In your textbook, you read about human services professionals and other professional helpers who work in the same setting. How are human services professionals similar to and different from other prof
EXAMPLE 1:
After completing the reading for this week, I'd have to say that human service professionals and other professionals working in the same agency have a lot of similarities. Every “helper” as they were called in the chapters, is an individual that assists others (Woodside & McClam, 2019). Each professional has to look at the client as a whole person, and their end goal is to make a positive impact with the client. Some differences would be their degree, job title, and the exact part they take in the client's care and action plan.
In agencies, you're also going to have non-professionals on staff. They are not going to be as hands-on in the care of the clients. Volunteers are going to be limited on how they can help and what they can do with the clients due to HIPPA laws and needing a certain type of degree to help clients further. Human service professionals and volunteers however are similar in the fact that they have to work together for the best interest of the clients and to get the best outcome possible for them.
Having a constant open line of communication between all collaborating parties is the most important thing when working as a team in any area of work. This way ideas can be shared and everyone is kept on the same page about where the client is in treatment.
References:
Woodside, M. & McClam, T. (2019). An Introduction to Human Services (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
EXAMPLE2:
After reading this week’s assigned chapters, to me, human service roles and agencies have more similarities than differences. Each “helper” as stated in the reading is an individual that assists others (Woodside & McClam, 2019). Agencies and human service individuals have the same common goal and that is to assist those in need by providing services that help the person within their life, giving them the care that is lacking currently at the moment.
Key differences between the two would be how funding is allocated for agencies; whether they are government-funded, not for profit, voluntary, and also those who are for-profit (Woodside & McClam, 2019).
If I were working collaboratively with both I would make sure to keep a positive line of communication going as we work to identify a clients’ needs and focus on what exactly the problems a client is facing. Networking with both would be imperative for assisting the client in their most needed areas of life so we all can be successful in putting the needs of the client first and working together.
Reference:
Woodside, M. & McClam, T. (2019). An Introduction to Human Services (9th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
EXAMPLE3:
The biggest difference between human service professionals and other professionals that work in an agency, in my experience, is responsibility to the individuals served. Even in reading the textbook, my answer is weighted heavily on professional experience. Though the entire goal of the agency is to serve a client, as a human services professional specifically, your duties and goals are much more closely tied to advocating for your specific client than other professionals that have other primary concerns. The best example is in that finance or adaptive technology specialists also work to serve the client, but they must consider the bottom line when a request for equipment comes through, whereas a human service professional—especially as a frontline worker--- sees the client, their need and how to best serve them in the situation.
However, I believe the drive to serve the client and to put clients first is a huge similarity between human service professionals and non-professional helpers. Being as non-professional helpers are in the human service environment for either experience or personal fulfillment, their primary focus is doing what is right by and important for their client(s). It is aligned with the purpose of the human services professional. Overall, in order to work more collaboratively with both other professionals and non-professionals in the human services environment, I think it’s imperative to have more interdisciplinary representation in person-centered planning and meetings. Locally, it has become a mandate that administration, specialists, and non-professionals all participate in treatment team meetings so that everyone involved has a voice and can contribute ideas and solutions alongside the client they serve. From a more intra-agency perspective, it would be beneficial to take the same inclusive approach to meetings that concern agency-wide policy and procedures so that everyone can be more vested in the agency’s mission and see topics through perspectives of other areas from within the agency.
