Consulting

Service Descriptions

 -Ethical/Legal Dilemmas
 - Sexual Misconduct
 - Legal Issues
- Impaired Practitioners
 - Program Consultation

Victims

When the
Complaint is
against You

WICC Consulting Services

WICC's consultation is designed to help both professionals and consumers deal with service issues in mental health and related fields. Over the years our program has evolved and diversified. Many of our services are provided at no cost to those in our locale who cannot afford or are unable to locate help. The Hennepin County Department of Human Services provides some financial support to make our services available to consumers and groups in Hennepin County. Our services are also provided to the people who volunteer at WICC.

Telephone Consultation

WICC staff provide telephone consultation to local providers, employee assistance programs, individuals, family members and WICC volunteers. The most common categories of calls relate to:

• cases of alleged professional misconduct;
• ethical/legal situations involving confidentiality, mandatory reporting, duty to warn, and high risk cases;
• dissatisfaction with services received elsewhere;
• assistance in locating referral resources;
• the processing of complaints.

Ethical/Legal Dilemmas:

WICC offers training presentations covering these subjects and can provide telephone consultation in addition. If a case is long or quite complicated, we may ask a fee for our service or request the caller make a donation to Walk-In Counseling Center.

Sexual Misconduct by Professionals:

WICC's work on cases of professional misconduct have a national and international reputation covering the past 25 years. If you are requesting assistance with professional misconduct we would refer you to our book Psychotherapists' Sexual Involvement with Clients: Intervention and Prevention (Schoener, Milgrom, Gonsiorek, Luepker and Conroe) which is available for purchase. It is a useful resource for anyone interested in this topic.

Consultation on Legal Issues:

WICC staff provide consultation to law firms, in house counsel, professional regulatory bodies or others with regard to cases of professional misconduct. Consultation may include evaluation and testimony in connection with impaired practitioners or initial consultation in cases involving breaches of the standard of care, breach of fiduciary responsibility. This work is done on a fee basis.

Consultation Regarding Impaired Practitioners:

WICC's professional staff are experienced in assisting impaired practitioners. Gary Schoener has been a member of the American Psychological Association's Advisory Committee of the Impaired Psychologist (now called the Advisory Committee on Colleague Assistance) since 1985 and co-authored the original and revised editions of Assisting Impaired Psychologists (Schwebel, Skorina & Schoener) which is available from the Practice Directorate of the American Psychological Association. Ida Swearingen has worked with impairment in the fields of social work, marriage and family therapy and alcoholism and substance abuse counseling - all fields in which she is licensed. In addition to these professions, WICC staff have consulted in cases involving nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, hypnotherapists, massage therapists, body therapists, physicians, dentists, pastoral counselors and clergy, teachers, etc.

WICC's book Psychotherapists' Sexual Involvement with Clients: Intervention & Prevention discusses this topic in some depth insofar as it applies to professionals who have sexual contact with those in their care. WICC's work is also discussed in the February 1995 issue of Psychiatric Annals, a continuing education journal in psychiatry.

Brief Telephone Consultation: Although not meant to provide a substitute for Colleague Assistance programs, WICC staff can provide brief consultation concerning options for those attempting to assist impaired practitioners or practitioners themselves who are seeking help.

Ongoing Case Consultation: WICC staff can provide advice on the handling of cases to employers or to in-house counsel. This service is provided for a fee.
Assessment and Rehabilitation Planning: WICC provides assessment and the development of rehabilitation plans for impaired practitioners. This may be done (1) for the individual practitioner (2) on referral from the practitioner's therapist, as an aid to ongoing treatment; (3) for the practitioner's training program should the person be in training; (4) for the practitioner's employer; (5) for a licensure or regulatory body; (6) for a church denomination. In the case of a licensure or regulatory body the assessment can be done for the organization directly. Assessments may also be done at the request of the practitioner's attorney as part of a submission or pleading or negotiation. This work is done on a fee basis.

Consultation on Assessment and Rehabilitation Planning: WICC provides consultation to other professionals who are conducting evaluations of the type described above. This is usually done by telephone. Professionals may call at critical points in the evaluation process for coaching. WICC also provides training in the process of assessment and evaluation. This work is done for an hourly fee.

Program Consultation:

WICC staff provide consultation to human service programs on issues such as staff conflict resolution, the development of training programs, staff supervision, and other issues. This may be connected with a training session or done by itself. This is done on a fee basis.