User Guide to Finding Service Providers
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Introduction
The Linking Systems of Care for Ohio’s Youth (LSCOY) resource directory was created as a connecting link for families, caregivers, and service providers working with victimized children, youth, and young people across Ohio. This companion user guide was developed to assist families and caregivers in finding a good service provider for young people who have been victimized.
Choosing a therapist or service provider is a very personal matter. You will want to find a provider that you feel is trustworthy, culturally-sensitive, and whose values align with yours. Recommendations in this user guide may help you:
Find a culturally-sensitive provider who can meet your needs
Know your rights as a service user
Consider questions you can ask before choosing a provider
If you are currently working with an agency that refers you to another provider:
If you are currently receiving services from an agency and they refer you to another provider or agency, you may have questions or concerns about why this happened and what will happen next. The guidelines below can help you navigate these uncertainties.
Talk with your provider about the reason for the referral. This ensures that your expectations are met, that everyone is on the same page, and provides an opportunity to clear up any confusions or concerns.
Request that your current provider call the referral agency to let them know a referral is coming. This ensures that the new provider is aware and ready to work with you.
Request for your provider to be close by, or to participate when the first call/contact is made to the referral agency. If your current provider is present, they can answer any questions that may come up in the initial call about your current services, case, assessments, etc.
If desired, you might request that your current provider accompany you and/or your family to your first visit at the referral agency. Sometimes families feel more comfortable visiting a new provider with a helping professional with whom they are already quite familiar. Your current provider is then on-hand to give support and to answer any additional questions that arise during the initial visit.
Before choosing a new provider:
Choosing a therapist or service provider is a very personal matter. You want to select someone you are comfortable with, including their values, professional training, cultural knowledge, and cultural sensitivity. Before making a decision about which new provider to choose, consider asking the provider any of the following questions:
What types of services do you offer?
What is your experience working with families [like mine]?
What criteria need to be met for a child and/or family to gain access to your services?
For example, if your child exhibits offending behavior, is court-involved, does not speak English, still has contact with their reported perpetrator, or has other unique considerations, you should communicate these circumstances to the provider before your first visit..
Do you have a waiting list?
What fees are associated with your services, including but not limited to, sessions, visitations, reports, documents, court appearances, etc.?
Are there any sliding scale services?
What hours are you available to provide services?
Can your location be easily accessed by public transportation?
[If relevant] Do you provide home visits?
NOTE: If you are court-involved or might become court-involved it is best to check with a lawyer before engaging a new service provider for your family. You need to explore any immediate or long-term implications. This could be with a prosecutor, custody or divorce lawyer or another lawyer.
Cultural Considerations
It is important to work with a service provider who recognizes and validates how your cultural identity and background may impact your lived experiences. Practitioners who use an approach of cultural humility have committed to the following:
Critical self-examination of their own implicit biases.
Willingness to listen and learn new cultural information from others.
Recognizing the role that social systems have played in unjustly assigning power and privilege to individuals and groups.
Developing mutual partnerships with clients, and eliminating power differentials.
Respect and validation of others’ unique experiences and identities.
(Gottlieb, 2020; Mosher et al., 2017; Patallo, 2019)
Persons of color who are working with a white service provider may wish to talk with the provider about their position on cultural humility. Possible questions for discussion might include:
Do you operate from a racial justice framework? How did you learn about that framework?
What are your thoughts on white privilege? How does white privilege and/or your cultural background impact our working relationship with each other?
What is your approach to lifelong learning about cultural diversity and culturally-sensitive practice?
How do you incorporate your clients’ cultural beliefs and values into your work with them? Would you be willing to share some examples of how you’ve done this?
Similarly, if you and/or your child are a member of the LGBTQ+ community and are wondering if a service provider will be a good fit for your needs, you might consider asking some of the following questions to your provider, if relevant:
My child [or I] identify as [____]. Do you have any previous experience working with individuals who identify as _______?
What is your understanding of gender identity? Sexual orientation?
What is your approach to learning and staying current on best practices with LGBTQ+ youth?
Are you familiar with gender identity development processes? Do you have experience working with transgender youth?
Have you received training to work with young people who are transitioning and undergoing gender affirmation treatment?
(Solomon et al., 2017)
Your Rights
Your rights will depend on whether you are making the decision to get services on your own or whether you are being mandated by court or child welfare or another entity to get services. If being mandated, ask about what rights you have and who to inform if you feel your rights are being violated. If needed, you have the right to talk to a supervisor or director.
You have the right to challenge your counselor or service provider on any actions or ideas They may have about your treatment. At any time in the course of your treatment, you can request an explanation for the choice of treatment you are receiving. A good therapist or service provider will welcome challenges as part of your growth.
You have the right to confidentiality. Confidentiality includes not only the contents of therapy sessions, treatment details, or services you are receiving, but also the fact that you are a client. For example, it is common that therapists and other service providers will not acknowledge you if they run into you outside of the office or building in an effort to protect client confidentiality. Other ways confidentiality is protected include:
Not leaving revealing information on your voicemail or text
Not acknowledging to outside parties that you have an appointment
Not discussing the details of your therapy involvement with a third party without your explicit permission (Note: If being mandated, you may be asked to sign a release of information that allows service providers to share information. If court ordered or court involved, you might not have a say in who sees your information.)
You have the right to end treatment, therapy, or services without any questions asked. Some reasons to consider include:
You are being abused physically, sexually, or emotionally by the provider .
You have concerns about confidentiality.
Your provider crosses boundaries you're not comfortable with. For example, if your provider tries to see you or members of your social circle outside of your sessions, if they initiate contact with you in public, if they ask you to help them with their problems, or if they act flirtatious or sexual toward you.
You feel you are being misdiagnosed.
NOTE: If you are court-involved or mandated into services, ending treatment could have negative consequences.
References
Gottlieb, M. (2020). The case for a cultural humility framework in social work practice. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 1-19.
Mosher, D. K., Hook, J. N., Captari, L. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., & Owen, J. (2017). Cultural humility: A therapeutic framework for engaging diverse clients. Practice Innovations, 2(4), 221.
Patallo, B. J. (2019). The multicultural guidelines in practice: Cultural humility in clinical training and supervision. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 13(3), 227.
Solomon, D. T., Heck, N., Reed, O. M., & Smith, D. W. (2017). Conducting culturally competent intake interviews with LGBTQ youth. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 4(4), 403.