I have recently moved from a dual diagnosis counselor to center
manager. I have been instructed to stop providing direct services to
clients and work on administrative duties. The psychologist does not
like this because it means that he is going to be responsible for all
clinical issues. Now the question.

What is the job of the psychologist if he is responsible for all
clinical aspects of a dual diagnosis residential  treatment facility?
And, as a manager where do I draw the line?

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 08 Mar 2006 20:15 PST

gee6969...

I worked in the field of mental health for 25+ years, so I'm 
familiar with the territory. I empathize with the fact that 
it must be difficult to curtail your involvement in direct
services, but, realistically, your new position is more about
managing the overall business aspects of the center, coordinating
and directing the various departments, unless I'm misreading the
question.

This doesn't mean you can't attend treatment-planning sessions
and provide input, but it sounds like the psychologist is being
asked to fill the role of clinical supervisor, and you would
want to bolster his authority in that area, rather than challenge
it, except, perhaps, in private meetings with him.

The role of clinical supervisor is complex and challenging.
A good way to establish the responsibilities of someone with
this title is to research job descriptions.

Though the following is for an 80-bed residential drug addiciton
program, the overall job description is pertinent:

"The Clinical Supervisor will be responsible for providing direct
 supervision to Counselors and other clinical staff delivering
 developmentally appropriate client treatment. He/she will oversee
 client services and ensure compliance with established program
 standards and service delivery objectives, audit client records,
 and assist in interviewing, selecting, evaluating, scheduling
 and disciplining assigned staff. The Clinical Supervisor is also
 responsible for orienting and training staff and serving as a
 resource to assigned staff in identifying and resolving complex
 case problems. In addition, the Supervisor will be required to
 interpret and enforce area policies and procedures, initiate
 corrective actions, and assume client caseload in response to
 work load or staffing shortages."

From the Careers page on the National Association of Addiction
Treatment Providers website, a short way down the page:
http://www.naatp.org/careers/index.php

There is considerable elaboration about expected skills and
duties further down the page.

Let me know if this is the sort of response you're looking
for, and what further elaboration might be required.

sublime1-ga

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Clarification of Question by gee6969-ga on 10 Mar 2006 07:01 PST

The 1st comment provided is on the right track, but I'm looking for a
statement or two to sum up what clinical means in this setting.
I want to be able to say, "that's your responsability please handle it."

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 10 Mar 2006 13:18 PST

gee6969...

In general, clinical means everything pertaining to observation
and treatment of clients of the center, so his job would be to
oversee everything involved in that process. This would include
things like charting, treatment planning, diagnoses, supervision
of the clinical aspects of the work of employees involved these
activities, such as educating employees on how to best relate to
clients with certain diagnoses, what to look out for, and so on.

Is this what you're getting at?

sublime1-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 19 Mar 2006 13:43 PST

*Bump*

I haven't heard back from you for awhile, so I thought I'd see
if I could get your attention.