The accommodation request arrived. The functional picture did not.
When an employee’s health, disability, injury, or mental health concern is affecting their work, I help translate the concern into practical workplace-function language — job demands, functional barriers, possible accommodations, and return-to-work planning.
Provider letters often describe a condition without describing what the person can do, for how long, under what conditions, and against which specific duties. That gap is where accommodation conversations stall and good employees are lost.
A diagnosis is not a functional limitation
A diagnosis establishes what an employee has. It does not establish what they can or cannot do in a particular role. Two people with the same condition may have entirely different functional pictures against the same job description — and a third may have no work-related limitation at all.
Consultation works from the demands of the actual role: pace, schedule, cognitive load, physical demands, interpersonal demands, and supervision structure. It identifies where functioning is breaking down against those specific demands, and what practical adjustments are worth considering.
This is a clarification service, not a decision service. The employer makes the accommodation decision. Consultation gives that decision a clearer factual basis and a workable plan to implement.
When to refer an employee
- An accommodation request arrived and the functional basis is unclear
- Provider documentation does not connect the condition to the actual job duties
- An employee is returning from medical or behavioral health leave and needs a structured re-entry plan
- An employee is struggling with attendance, pacing, concentration, or follow-through and the cause is not obvious
- A previous accommodation is in place but is not working
- An employee cannot clearly explain what they need
- A stay-at-work plan would likely prevent a leave
- A manager needs help understanding what a functional limitation actually means day to day
What I help clarify
Job demands and essential functions
What the role actually requires, described in functional terms rather than by job title — the foundation everything else is measured against.
Functional barriers
Where concentration, stamina, pacing, attendance, memory, communication, emotional regulation, or follow-through are breaking down against those specific demands.
Accommodation options to consider
Practical adjustments drawn from the demands of the role and current public guidance — including options that cost nothing and are frequently overlooked.
Documentation language
What is missing from what you have received, which questions are appropriate to ask a treating provider, and where a request risks seeking more medical detail than is needed.
Return-to-work and stay-at-work planning
Pacing, sequencing, graduated re-entry, checkpoints, and what to adjust when a plan is not holding.
Manager and employee communication
How to structure the conversation so both sides are discussing function and duties rather than diagnosis.
Appropriate referrals
Employees whose health condition, disability, injury, or mental health concern is affecting work participation — including those:
- Returning after medical leave, hospitalization, IOP, or PHP
- Managing anxiety, depression, trauma, ADHD, chronic illness, chronic pain, or injury that affects work
- At risk of separation because the current role is no longer sustainable as structured
- Requesting accommodations without being able to describe what would help
- Facing FMLA, leave-readiness, or documentation questions
Referrals are welcome from human resources business partners, benefits and leave administrators, employee relations, disability and accommodation coordinators, occupational health managers, return-to-work coordinators, EAP contacts, and business owners without a dedicated HR function.
Where an employee consents
Consultation is provided to the employee as the client in most engagements, which means the employee participates voluntarily and any information shared back with the employer requires their written authorization and a clearly defined scope. Employers may also engage consultation directly for role-level questions — analyzing job demands, reviewing an accommodation framework, or training managers — without an individual employee as the subject.
Consultation and psychotherapy are not the same referral
| Clinical Function and Accommodation Consultation | A structured, practical consultation focused on job demands, functional barriers, accommodation options, workplace communication, documentation needs, and return-to-work or stay-at-work planning. Private pay only; not billable to insurance. |
|---|---|
| Function-Focused Psychotherapy | Individual psychotherapy, ages 16 and older, treating clinical symptoms while rebuilding daily functioning — coping, routines, communication, boundaries, confidence, adjustment, and sustainable participation. Billable to insurance. It is a treatment service and does not produce an independent, forensic, disability, or claims opinion. |
A person may be appropriate for one or both. When both apply, the boundary between them is kept explicit.
How to make a referral
- Complete the referral formUse the online referral form — the fastest route, and it captures what the office needs up front. You may also call (877) 305-0570, fax (877) 418-3074, or email dr.ca@cheryllandrews.com.
- Fit screeningThe office confirms whether consultation fits, or whether the matter belongs elsewhere, before anything is scheduled.
- Consent and scopeWhere an individual employee is the subject, participation is voluntary and any communication back to you happens only with written authorization and a defined scope.
- ConsultationJob demands, functional barriers, documentation review, accommodation options, and a return or stay plan.
- A usable next stepClearer functional language and a practical plan you can act on — with the accommodation decision remaining yours.
Public guidance referenced in this work includes the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Job Accommodation Network, and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy.
Employer and HR questions
Do you decide whether an accommodation is granted?
No. The accommodation decision is the employer’s. Consultation clarifies job demands, functional barriers, and options worth considering so that the decision rests on a clearer factual basis.
Is this a fitness-for-duty or functional capacity evaluation?
No. This practice does not provide fitness-for-duty examinations, independent medical examinations, functional capacity evaluations, or disability determinations.
Will you tell us the employee’s diagnosis?
No. The work is deliberately functional rather than diagnostic, and any information shared with an employer requires the employee’s written authorization within a defined scope.
Is this billable to insurance?
No. Clinical Function and Accommodation Consultation is private pay, and no superbill is issued. Fees are confirmed in a written fee agreement before services begin.
Can you consult on a role rather than a person?
Yes. Job-demand analysis, accommodation framework review, and manager education can be provided at the role or organization level without an individual employee as the subject.
We have a workers’ compensation or litigated claim. Can you help?
Not through this practice. Workers’ compensation, third-party administrator, insurance, case-management, and attorney-retained matters are handled through a separate firm, The Vocational Standard, at (980) 326-0616.
What this service is — and what it is not
This service does not include
- Independent medical examination or functional capacity evaluation
- Forensic vocational evaluation, employability opinion, or earning-capacity opinion
- Expert-witness testimony or legal opinion
- Disability determination, claim adjudication, or benefits decisions
- Medical certification of restrictions
Decisions about accommodations, leave, restrictions, benefits, claims, and employment are made by the responsible employer, provider, insurer, administrator, or governing body. No accommodation approval, return to work, job retention, or claim outcome is guaranteed, and a diagnosis alone does not establish a workplace limitation.
Forensic vocational consultation and expert-witness services are rendered through a separate firm, The Vocational Standard, at (980) 326-0616. Attorney, legal support, workers’ compensation, third-party administrator, insurance, and case-management referrals are handled there rather than here.
Dr. Cheryl L. Andrews
Dr. Andrews is a doctoral-level, multi-state licensed clinical mental health counselor and supervisor, Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, and Certified ADA Administrator with nearly twenty-five years of experience across behavioral health, rehabilitation counseling, vocational rehabilitation, employee assistance, and disability-informed practice.
She is the author of the Clinical Function and Accommodation Framework, a practice-informed model connecting clinical presentation to workplace function and accommodation planning. Cheryl L. Andrews & Associates maintains offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia, with secure telehealth in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.
- Ph.D., Counselor Education and Supervision — Walden University
- M.S., Rehabilitation Counseling — Winston-Salem State University
- B.A., Sociology — Saint Augustine’s University
Cheryl L. Andrews, PhDLCMHC-S (NC) · LPC-S (SC) · LPC (GA, VA) · CRC · ACS · NCC · Certified ADA Administrator
Refer an employee for workplace-function clarification and structured next-step planning.
Use the referral form, or call the office. Fit is confirmed before anything is scheduled.
Office (877) 305-0570 ·
Fax (877) 418-3074 ·
dr.ca@cheryllandrews.com
cheryllandrews.com