-By Timothy Lyons
How would you decide when to make a referral to another helper?
There will be times when I am dealing with a client and I will have to refer that person out to another therapist. This would be when to make a referral. I would decide on when to make a referral after I have spoken to the client and found out if I had the proper skills to be able to help the client. Another criteria I would use to make a decision would be my own personal biases.
When to make a referral
If I did not have the proper skill and knowledge level or I did not have the specialization to assist a client it might be best for that client if they find help from another therapist. So I would ask myself is this when to make a referral? In the human services generalist position it would be critical for me to objectively asses my own skills to make sure they would meet the clients need. If I had knowledge and training dealing with a specific aspect of therapy such as drug and alcohol abuse prevention and the client coming to see me had issues that were not related to that particular area of knowledge then I would have to make a referral
Another aspect of myself that would be difficult to overcome would be my own personal biases. Perhaps this is when to when to make a referral. I believe that this is a very important part of the relationship and if I was unable to benefit someone because of my own viewpoint then I would want the best for that person and would refer them out to someone who could deal with them. If I had my expertise in drug and alcohol addiction counseling and a person wanted a certain type of therapy that I did not agree with then I would have to really look at whether or not I could help that person out. I may be able to learn to do that particular type of work but I my own biases toward that therapeutic technique may not allow me to continue.
I would have to see what was in the best interest of the client and let them know my situation so that they could make the best informed decision for themselves. Knowing when to make a referral is very important but the decision should be made by both the therapist and the client.