13 January, 2009

Royal Institute of British Architects 66 Portland Place London W1B 1AD

Sixth Annual Drug & Alcohol Professionals Conference

Organised by the Federation of Drug & Alcohol Professionals in association with Drink & Drugs News.

Breakout session

13:45-14:35

Preparing a case study for the FDAP Counsellor Accreditation

Barbara Pawson, Clinical Consultant

Barbara Pawson

• • • • • • 1998 - Qualified in as an Addiction Counsellor 2004 - accredited by FDAP as a addiction counsellor and UKRC Registered Independent Counsellor specialising in the treatment of Addictive Disorders 2005 - PG Certificate in Clinical Supervision from Leicester University 2004 – present: Private supervision practice 2004 – present: Tutor for First and Second Year MSc in Addiction Psychology and Counselling at the London South Bank University 2008/2009: Renewal Weekend Workshops for Castle Craig, Peebles, Scotland

Preparing a case study for the FDAP Counsellor Accreditation

• • • • • What is a case study and why is it necessary?

How to select which case to present How to prepare for it H ow to structure and present a case study A few tips

What is a case study and why do we need it

• • It is the demonstration of the integration of the theory with your clinical practice It will demonstrate to the assessors and to a professional body that you are progressing towards a competent, ethical and safe professional practice

How to select which case to present

• • • • Make a list of all past and present patients Which case allows the most scope to match the accreditation requirements Do not try to produce the perfect case study…it does not exist Choose the case carefully to ensure it provides the opportunity for each heading to be covered

How to prepare for it

• • • • Familiarise yourself with the accreditation body guidelines Study the FDAP code of ethics & the 12 core functions Create a file specifically for your case study » Accreditation documents/FDAP guidelines » Notes – assessment/process/supervision » The 12 core functions Collect all the data that is necessary – Do not forget to ask for all the relevant authorisation and consent forms

Collate basic factual data

• • • • • • • • • • Referral letter + liaison with others Assessment notes Care/treatment plan Session notes Supervision notes Case closure/summary Number of sessions planned, attended, missed Biographical info, age gender, ethnicity, occupation, medication, previous contact/treatment Family history tree CHANGE DETAILS TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIALITY

H

ow to structure and present the case study

• • • • FDAP is not assessing the patient, we are assessing you FDAP need to understand your role in the case study and why you chose to work with the patient in the way you did The aim is NOT to tell an interesting story about your patient The aim is to give a clear and coherent account of your clinical skills, professionalism, self-awareness and the ability to select and apply theoretical concepts in practice

H ow to structure and present the Case Study (cont.) • • • • • • • Plan a structure consistent with the accreditation criteria Decide main headings or sections Collate basic factual data Make notes on key issues or examples for each section. Note references sources Prioritise the issues and examples Write the case study Check, edit and revise the case study and its presentation(spell check and grammar)

The Content

Two Parts to the case study – – Part One: Your work with the client Part Two: Supervision

The Content(cont.)

Two Parts in the case study – Part One: Your work with the client 1. Introduction 2. Screening 3. Intake 4. Orientation 5. Assessment 6. Treatment planning 7. Counselling 8. Case Management 9. Crisis Intervention 10. Client Education 11. Referral 12. Reports and Record Keeping 13. Consultation with other professionals regarding Client Care.

14. Appendix

The Content(cont.)

• • • Screening Assessment Treatment planning

Screening

• • Screening in the US in Assessment in the UK Assessment in the US is the overall work included in the screening, intake and orientation

Core Function: Assessment

The assessment function is the stage at which a practitioner/agency identifies and evaluates an individual's strengths, weaknesses, problems and needs in order to allow for the development of an effective and measurable treatment/care plan.

15

Assessment

• Assessment should cover someone’s: – Drug and alcohol use history – Physical and psychological health history – Health risk behavioural history – Social functioning history – Educational and employment history – Offending history – Housing circumstances and needs 16

Assessment(cont.)

• It should also cover the extent to which alcohol or drug use has interfered with the client's functioning in each of the other areas of his/her life as well as the client's treatment goals and motivation to change

Assessment(cont.)

• Client and Professional both identify and evaluate: – – – – Strengths Weaknesses Problems Needs • WHY? The result of this assessment will suggest the focus for any further action/intervention 18

Core Function: Treatment Planning

Treatment planning is the process whereby the client and counsellor determine a plan of treatment 19

Treatment Planning(Cont.)

• • • Treatment plans should be drawn up by the counsellor/agency and the client in collaboration with one another to meet the individual's needs negotiation It should take full account of information collected during assessment Work with the client to formulate goals, objectives and acceptable alternatives for treatment that will increase the likelihood of positive treatment outcome 20

Treatment Planning(Cont.)

• • Be creative when looking for ways to handle your patient Make sure that the plan is individualized and acceptable to the patient 21

Treatment Planning(Cont.)

• Adapt treatment approaches to a client’s attitudes, lifestyle, economic situation and values, taking into account any special demographics with which the client is identified (e.g. age, gender, ethnic or cultural background, sexual preference, disabling factors) 22

Treatment Planning(cont.)

• • Assess progress towards treatment goals periodically with client and modify treatment plans as indicated Treatment plan must be clear, simple and expressed in behavioural terms 23

Treatment Planning(Cont.)

• Treatment planning is the process whereby the client and counsellor : • Identify and prioritise problems requiring a solution • Establish agree upon immediate and long term goals • Decide on treatment methods and the resources to be used 24

Treatment Planning(cont.)

• • • Critical issues Current issues After care issues 25

Treatment Planning(cont.)

• 1) What is the issue? (Problem) • 2) What is the goal? • 3) What is the plan? • The goals and objectives should be directly related to the substance abuse problem 26

Treatment planning(Cont.)

• Your plan needs to be SMART: • Specific • Measurable • Accountable • Realistic • Time managed 27

The content

Two Parts to the case study – – Part Two: Supervision The second part of the case study reports how you used supervision and should cover each of the following headings (guide length 1000 2000 words in total): – – – – – – – 2.1 How the client was introduced to supervision 2.2 Overview of the type and nature of the supervision 2.3 The issues brought to the supervision and why 2.4 How the supervision was used / how the issues were explored in supervision 2.5 What the counsellor took from the supervision 2.6 How the supervision influenced the service provided to the client in the case study 2.7 How the supervision influenced the applicant's wider development as a counsellor

A few points to remember

• • • • The case study should cover an actual case where you acted as the counsellor. You must protect client confidentiality throughout by removing or changing names of people and places etc. Any submission that fails to do this will be rejected You should discuss the case study with your supervisor before preparing it Make sure someone reads your case study before sending it

Do not forget

The objective of your case study is to show the assessor that you have a working knowledge of the core functions and that you are a competent and ethical practitioner making use of a theoretical model

And last but not least!

• Find a partner who you can call for 1. Encouragement 2. To check the content and structure of your case study 3. To share your successes 4. To unload stress and frustration 5. And, most important of all, to remind you to complete your FDAP application by sending it to the appropriate person...

NO COMPLETION – NO CREDIT !!

Questions?

Barbara Pawson

• You can contact me at: – Email : [email protected]

– Tel : 07841650662 – www.barbarapawson.co.uk