Case and Process Consultation
Complex cases and high-stakes decisions can leave even seasoned professionals unsure of the next right step. Case and process consultation at Emerge Calm offers a structured, confidential space to think through challenging clinical and legal scenarios with someone who understands both systems and client care. Consultation is action-oriented and grounded in ethics, documentation, and real-world constraints, so you leave with a clearer plan—not just more theory.
Consultation for Clinicians
For clinicians, case and process consultation focuses on the kinds of cases that keep you up at night or lingering over your notes: complex diagnostic pictures, high-risk presentations, forensic or court-involved clients, and situations where ethics and practice standards feel murky. Consultation can be a single meeting about one case, or a short series of meetings to support you through an unfolding situation.
Common clinical consultation topics include:
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Complex diagnostic questions (e.g., clients with multiple diagnoses in history, unusual behavior, personality disorders, and complex trauma).
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Forensic and court-involved treatment, including boundaries, consent issues, documentation, and scope of treatment.
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High-risk or high-conflict cases where safety, ethics, and feasibility all collide.
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Clinically sound, ethically defensible, and legally informed Documentation.
Consultation can help you:
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Clarify case formulations and differential diagnoses.
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Apply relevant ethical principles, laws, and best-practice standards to create practice policies or make case decisions.
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Improve efficiency, accuracy, and coherence across your documentation.
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Protect both clients and your license, while honoring your clinical judgment.
Consultation is not supervision or therapy; it is a collaborative, time-limited process aimed at helping you move forward thoughtfully in difficult work.
Consultation for Attorneys
Attorneys sometimes encounter mental health questions in cases without having the support to fully understand what they are seeing. Case consultation for attorneys focuses on the psychological and behavioral aspects of your cases, especially when clients’ mental health, trauma histories, or relationships with other providers are central to litigation, negotiation, or mitigation.
Common reasons attorneys seek consultation include:
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Clients with complex mental health presentations that affect decision-making and the attorney-client relationship.
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Cases in which mental health issues or trauma history may be relevant to mitigation or case strategy.
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Situations involving prior or current treating therapists, where records, testimony, or clinical opinions may play a role.
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Questions about when to pursue formal evaluation, and which evaluation might be appropriate.
In your consultation, you can expect:
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Clear, plain-language explanations of mental health concepts relevant to your case.
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Help identifying what information is missing and what type of mental health input would be most useful.
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Support considering how client presentation, history, and context may affect case strategy and decision-making.
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Guidance on ethical and legal standards affecting the decisions and record-keeping practices of clinicians, as well as assistance in evaluating and interpreting these records.
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Suggestions for types of experts or specific expert names to consider, given the situation and specific legal questions posed in the case.
These consultations are designed to strengthen your case strategy and decision-making, not to replace formal evaluations or expert testimony when those are needed. However, because case consultation is a form of non-testimonial expert work, client confidentiality and privilege attach. You can expect the highest level of confidentiality in all case consultation interactions.
Frequently Asked Questions: Case & Process Consultation
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How is consultation different from supervision or therapy?
Consultation focuses on specific cases, dilemmas, or processes rather than on your overall practice or personal history. It is time-limited, focused support that helps you clarify options, ethics, and next steps. It does not meet requirements for clinical supervision hours (i.e., for licensure), and it is not a therapy relationship.
2.
Can consultation be ongoing, or is it only one-time?
Both are possible. Some clinicians and attorneys schedule a one-time consult around a particularly complex or urgent case. Others set up a brief series of consultations to work through a developing situation or to review process-related issues (e.g., documentation practices across cases). Frequency and length are tailored to your needs and availability.
3.
How is confidentiality handled in consultation?
Consultation is confidential within the limits of law and professional ethics. Clinicians are encouraged to de-identify client information where possible and to follow their professional codes regarding consultation documentation. Attorneys typically discuss cases under the umbrella of their existing confidentiality and privilege obligations, with attention to preserving work-product protections where applicable. Because attorney confidentiality obligations also attach to their contractors and employees, consultation relationships fall under these protections.
4.
Will I receive anything in writing after a consultation?
If requested, you may receive a brief written summary of key considerations, resources, or frameworks discussed during consultation. This is not a formal report, record review, or expert opinion; instead, it is meant to support your ongoing decision-making and documentation. If you need a formal written report, record review, or evaluation, we can discuss options and a timeline for these formal documents ahead of the scheduled consultation.
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Can consultation substitute for a formal forensic evaluation or expert testimony?
No. Consultation is appropriate when you need help thinking through mental health, ethical, or process issues in a case. When a court-ready opinion, written evaluation, or expert testimony is required, formal evaluation services are the appropriate next step, and this can be discussed during consultation.
6.
Are clinical consultation services location-limited, like supervision or therapy services?
No. There are no location restrictions on clinical consultation services, because consultation does not involve a formal responsibility (or supervisory liability) for the clinician’s professional conduct. In consultation, we discuss clinical and process issues that tend to apply to clinical practice across jurisdictions. However, if state-specific issues arise, getting local legal advice or inquiring with your local board may be recommended in consultation.
7.
How much does consultation cost?
Consultation services are billed on a per-hour basis. The fees for consultation are included on this page. If you are seeking reduced-fee or pro-bono work, please mention this during the introductory call.