Program-Wide, Case Specific Clinical Consultations
Deena McMahon, MSW, LICSW, is frequently asked to provide clinical consultation on difficult cases that require expertise in child development, or trauma and in cases in which there are multiple opinions about the outcome. These are often contested, contentious cases in which many people trying to decide on the best way to resolve a problem.
A Fresh Approach
She consults on cases when other mental health professionals have exhausted their own ideas and strategies and need a new way to think about the situation. She offers consultations in a variety of situations, including those involving:
- Differences of opinion among professionals within an agency
- Agencies at odds with the county attorney's office
- Client families in contentious relationships with helping agencies
A Mediation Model
Her consultation is about trying to build consensus and solve problems based on the needs of the client family. It's a mediation model of conflict resolution.
"I have earned a reputation for effectively helping individuals and organizations successfully resolve issues and conflicts."
— Deena McMahon, MSW, LICSW
In cases like this, everyone involved wants a positive outcome. Ms. McMahon works to expand that patch of common ground. She helps those involved work through the specific details of the case in a way that keeps the focus on the common goal.
For example, in disputed custody cases, all parties usually have firmly held beliefs about the right way to proceed. She helps them stay focused on what’s best for the child, not on what's fair for the adults.
For Social Service Organizations
Understanding the politics, barriers and limitations of each bureaucracy is essential to helping agencies sort through their problems, questions and cases.
Deena McMahon has a thorough understanding of how social service agencies function and is well versed in public policy regarding child welfare. This background gives her the ability to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and help agencies be more effective.
"The overarching goal is to help the child, not to have turf wars about who makes the decisions."
— Deena McMahon, MSW, LICSW
For example, she was hired as a consultant by a Minnesota county to coordinate the work of several groups that worked with adopted children, including child protection, foster care, and permanency planning. These separate organizations all made decisions about the children, but had no clear understanding of how these decisions affected one another.
Deena helped them find a way to collaborate more effectively by analyzing their process from the client's perspective.
To arrange a clinical consultation for your organization, please contact McMahon Counseling and Consultation Services.
