Chapter Six:  The Human Service Professional

1. Helping means assisting other people to understand, overcome, or __________ with problems.  The ______________ is the person who offers this assistance.

Who is the helper?

2. Helpers have a variety of levels of __________ and experience but generally the basic focus is to help clients with external or ____________ problems and to help them __________ themselves.

Motivations for choosing a helping profession

3. Helpers are influenced by direct work experience, college courses and instructors, and the involvement of ____________ and relatives in the helping professions.
4. Individuals who choose the helping professions are generally more concerned about the kind of work they will do than about the _________ they will receive.
5. Motivations to choose the helping professions include the following:
   1. The desire to help others – this genuine desire is a good motivator but it is important for the helper to be able to ask themselves the following questions:

                                                               i.      To what extent am I meeting my own _________ to feel worthwhile by contributing to another person’s growth?

                                                             ii.      Do my needs to feel __________ and to be a caring person take precedence over the client’s needs?

2. The desire for self-exploration – people who wish to understand _____________ better often study psychology, sociology, human services or social work.

                                                               i.      This can be positive when the desire for self-knowledge leads to growth in ________________ and skills

                                                             ii.      This can be negative when the quest for self-knowledge takes precedence over the client’s _______________.

1.      This can be avoided when the helper is aware of their need for _________________________ and fulfills this need outside the helping relationship.

3. The desire to exert ___________ – these individuals usually desire to be in management.

                                                               i.      This can be a problem when the helper seeks to control or dominate clients to either make them ______________ or to have them conform to some _______________ standard.

4.  The desire to find ____________________ in helping because you have been helped – this is desire to give back what you received.

                                                               i.      This may cause ________________ expectations, as the people who were successfully helped often expect all other clients and helpers to be competent, caring and motivated and when this does not happen, these workers may be frustrated and ____________.

Values and helping

6. Values are the criteria by which helpers and clients make ___________________
7. ________________ establishes some values and standards of behavior
8. Values are statements of how we would like the world to ______________.
9. Having common values helps professionals work together.  Human services workers are guided by the values of:
   1. Acceptance - This is the helper’s ability to be _______________ to a client regardless of what they may have done, how they look, their culture and beliefs, etc.
   2. Tolerance – This is the helper’s ability to be patient and fair with each client rather than judging, punishing or blaming the client for ______________behavior.
   3. Individuality – This involves recognizing characteristics or qualities that make each person different and unique; this includes avoiding _______________.
   4. Self-determination – Respecting the rights of an individual to make their own ____________________ even when those are decisions that you believe are not right in a critical value in the helping professions.
   5. Confidentiality – The right of clients to have information about themselves _________________ within the agency demonstrates respect for both that individual client and for all people seeking help.
10.  Values also provide a framework to create a personal ________________ of helping

Characteristics of the helper

11. The use of the ________________________ is important for an effective helper
12. Personal _________________of helpers are largely responsible for the success or failure of helping
13. Helping professionals should be able to listen with understanding and act with ____________
14. Qualities or characteristics important to helping are:
    1. Self-awareness – This life long process of learning about ______________ involves continually examining your beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors to recognize things that may be hinder your performance as a helper.
    2. The ability to communicate – This skill includes listening __________________ (tuning in to more than just the verbal message) or listening in a way that hears the nuances of the client’s messages
    3. Empathy – This ____________________ of another person helps the helper view the problem from the perspective of the other person or the acceptance of another person, the situation, and the         person’s feelings
    4. Responsibility/commitment -  Responsibility and commitment to improve the well being of others means putting their needs first and _______________.

Typology of Human Service Professionals

15. Categories in this area usually consider educational preparation or training and _________________.

Categories of Workers

16.  One way to categorize human service workers is professional and nonprofessional
    1. Nonprofessional helpers are offer _________________ assistance through friendships, family relationships and community and general human concern.
    2. Professional helpers are distinguished from nonprofessional workers through the existence of  meeting certain __________________ and licensure or certification requirements

                                                               i.      This group also includes ____________________ who have more limited education and responsibilities.

                                                             ii.      Evidence has shown that professionals and paraprofessionals may be equally ______________ in delivering services.

17. Another method of categorization is to divide helpers into professional helpers, generalist human service workers, and nonprofessional helpers
    1. Professional helpers usually have __________________ level education and supervised clinical experience.
    2. Generalist human services worker have training at the ________________ level
    3. Nonprofessional helpers have some training in helping and little agency responsibility; they use ______________ skills to develop helping relationships with the people they are assisting.

The human service professional

18.  The Occupational Outlook Handbook includes an entry on the human service worker
19. The degree of ____________________ and amount of responsibility vary a great deal.
20.  Jobs are in public _____________ agencies, facilities for the mentally disabled and developmentally delayed individuals, and private, social, or human service agencies are often held by human services professionals.
21. Job opportunities for social workers and professionals from related fields will ____________ through the next decade.

Other professional helpers

22. Physicians perform ____________ examinations, diagnose illnesses, treat         injured or diseased people, and advise patients on maintaining good health
23. A psychiatrist is concerned with diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of _____________________ and is a physician with extra training in mental health.
24. Psychologists study human behavior and mental processes to understand and explain people’s _______________
25. Social workers help individuals, families, and groups cope with a wide variety of problems.
    1. Social workers are usually educated at least at the ___________________________.
    2. Many positions require a master’s degree in social work, particularly positions in mental health, _____________________ and research.
26. Counselors represent a wide range of services provided and populations served.  They usually have a master’s degree in _________________ or a related area.
    1. Mental health counselors – these counselors work with individuals, families and groups experiencing mental health challenges.
    2. Rehabilitation counselor – these counselors work with individuals who have become or are ____________; their responsibility is to help the disabled person or family to deal with the effects of the disability.

Human Services Roles

27. The common thread to all human services role is the _______________ focus.
28. These roles can be divided into the following three broad categories, with various responsibilities associated with each category.

                    I.      Providing direct service – these workers generally work ____________ with clients to provide services.

a.   Behavior changer – Carries out a variety of activities with the goal of changing the client’s ____________________

b.      Caregiver – Provides services for people who need ________________ support of some kind, whether physical, emotional or other kinds.

c.       Communicator – Expresses and exchanges ideas and establishes relationships with a cross-section of people and groups to promote assistance, ___________________ and ideas.

d.      Crisis intervenor – Provides short-term, focused and _______________ services for individuals and groups who are experiencing and having difficulty coping with disruption in their lives.

e.       Participant empowerer – Partners with the client to develop a helping relationship and a plan of action that when implemented, will encourage the client to ________________ for themselves.

f.        Teacher/educator – Performs a variety of ______________activities with individuals and groups.

II. Performing administrative work – these helpers ______________ and oversee the helping process.

g.       Broker – Helps people get to the existing services and helps to make the services more __________________to clients

h.       Data manager – Evaluates programs and plans through ___________ data.

i.         Evaluator – Assesses client or _______________ needs and problems with a variety of manifestations and causes.

j.        Facilitator of services – Links the client to services and then ___________ client progress, intervening when the services are deficient or inappropriate

k.      Planner – Works with both short term and long term clients to accurately define their problems and ______________ then develops strategies to meet those needs and monitor the helping process; planners may also develop programs and services to meet client needs.

l.         Report writer – _______________ the activities and work of the agency, including both client related and agency related documents, as well as policy and funding documents.

m.     Resource allocator – Recommends how money should best be spent to support client needs; considers __________________ for services and prices prior to making these decisions.

III. Working with the community - these helpers assume responsibility within a __________________ context.

n.       Advocate – Pleads and fights for services, policies, rules, regulations and laws on ________________of clients.

o.      Community and service networker – Works actively to connect with other helpers and agencies to plan to provide better services for the community and to clients, shares information, support education and _______________ efforts and facilitates linking clients to needed services.

p.      Community planner – Works with community members to ensure that community services promote ________________________ and self-actualization, or at least minimize stress on people.

q.      Consultant – Works with other ___________________ in relation to their handling of programs, problems and needs.

r.        Mobilizer - Helps to get new resources for clients and ____________.

s.       Outreach worker – Reaches out to identify people with problems, refers them to appropriate services, and follows up to make sure they continue to their maximum _______________________.

Front-line worker or administrator

        29.  Professionals perform more than one _________________.

        30.  Typically workers are generally categorized as having either front-line                                     or administrative ______________________