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Respond holistically to client issues

Content

• Section 1: The client/worker relationship
  • How do you facilitate communication?
  • Defining boundaries and establishing trust and respect
  • Definition of 'holistic'
  • Indicators of harm, neglect, abuse or risk of harm
  • Observations, assessment tools and questioning
  • Autonomy, privacy and confidentiality
  • Applying organisational procedures for collecting and analysing client information
  • Issues impacting on the organisation's services
  • Self check
  • Summary
• Section 2: Determine the course of action to be followed
  • Developing a client action plan
  • The negotiation process
  • Assessing the risk
  • Sharing information on services/options with the client
  • Work with the client to set personal goals and explore personal strategies
  • Identify and plan for potential consequences of client's decisions
  • Procedures, legal requirements and duty of care obligations
  • Implementing duty of care and ethical behaviour standards
  • Referrals to other service providers
  • Evaluating the benefits of brief intervention
  • Specialist support procedures
  • Providing resources and information to clients
  • Self check
  • Summary
• Section 3: Provide a brief intervention as required
  • Assessing a client's need for intervention
  • Complying with cultural obligations
  • Strategies for motivating, supporting and encouraging the client
  • Accessing crisis services
  • Self check
  • Summary
• Section 4: Responding to vulnerable and at risk people
  • Identifying vulnerable and at risk situations
  • How do you assess the priority need for intervention?
  • Use a checklist to assess the need for intervention
  • Responding to emergencies and crisis situations
  • Following organisational and legislative requirements
  • Self check
  • Summary
• Section 5: Evaluate effectiveness of client services provided
  • Review client progress and outcomes
  • Keeping files up-to-date
  • Reflective practice strategies
  • Self check
  • Summary

Introduction

Once an assessment of the information received by a client has been made, it is time for you and your client to collaboratively plan an appropriate intervention or action aimed at contributing to positive change to the client’s situation. Responding holistically to clients’ issues and tackling them from a number of different angles is now considered to be the best way to assist clients to deal with their own issues.

The most important requirement in that process is to empower each client as much as possible to move towards making positive independent choices regarding their situation. Of course, if the court becomes involved, some of the choices may be taken away.

This section looks at determining the course of action to be followed, including:

• ways of assessing the level of risk to the client and others directly involved
• following organisational procedures, legal requirements and duty of care obligation in responding to indicators of risk of abuse, neglect or harm including indicators for children and young people
• ways of determining options for referrals to other service providers against the range of client needs
• referring a client appropriately, following organisational protocols, policies and procedures
• applying accepted procedures to evaluate the benefit to the client of referral to another service
• evaluating the benefits of providing a brief intervention in helping a client access other services
• applying accepted procedures to evaluate the option of bringing in specialist support and continuing to work with the client
• providing the client with resources and information, appropriate to their situation and actions to be followed.

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