Consultation and Advocacy

Advocacy is defined as the process of advocating or supporting a cause one believes in. In the mental health field a counselor or therapist will make a decision to advocate for a client by deciding what treatment is in the best interest of their client or patient. The mental health counselor or therapist will also consult with other professionals in the medical field before deciding what treatment is best for the patient. Once this medical team is assemble the counselor or therapist will communicate with the client, the client's family, and medical team to ensure the needs of both the patient and family are met. The counselor's role as the patient advocate continues as the counselor becomes more aware of the external factors that have become issues in their client's individual development.

As a future licensed mental health counselor patient advocacy and patient consult are two very important concepts I must learn and understand. From my understanding advocacy is defined as helping patients or clients express what they want verbally by securing their rights while still representing their interest but also receiving the help they need. As for consultation I have defined it as obtaining information from multiple medical professionals who are also involved in the personally welfare of a patient or client. These two areas of the mental health counseling profession are to provide information to both patient and counselor to help he or she make an informed choice concerning their welfare and those who are involved in their everyday lives as well.

According to the article titled "Are Consultation and Social Justice Advocacy Similar? Exploring the Perceptions of Professional Counseling and Counseling Students" consultation and advocacy are implemented to help increase the potential for counselors to provide services based on strength identification, the removal barriers of growth, and the facilitation and liberation of human development. The advocate role of a counselor is also directed to readdress past and present social oppressions of their client's current social environment. The area of consultation involves acting on behalf of their client through interaction with another professional counselor concerning the client's welfare (Moe, Perera-Diltz, and Sepulvede 2010). My professional counseling career will focus on the mental health of troops returning from multiple tours of duty to combat zones overseas as well as counseling their family members.

The stigma of mental illness in the U.S. Military has become a barrier for providing adequate mental health care to our nations veterans and active duty service members. Currently 19 % of service members returning from an overseas tour to Iraq or Afghanistan will suffer from either depression or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Others return with psychological and emotional trauma as well. This percentage also includes those who will experience at least one major depressive disorder once they have returned. Their mental health does not only impact their work but also their family and personal life as well. Over half of soldiers with major depressive disorders have reported serve impairment with home, management, work, close relationships with others and social life (Adler, Britt, Kim, Klocko, and Riviere, 2011).

Many of these soldiers feel too embarrassed to ask for help when dealing with a mental disorder. They often feel once treatment is sought he or she will be forever categorized or labeled with a mental disorder for the rest of their life. This belief system or fear is a result of being trained to be perceived as tough and self-reliant soldiers. This stigma or fear of treatment often leads to denial and eventually conflict begins to arise among the service member, family, friends and coworkers (Dickens, Litz, and Vogt 2010). These soldiers eventually begin to withdraw from their families, work, and social activities.

During the first three to six months home from recent deployment soldiers are encouraged by their unit commander to seek help for any mental health issues he or she may be experiencing since returning home. Those who choose to seek diagnosis and treatment will consult with counselors at the behavioral health clinic on their current military instillation or Veteran's Affairs Hospital. The primary care physician and licensed mental health counselor will consult with one another as advocates for their patient and soldier.

For example, the Behavioral Health Care Consultant Model consists of the primary care physician and behavioral health care consultant. The primary care physician will begin by referring their patient/soldier to a behavioral health consultant. The BHC will conduct short evaluations and interventions with the patient/soldier then will provide their recommendations and treatment options to the primary care physician. The primary care physician will still maintain some control over the forms of treatment offered to their patient but still maintaining communication with the BHC throughout treatment. The BHC maintains contact with their patient/soldier through 30 minutes sessions consisting of problem and solution focused (Appolonio, Bryan, and Marrow 2009).

This type of model has proven to be cost effective and beneficial for the soldier and their family members. A recent study conducted at an Air Force Base in the southwestern United States. Primary care physicians began by referring their patients to behavioral health consultants for evaluation and treatment options once a mental health issue has been identified during their medical appointment. The BHC began counseling the patient/soldier and their family members over a course of a few appointments.