The development of a counseling intervention plan is a delicate process that involves data assessment procedures and designing treatment plans, which consider a multitude of factors. The initial stage of the treatment process needs to involve the assessment of relevant educational, career, social, and personal development. In addition, personality and psychological testing are critical is narrow down the scope of the issue, which is based on a symptom checklist. The main step of the intervention plan is the diagnosis of various mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders through DSM-5 or ICD. Lastly, a counselor needs to implement a correct strategy for administering, selecting, interpreting the overall assessment procedure, and test results.
The counseling plan is initiated by overviewing a client from a multitude of angles regarding his or her social, personal, career, and educational life. It is important to understand and factor out any possibilities of substance abuse, which will be identified as a root cause of the problem (Whiston, 2016). The following procedure needs to be focused on mental status examination for identifying any issues in a client’s personal and social life. These steps are conducted through various interviewing, such as motivational interviews. A person’s academic development is assessed through several intelligence testing methodologies, such as the Woodcock-Johnson Tests. In the case of career life, two main approaches are relevant, which are aptitude and achievement testing (Whiston, 2016). These involve assessing the interest regarding one’s career and the analysis of the level of expectation from his or her professional background.
The next major stage of the counseling treatment plan involves the assessment of a client’s psychological and personality framework. Personality can be tested through various observation methods, which are important for the following procedure of generating MMPI-2 scaling. The latter consists of ten scales, which are critical for understanding one’s psychological state (Whiston, 2016). In addition, the 16 personality traits analysis method is needed for the assessment of the client’s overall personality features.
The third step of the counseling intervention plan needs to be focused on the diagnosis of disorders, which can be behavioral, developmental, or mental. The most relevant approach for the given stage is the application of DSM-5 or ICD. It is stated that both manuals are interlinked with each other, which means that they are not contradictory (Whiston, 2016). These diagnostic tools help integrate the results of the previous testing for identifying the major underlying disorder. A client’s description and testing data need to match the selected manual’s requirements and symptom checklists. Developmental disorders are issues that emerge due to the improper or faulty developmental process of an individual, whereas mental disorders are related to one’s cognitive malfunction. In the case of behavioral issues, it is important to understand that recording is critical because signs of the disorder need to be observed and recorded within a certain timeframe (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016). The narrative recording approach can be useful for identifying any behavioral abnormalities to proceed with the treatment plan.
The intervention’s last step revolves around its ethical and cultural aspects, where a counselor needs to be strategic with selecting and administering procedures. These are crucial for eliminating any errors in the treatment process. Interpretation and sharing a client’s test results and diagnosis must be conducted in an ethical manner, where the patient needs to be informed on his or her condition. However, it is stated that there is a possibility for a counselor refraining from sharing the results with the client, in case it will hurt him or the people around him (Whiston, 2016). Therefore, the sharing process needs to strictly follow the ethics code to preserve the integrity of the client.
References
- Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. D. (2016). Counseling and psychotherapy: Theories and interventions. Alexandria, VA: Cengage Learning.
- Whiston, S. C. (2016). Principles and applications of assessment in counseling. San Francisco, CA: American Counseling Association.