What Is Human Services?

The human service professional is central to the help process. They have the training to meet different human needs through an approach that utilizes special skills and knowledge. In doing so, the human services professional aims at both prevention and cure. The overall aim of human service professionals is to improve the general quality of human life. They strive to ensure that the community functions effectively. Therefore, human service professionals spend much time solving other people’s problems in a professional way. They do this by listening to their clients’ problems, helping the clients understand their problems and advising on the appropriate solutions to the problems in every unique situation.

In this paper, the role of a social worker will be addressed. A Human Service professional has, in its hands, the responsibilities in the life of the clients and families they meet. The tremendous and arduous responsibilities they take on include, but are not limited to, the well-being and care of people and their communities. Such roles can be helping others manage the care of a family member, assisting individuals experiencing problems with family relations and conflicts, dealing with changes that come with growing old, aiding those suffering mental illness and or those individuals struggling with addictions. Briefly

Chapter 3 explains the importance of ethical competence specific to the human services field. As a professional it is important to know and understand an organizations code of ethics, as it will be a reference tool in how to handle certain situations you are faced with. Human service professionals enter into the profession with a personal set of values, goals and ethical conduct but, must always remember that their actions should always reflect the values and ethics of the company they are now a part of (site). In the event of an ethical issue a professional should always refer the ethical standards to determine what action should be taken (site). Ethics are also in place to facilitate legal implications that stem from malpractice lawsuits.

Human Services is a disciplinary geared towards meeting the needs of people from a multiple knowledge bases ("What is human services?", 2013). Multidisciplinary human services is an approach to involving a variety of disciplines to address a topic or problem ("Multidisciplinary Human Services Specialization," n.d.). This paper will compare and contrast three commonly applied theories to research in the field of multidisciplinary human services: social

Providing service to others is one of the primary values in Human service. Human service workers acknowledge that providing service to others is their priority, it’s more important than the professional personal

Human services professionals are those who facilitate and empower those in society who require assistance in meeting their basic human needs both emotionally, mentally, and physically. Human services professionals work with diverse cultures in many different settings to provide prevention, education, and resources for individuals, families, groups and communities. Some of the populations served are, children and families, adolescents, and the homeless. To support groups in crisis human services professionals must be committed, patient, possess listening skills, and have an ability to be empathetic without reducing one’s ability to be empowered (Martin, 2011).

• Problems in living: human beings are not always able to meet their own needs and human services has developed in response to the need.

There is a pressing need for a high level of worker/client boundary identification when working within a client population, however realizing a conflict of interest scenario is vitally important when facing a dual relationship with a client. There are so many issues that are faced by a human service professional, explaining all of them may be difficult. In this field there are issues such as burnout, secondary trauma, compassion satisfaction, dual relationships, and boundary issues. (Reamer, F. (2012). As human services professional or social workers there is a code of ethics. In statement 6 of the code of ethics, it states human services experts must be mindful that in their associations with customers/clients power and status are

Connection to my experience: Everything is essential in the Social work field. From filling papers to keeping constant communication, a human service worker helps in every way possible.

The range of problems facing human service clients is multi-faceted. No one person has just one problem, and there are plenty of clients to go around (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). I believe this point is well articulated by Neil Headman, assistant professor of human services at the University of Illinois at Springfield (2011), who stated “It does not matter who your client is, everyone needs help” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011).

Working in the field of human services is a unique, yet rewarding career. Human services workers engage with diverse populations and carry different titles to include counselors, case managers, milieu therapists, social workers, etc. Regardless of what title a human service worker may hold, communication between a client and professional is vital. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a client from a particular background and address his presenting issues. It will review how I would interview my client to include specific communication techniques, ways I would establish a working relationship, discuss possible boundary issues, and recommendations or referrals to certain groups for this client.

At the beginning of the year looking for classes to take Human Services stood out to me. Although not really knowing the meaning of human services, I believed it was about helping people and that’s something I have always been very passionate about. I am always the friend who is giving advice and hearing out my friends’ dilemmas and situations. The definition of Human services in our book is: a phrase that is often used to group activities that focus on helping people live better lives. In a vague way, the human services include formal systems such as government welfare programs, education, mental retardation services, mental health organizations, child care programs, physical health care establishments, and the correctional services of the legal justice system. The definition of a human service worker is: Anyone who is trained or educated in helping activities. A person who does not have traditional professional academic credentials but who, through experience, training, or education, provides helping services. When this project of interviewing a human service worker and learning in depth how they do their job, and how they help others it was something that I was pretty excited about. The process on how I found the human service corporation I would interview was pretty difficult since all of the ones I was interested at first were taken. Going through the process to schedule my first interview was not as hard as I sought it to be.

Human Services is a career that serves and helps the people from the community in time of crisis. Human Services helpers are designed to help people through crisis or chronic situations where the person feels they need help and guidance to move forward with their life and rediscover their personal power. People sometimes need help with food or housing the loss of job, and getting out of dangerous situation for example domestic violence, drug abuse. Some people also face an internal challenge such as depression, a physical or mental disability or a health crisis. As a human services helper we are there to assist people meet their needs and get them the services and support that they need.

In order to be a Human Service agent you must have discovered your values and beliefs. When you discover your values and beliefs you are underlying what you can do for your clients, what attributes you can offer them, and setting up a foundation for providing great care.

Human Resource Practice says “it maybe a cliché that people are an organisations greatest assest, but no orgaisation exists without people and nothing is achieved expect through their efforts” (Page 9)