TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 4 436 increase in the number of young adult clients who moved to New Orleans to take jobs assisting in the city’s recovery. Consequently, counselors at agencies have had to adjust to serving clientele they may not have worked with in the past. Agency administrators have had to provide significant in-service training to help counselors adjust to changing client needs. Mental health professionals reported serving more Hispanic clients and indicated that attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depression and anxiety issues have become more prevalent. Several agency professionals indicated that since Hurricane Katrina, they have served more clients in general, and specifically more children. In addition, some counselors who had never counseled children received in-service education in counseling children and adolescents. Currently, there is a need in the city for counselors who are bilingual and can provide counseling services in Spanish. Changes in professional-to-client ratios since Hurricane Katrina. Five mental health professionals indicated that their agencies had established a maximum number of clients that each professional could serve in order to ensure that those who were served would receive high quality services. Some agencies established waiting lists and began offering more group services in order to avoid overburdening their professional staff. Those agencies that had found it financially necessary to decrease their staff had correspondingly decreased the number of clients served. One mental health professional commented that challenges with Medicaid and health insurance reimbursement had made it difficult to afford the number of licensed mental health professionals needed. Agency administrators have had to protect their counselors from stress and burnout as client demand has increased and the number of staff has decreased. Administrators have met this challenge by reducing the number of clients on counselors’ caseloads, establishing waiting lists and offering more group services. The shift to more group services implies that competent group counseling skills and experiences are needed in New Orleans. Government funding since the hurricane. When asked whether their agencies had received state or federal funding to support them since Hurricane Katrina, most professionals indicated that their agencies had received such funds. Agency administrators reported receiving funds from a local parish government agency that distributes funds from the federal government (specifically, from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Some agency administrators also reported receiving funding from the American Red Cross, United Way, and local foundations and charities. Three agencies reported receiving Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for operating costs and reconstruction after the hurricane. How Would Agencies Be Different if Hurricane Katrina Had Not Happened? Mental health professionals were asked how they believed their agencies would be different today if Hurricane Katrina had not happened. Responses varied. Two mental health professionals said that if the hurricane had not occurred, their agencies would have continued to struggle financially, indicating that the hurricane had brought at least a degree of relief from financial problems. Perhaps the outside funding that flows into an area after a natural disaster can infuse funds into financially struggling counseling agencies, allowing them to continue to operate when they might not have been able to do so if the disaster had not occurred.