Institutional Barriers to Counseling

Being aware of the institutional barriers to counseling can help organizations improve the support they can offer to individuals. Institutional barriers are obstacles that are put in the way by the organization itself through its processes or its employees' attitudes. It may be necessary for counseling services to change the way they deal with clients to accommodate their needs and prevent them from being locked out of the help they require.

Insufficient Funding

• One of the ways that institutional issues can affect counseling services is a lack of funding. Offering help to those with emotional problem costs money; staff need to be paid, buildings rented and equipment purchased. If an organization is struggling with cash, waiting lists may grow longer, the amount of time that each patient spends with a counselor may be reduced and the number of people a service can help could be diminished. This may mean those who are in need of counseling need to wait for a long time or may not get the quality of service they require to help them get better.

Language Barriers

• Language barriers are another factor that may lock some people out of counseling services. If an individual does not speak the prevailing language, he may not be able to engage in therapy without a third-party interpreter. Additionally, a lack of written information in other languages may also be a problem. Even if a person is able to speak the language well enough to be counseled, he may not have the same command of written language; therefore leaflets, paperwork and correspondence that may be sent out by the service could be a further barrier.

Cultural Barriers

• Western society is diverse in terms of religious, heritage and cultural differences. According to Professor Eliezer Schnall of the Psychology Department at Yeshiva University, there are institutional barriers between Western counseling services and people from an orthodox Jewish background. Some of these include fear on the side of the patient that the professional may not share the same religion and attempt to turn the client away from his religious beliefs or will misunderstand the importance of certain values in Judaism. Also, an Orthodox Jew may consider the act of going to therapy as showing that his religion does not have all the answers and would, therefore, avoid seeking professional help. With regard to the counselor, it may be difficult for her to understand the various cultural values that have an impact on her clients' lives without having an extensive knowledge of these cultures. This could, in turn, make it difficult to engage with a patient during therapy.

Accessibility

• If a service is not made accessible to all sections of society, this may prove to be an obstacle that stops many individuals from seeking counseling. For instance, if the building in which the therapy takes place is not wheelchair-accessible, people with disabilities may not be able to attend therapy. Accessibility could also include the distance that people must travel for counseling. This may be a particular issue for services set in rural areas, where the population may be sparse and dispersed over many miles. If a service is set up in one town, it may be difficult for those in surrounding areas to attend without having access to a car or public transportation, which may be non-existent or unaffordable.