Does your office staff know how to handle high-risk behavior?
Here are some examples:
A youth runs out of the waiting room, ready to walk into a busy street.
A distressed parent calls on the phone because a therapist filed a child abuse report on them.
A child yells because her mother isn’t at the office yet for their visit.
A homeless woman enters the office and without talking proceeds to pick up and drop magazines on the floor.
Your agency’s mental health clinicians are trained to handle these types of situations. They go through school to learn how to handle crises. They have the skills to calm down clients.
But does your receptionist? Your billers? Quality assurance? Other office staff? Those without the training? What do they do?
The best way to help them is by giving them a lesson in customer service.
Think about the best and worst people you’ve experienced in customer service. On the phone or in person. How did they speak to you? What was their demeanor? What did they say? Were they humble or arrogant?
How people handled you at a time of crisis (albeit maybe not psychological) made a difference in how you responded. A calm and reassuring person who listened to you and tried to help as quickly as possible. Someone who made you feel heard and important. Who apologized and took responsibility for mistakes.
These are all the qualities you want your office staff to have when trouble happens.
Our clients come to social service agencies mostly when their life is in shambles. The child has trouble in school, at home, in the community, with the law. The family may be turbulent, involved in violence, or other aggressive behavior. Their home lives may be tumultuous. But even so, getting help from a counseling clinic, foster family home, or other agency is up there with going to the dentist. Admitting mental health problems makes families face the stigma of illness. They also have their home problems brought to the agency. And their difficulties managing stress.
Staff sees them at their worst. When they face the ordeal of getting treatment. Therapists understand this and work with the families using therapeutic techniques.
The office staff is not taught those skills. But they can learn.
By being calm and using a soothing voice. By meeting the client where they’re at. Acknowledging the client’s troubles. That they’re upset. That they need answers quickly.
Just as we teach our staff Motivational Interviewing techniques such as affirmations and reflections (i.e., rephrasing what the client is saying, acknowledging their emotions, etc.) we can teach our office staff the same. Meeting the client where they’re at. Not downplaying or denying the client’s pain or trouble. But trying to help them get answers.
And doing their best to make it happen. Keeping the client informed every 15 minutes if there’s a delay.
Teaching office staff to handle crises helps to keep harmony with clients and families. It also reduces their burnout and frustrations, making them feel part of the treatment team.
PRAXES offers many training programs, including High-Risk Behavior Interventions for Office Staff.
For more information about a specialized program for your organization, please contact us.
Got questions? We've got answers.
PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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