mental health clinician interview Flashcards
Can you tell us what client-centered care means to you?
active participate in decisions about care, needs and preferences, quality improvement initiatives, respect and dignity at all times
I believe in a co-collaborative approach to treatment, in which the client feels empowered. This also means that I understand the client’s reasons for attending treatment and working on a goal developed together.
Building on this, I believe it is essential to acknowledge clients’ needs and preferences. This can mean ensuring treatment is accessible to them, and providing clients with an opportunity to provide feedback on their care, so that adjustments can be made
Lastly, and perhaps most important to me, is that clients are treated with dignity and respect at all times.
Do you have experience with decision guide processes?
Not specifically with this process, but from what I understand from the website, I do have knowledge about components of the process, such as goal setting, I’m a big fan of SMART goals, determining client needs - how can we best use our limited time together, that motivational interviewing piece to ensure im not making decisions for the client, but rather, they come to the decision themselves, assessing clients strengths, challenges and barriers to treatment, identifying needs of client that might go beyond what I can offer and referring out, and that navigation of other services piece.
Do you have experiences providing short term therapy?
While I haven’t had direct experience with providing short term therapy, I have experiences in drawing from CBT and solution focused therapy with clients at Creative Counselling, I was also able to practice skills related to solution focused in my distress line volunteer role. I also have had experience as a client receiving short term therapy. I believe this experience provides me with important insights into the client experience. My own experiences as a client receiving short term therapy have informed my own practice as well as my understanding of the benefits and challenges of short-term therapy. For example, I understand that the nature of short term therapy means there will be an end-date, perhaps before the client feels ready. So I recognize the importance in providing support when transitioning the client out of therapy and ensuring they are able to continue their healing journey on their own.
Do you have experience with CBT?
I’ve introduced some concepts to clients, such as progressive muscle relaxation, looking at the CBT iceberg, educating about ABC - activating event, belief and consequence. and I use CBT concepts in my own self-healing journey. - thought records, value clarification, mindfulness, problem solving to end bad habits
Why is accessibility, accountability and evaluation important in providing therapy?
Accessibility: meeting the client where they are at. If someone is a visual learner vs a verbal; you would provide options for them in visual aids. Using language that makes sense to them and checking in to make sure they understand. I learned the importance of this when working with children with FASD at creative counselling.
Accountability: I believe in the importance of accountability as a therapist for a number of reasons. First, there is the practical sense of accountability, such as returning phone calls, emails, but also as a staff member, being accountable to SJCG. and most important, being ACCOUNTABLE with the OCSWSSW by upholding their standards of practice.
Evaluation: Continually evaluating your work as a SW; best practices and measures with OCSWSSW; you can say that you’re always wanting to learn the newest education about topics/therapy. Also ensuring I’m receiving feedback from my clients, so that I can ensure I am providing them with the best care.
What do you know about EFAP?
8 sessions yearly, free of cost,
Can you tell us about your educational & professional background and how it has prepared you for this role as a Mental Health Clinician?
Educational: Masters in social work, background in Fine Arts.
Completing my placement at Creative Counseling allowed me to shape my own practice. During this placement I was able to strengthen my ability to form therapeutic relationships, plan sessions based around client needs, become familiar with working with a diverse client population and draw from various therapeutic models such as IFS, DBT, CBT, trauma informed therapy, art & play therapy and EMDR.
I am very excited by the prospect of learning more about CBT, as I recognize it as a foundational approach to therapy.
During my placement at Hospice Northwest during my bachelors, I conducted intakes for HNW’s grief support services. These intakes were comprehensive, often an hour in length. I learned how to assess whether a client was suitable for services and how to refer them to more suitable services if needed.
Professional:
Grief support group facilitator at HNW - these groups are 4 sessions long, and 23 hours per session. Two facilitators, I’m able to be the lead facilitator due to my experience. Learning how to redirect conversations, focus on goals. Lots of psychoeducation.
Palliative program coordinator: - performed client intakes, triaged clients, advocated on clients behalf. During my short term in this role, I decreased the waitlist from 25 to 7 through my motivation and dedication to the clients.
Volunteer Work: Distress line: really set the foundation for me and gave me the confidence to know that I can work under pressure and with clients in distress
Explain your knowledge and experience with addictions, youth, parenting, marital, and family counseling. Give examples of your work in these areas.
Youth: creative counselling: working with youth with diverse challenges, ranging from trauma, grief, FASD, ADHD, sexual assault and being in foster care. While the children were our clients, we would often invite the parents in during the last ten minutes to provide them with some psychoeducation as well. This was particularly helpful in encouraging parents to better understand their children’s behavior and how to work together to overcome challenges.
Can you describe your familiarity with referral processes, triage, and system navigation for assessing and treating individuals with persistent mental health concerns?
I really enjoyed my role as the palliative program coordinator at Hospice Northwest because it provided me with the opportunity to strengthen my knowledge of these processes and the skills needed to be successful. During this role I successfully reduced the waitlist from 25 to 7 clients. This was done through triaging clients, advocacy efforts, and problem solving. For example, there was one gentleman who really needed palliative support from a volunteer, however, due to his inability to care for his home, volunteers did not feel comfortable making in person visits. This gentlemen was a client of home and community care, so I advocated on his behalf to ensure that his home be in a state that is adequately clean for volunteers to visit. In the meantime, I encouraged his volunteer to make phone calls, and visit outside the home.
How would you adapt your communication style to effectively engage with clients from diverse backgrounds and cultures, including those who may speak a second language?
Ensure that I am using simple language, encourage feedback on techniques and questions, provide check ins to see if what I am saying is making sense, tailor techniques to learning styles, patience and empathy
Explain your understanding of anti-oppression and anti-racism principles and how you incorporate them into your clinical practice.
Anti-oppressive and anti-racist principles are key in clinical practice, as they recognize the systemic inequalities and discrimination individuals from marginalzied communities may face. I incorporate these principles into my own practice through self-awareness and self reflection, cultural humility, empowering clients, continued education and trauma informed care.
Awareness and self reflection: recognizing my own social location and how that intersects with that of my clients. Being self-aware enough to catch myself making any assumptions about my clients based on their social locations.
Having cultural humility is key. Recognizing that it is important to educate myself and be open to learning from clients about their experiences.
Share your knowledge and experience in the etiology and treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders, as well as OCD and PTSD.
I understand these conditions as resulting from a complex web of influences, with no one sole factor being responsible for its onset. an interplay of biological, environmental and/or physiological factors can all lead to the development of these conditions.
Can you provide an example of a challenging client case you’ve worked on and how you managed it to achieve a positive outcome?
The first client I was assigned at creative counselling was a gentlemen who had expefrienced traumatic grief and it was resulting in a lot of anger. This was a challenging case for me, as his anger meant I had to ensure I was not becoming activated during sessions. We worked together to develop strategies to help him cope with his anger in the moment. This included progress, muscle relaxation, and being mindful of when his anger was arising, what triggered it and what options he had available to him.
How do you collaborate within an inter-professional team, and how do you handle conflicts or disagreements within the team?
I really appreciate team work, as it contributes to providing clients with holistic care. I believe that communication is the key to successful collaborations. Ensuring open, transparent communication. I also believe in respecting the expertise of each tram member, and recognizing and appreciating their contributions to the success of the team. I also really believe in role clarity, and the importance of knowing what my role is, and it can help reduce misunderstandings and conflict.
Handling conflict or disagreements: prioritizing empathy and active listening. I believe that it is essential to work together to discover the root of the issue. I also recognize how emotions can run high during conflict, so I recognize the importance of slowing down, taking a deep breathe and ensuring that I act only from a place of respect for other staff members.
Are you familiar with relevant legislation and professional standards in the field of mental health, such as the Mental Health Act and the Health Care Consent Act?
Informed consent, ethical code of conduct, confidentiality, boundaires, supervision, duty to report, record keeping,
