Supervision and Agency Management for Counselors by Elizabeth R. O'Brien PhD LPC Michael A. Hauser PhD LPC

Author:Elizabeth R. O'Brien, PhD, LPC,Michael A. Hauser, PhD, LPC
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Publishing Company, Inc.
Published: 2015-10-27T11:08:00+00:00

SUMMARY

Assessment and evaluation are nothing if not practical. As suggested earlier, the evaluation of an agency or program has but one significant goal. That goal is to understand how the subject is currently functioning and then make improvements. That may sound like two goals. However, inherent in improving anything is a correct understanding of the subject as it currently exists. Hence, to meet its goal an evaluation must reach an accurate understanding of the object it is examining. Not all evaluations are tasked with making recommendations for improvement, but most do, and, in some cases, the evaluators are tasked to carry out those recommendations. Just as the evaluator should consider the SMART concept while the evaluation is being conducted, the recommendations should also meet the SMART criteria if they are to be meaningful and implementable.

When this author taught this material for a course, the opening challenge consisted of a money-back guarantee to the students. The guarantee was that if they stayed in the mental health profession for at least 20 years they would be involved in some form of evaluation more than once, and good odds exist that they would be called on to conduct an evaluation. No one has tried to collect on the bet, but the point was to bring home to the students the ever-increasing presence of evaluations in this highly regulated field. In fact, a highly qualified evaluator can make a good living at doing nothing other than evaluations. The nature of the mental health field is that, for the foreseeable future, evaluations will continue to play an important role in shaping and refining the profession.

As the American society progresses and grapples with ever-more-complex issues, the demand for evaluation will grow. The assurance of quality and cost-effectiveness lies at the heart of the evaluation process, and with the forward progress of society the need for those two qualities will ever expand. Those who can formulate and execute proper evaluations will find an ever-increasing demand for their services.

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