.
>
>
> JD Townsend LCSW
> Helping the light dependent to see
> Daytona Beach, Earth, Sol System
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Hooper, Robert M.
> Sent: Wednesday, April 30, 2014 12:13 PM
> To: humanser at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [humanser] Clinical Counseling
>
> Hello List:
>
> It was recommended to me to join the Human Services list as an additional
> resource. Some of you are no-doubt concurrently subscribed to the Social
> Sciences List. Anyway, the below message is one that I just sent to the
> Social Sciences List. If anyone has any input, I would be forever grateful.
>
> Hello List:
>
> Because I post with exquisite rarity on this particular list, let me preface
>
> my inquiry with a brief introduction. My name is Robert Hooper, and I am
> beginning my fifth undergraduate year at the Ohio State University, with
> matriculation expected next spring. I am a psychology and neuroscience
> student, however I plan to apply to graduate school to be a professional
> clinical counselor. Ideally, I would like to study here at OSU for that as
> well, in the Counselor Education program under the College of Education and
>
> Human Ecology. My population interest is early childhood through
> adolescence.
> I am writing to find out if anyone on this list has experience as a mental
> health professional, and specifically how blindness affects any aspect of
> the job. For example, here are some questions to guide any responses,
> although any information would be helpful, as obviously I can't think of
> every relevant detail of this varied profession.
>
>
> 1.       I am noticing that a lot of the tools that mental health
> professionals use are increasingly electronic-for example, I am currently
> participating in counseling myself, and the intake interview and subsequent
>
> assessments were all done electronically. Overall, I believe that this holds
>
> great promise for blind counselors, but that doesn't mean the tools in their
>
> current state are accessible. Does anyone have experience with computerized
>
> counseling tools-testing, assessment, etc. and are they largely accessible?
>
> If not, are their accessible alternatives? As a blind counselor, how have
> you managed the task of administering psychological tests and assessments?
>
> 2.        How do clients react to having a visually impaired counselor? Has
>
> this impacted-whether positively or negatively-the way you interact with
> clients? If so, explain, especially if you have experience working with
> children in this setting.
>
> 3.       Do you believe that blindness affected your employment prospects in
>
> this area?
>
> 4.       Is there anything else you'd like to mention about mental health
> counseling and related fields-the coursework, internship, state and national
>
> exams, or job itself?
>
> Of course, I recognize that many will have helpful input, even if they are
> not doing exactly what I am, so I am open to input from anyone. Also, I am
> open to recommendations for books, articles, videos, etc. I would appreciate
>
> any information anyone has to offer-seriously. I want to hear the good and
> the bad. I look forward to what will hopefully be an enlightening
> discussion.
> Cordially,
> Robert Hooper, Undergraduate Research Assistant, HDFS Early Childhood
> Development Lab
> Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu<mailto:Hooper.90 at buckeyemail.osu.edu>
> The Ohio State University, Department of Psychology; Department of
> Neuroscience
> 166H Campbell Hall
> 1787 Neil Avenue
> Columbus, Ohio 43210
> Cell: (740) 856-8195
>
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