With an Event Application revealing concerns regarding suicidal thoughts, ideations or past attempts, Reliant may require (depending on the individual situation) as an additional condition - a counselor/therapist recommendation before final acceptance. This may be required, even if the event director and Reliant are still in favor of moving forward toward acceptance.
As a potential condition for acceptance, Reliant would ask the applicant to sign a release waiver with their counselor/therapist. This waiver would then allow the program director (or both program director and local pastor) to be able to contact the counselor/therapist and get their thoughts and recommendation on the applicant attending the program (or not). Reliant wants the program director to be on the waiver because we want to have the ability to contact the counselor/therapist to keep the lines of communication open over the entire course of the event, if a follow up conversation ever becomes necessary. However, Reliant would be open to allowing a local pastor to be that person listed on the waiver, if the local pastor is also attending the program with the applicant and will continue following up with them.
The applicant’s acceptance could be conditional on them signing the release waiver, thereby giving the program director/local pastor the ability to talk with the counselor/therapist. If the applicant does not want to sign the release waiver, then this may possibly be deemed an unwillingness to co-operate (which may possibly be construed that they are potentially hiding something) and Reliant may decide that it is not willing to accept them for liability reasons. If the counselor/therapist does not recommend them attending the program, then generally Reliant will not accept them for the program.
If the counselor/therapist does recommend the applicant for attending the program, but program director is still not convinced that the applicant should be accepted (even after talking to the counselor/therapist), then Reliant reserves the right to not accept the applicant.
In most cases, the applicant is already seeing a counselor. This is standard procedure for the counselor to talk to someone (we recommend the program director or if need be the local pastor) about their client. Once the participant signs the release the counselor is able to communicate with that person as to whether or not they recommend their client attend the program over the summer.
If the participant is not seeing a counselor/therapist, then Reliant may ask that they go see a licensed counselor in order to move forward with our conditions for acceptance. But, we also understand that a counselor/therapist may not want to make a recommendation after just one or two therapy sessions and Reliant will need to take that into consideration on how to move forward from there.
These types of scenarios will be treated on a case by case basis. Reliant may potentially move forward with provisionally accepting an applicant prior to the conditional acceptance criteria being completed. Reliant may do this with the caveat that we could still potentially withdraw initial acceptance from the applicant, if after any condition(s) are met and we still later decide that the applicant should not attend the program. Reliant suggests that the program director at least have the applicant state that they are willing to move forward, with understanding this above condition, before Reliant officially accepts them. The final decision is left in the program directors hands to say if they would prefer that Reliant wait until the condition(s) have been fully met and discussed before moving forward. Or if the program director feels comfortable, Reliant can move forward knowing we could potentially retract our acceptance at a later time.
Asking for Counselor's Recommendation
Here an example of how to ask the event applicant for their counselor's recommendation for a Reliant program: This would typically be sent to a representative from the local church leadership that the program applicant is from, that would then meet with the applicant and give them this information to pass on to the counselor.
The local church leadership would set up a meeting with the applicant and explain the following:
- Share with the applicant that we are excited for him/her to have this opportunity.
- Discuss that we want to make the program a success for them.
- Explain that there are some condition(s) that he/she needs to meet in order to be accepted.
- Explain to him/her the needed recommendation from his/her counselor/therapist and how to obtain that (see instructions below).
- Explain that we will need to wait for the program director to review the counselor's recommendation before we move forward.
- Explain to them that if he/she is conditionally accepted, one of the conditions is generally to meet with a staff member for # of weekly meetings for check-in, accountability, and to care for him/her.
- After the meeting, respond back to the program director with how the meeting went, and if he/she agrees to those condition(s).
Reliant needs a recommendation by the counselor/therapist stating whether or not they recommend that their client (the applicant) attend (or is able to attend) our program. (Then, write a quick explanation of the program they will be attending. For example: Leadership Training (LT) is an 11-week program that focuses on building godly habits, take steps of openly sharing life in community through 11 experiential project days focused on equipping and character growth, work 40 hours/week at the YMCA and where participants learn to be active in sharing their faith). The applicant, as the client, would need to sign a release waiver with their counselor for the program director to be able to interact with the counselor. Once the he/she signs the release waiver, the counselor is able to communicate with the program director (via email) with their recommendation. Email or a letter, would be best in order for the director to have the recommendation in writing. If we can get this ASAP, that would be great! We do not need to know any private personal information about what he/she is discussing in counseling. Just whether or not the counselor would recommend the client for attending the program. Let them know that they can also contact the program director with questions. Program Director Email: In addition: if he/she is conditionally accepted, he/she needs to agree to meet with a staff member. For example: for (5) weekly, 1/2 hour - 45 minutes meetings, so that we can offer any help or guidance for the participant while he/she is attending the program. The motivation is to care for the participant and establish someone who he/she might be able to go to whenever he/ she feels it’s necessary. This person will also report to program director about how the meetings have gone. |
Letter from Counselor/Therapist
If the counselor does not specifically state that the written recommendation to the program director may not be forwarded or shared, then Reliant would like to have a copy of the recommendation to keep for their records. Thus, if the counselor notes that this may only be shared with the program director, then Reliant will put the decision in the program director's hands to make the decision as to whether or not they recommend acceptance of the applicant based on the counselor's recommendation (as not to break the confidentiality agreement). If the program director sees any reason based on the counselor's recommendation, not to accept the applicant, then the program director would need to make the decision to not accept the participant.
This is a sample letter of support from a counselor. It was written and discussed together with the program participant needing a counselor's recommendation to show that the participant also agrees with the content within the letter. |
Dear [Name of Summer Program Director], [Participant Name] has participated in [#] of mental health therapy sessions with me since [start date]. [Participant Name] attends weekly therapy to address managing [list of concerns: anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, etc.] During [Participant Name] time in therapy he/she has worked on developing healthy coping skills such as, journaling, positive imagery, challenging irrational thought patterns, setting boundaries, assertive communication, mindfulness calming/relaxation techniques, and healthy emotional awareness and expression. [Participant Name] plans to attend weekly therapy for the remainder of the spring semester [year] with [Name of Counselor and Counseling Group]. At this time, [Participant Name] denies active suicidal ideations and denies active thoughts to self-harm. He/she agrees to seek help and communicate with support systems if thoughts of suicide or self-harm arise. The following is a list of support people to contact: [Name of friend] [Name of family member] [Participant Name] agrees to practice daily self-care for him/her mental health by engaging in the following activities: journaling, prayer, listening to music, being around friends, be outdoors-taking walks. [Participant Name] also plans to meet with program staff during the summer program to check-in. [Participant Name] was provided with crisis contact information: 1-800-273-TALK (the national suicide prevention lifeline), where she/he can access local crisis counselors. [Participant Name] agrees to contact crisis counselors and/or go to the nearest emergency room if needed during the summer program if she/he presents with a mental health crisis. Sincerely, [Name of Counselor and Participant Name] Download sample letter here to send to counselor/participant needing counselor's recommendation. 
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Counseling during the program
Many counselors can not continue meeting with their client during the program if they are attending a summer program out of state because when they cross state lines they do not have a license to practice counseling in that state. However, there are some counselors do allow for Face Time meetings or phone calls. If the participant can continue meetings with their counselor over the summer we highly recommend that they continue meeting.
Snow Mountain Ranch-YMCA Some program locations, such as the YMCA of the Rockies - offer counseling services available to their staff (all LT program participants are hired by the YMCA so they would all have this resource at this program location). For this summer program, any participant could access Mind Springs Health - Granby, CO during their Open Access hours to initial treatment/therapy. https://www.mindspringshealth.org/treatment-services/locations/granby/ Estes Park Center- YMCA For Estes Park LT: On site pastoral counseling- free of charge to YMCA employees at the Leggett Christian Center. Can ask students to do weekly meetings. |
Reliant's usual condition for any emotional and psychiatric concerns is to require the participant to meet with summer program leadership staff for a certain number of weeks over the summer to check in and see how they are doing. Typically the summer program leadership staff that is meeting with the participants is not a licensed counselor. Because of this, Reliant recommends the local summer program leadership review the information below to become familiar with what constitutes an involuntary commitment/mandatory treatment for a person to receive emergency psychiatric care (often resulting in hospitalization) if necessary. This is only if the person themselves does not voluntarily admit themselves and is deemed a danger to themselves (typically in the case of thoughts of suicide or self-harm.) We want to make sure the program leadership is aware that they may need to contact law enforcement if ever such an occasion should arise.