ACCESSING SERVICES AT THE COUNSELLING DEPARTMENT IS DONE VIA A PROCESS, SAYS COUNSELLOR RAWLINS

Published 23 September 2021

Basseterre

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ACCESSING SERVICES AT THE COUNSELLING DEPARTMENT IS DONE VIA A PROCESS, SAYS COUNSELLOR RAWLINS

Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 23, 2021 (SKNIS): Nadia Rawlins, Clinical Counsellor within the Counselling Department in St. Kitts, said that persons desirous of accessing the services of the department will have to go through the process as one cannot just call and make an appointment then show up.

“It is a process that we have to follow. We have an assistant who takes identifying information like your name, contact information, age, and address – that basic information. Of course, when you give us all of that information… we are able to schedule your appointment and we ask you about your flexibility as well because people can’t always get away from their jobs. So, there is a whole process that we have to go through,” said Ms Rawlins, while appearing on the September 22 edition of ‘Working for You’.  “And then, of course, she asks about the presenting problems… you can just give her a general summary and she will take note of that.”

Ms Rawlins said that obtaining such information is extremely vital to offering the best service to clients.

“It is important for us to have this information not just to have the data for demographics but also so that we are aware of the presenting problems and so that we can also look at trends. So, there may be an influx of issues, maybe anxiety problems or depression or something like that. And so, it will be [better] for us to look at that,” said Counsellor Rawlins. Also, when she gets that information it helps us to be able to determine if the counselling centre is the best option for the client because maybe they might need to be referred to Gender Affairs or someplace else.”

Counsellor Rawlins added that the information will also help the department to prioritize its services.

“It also gives us the opportunity to do the triage of services because we need to be able to see which problem needs to be dealt with immediately. We need to be able to know who we need to see urgently so that we are able to prioritize,” she said. “I am not saying that everyone’s issues are not a priority and not important, but we just have to be able to do it like that.”