Counseling Chapter 2 Homework The Personal Characteristics Qualities That Are Important Entrylevel Humanservice Professionals Are Selfawareness

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CHAPTER 2

THE HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONAL

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After reading this chapter, students will be able to:

2-1 Compare the motivations for becoming a helper.

2-2 List three reasons that values are important to helping.

2-3 Write a description of the five commonly accepted human service values.

2-4 List four characteristics or qualities of helpers.

2-5 Distinguish among the three categories of helpers.

2-6 List the three areas of job responsibilities for human service professionals.

2-7 Identify the other helping professionals with whom a human service professional

may interact.

2-8 Summarize the role of the nonprofessional helper or volunteer.

2-9 Illustrate each of the roles included in the three areas of professional

responsibilities.

2-10 Identify the responsibilities of a cultural broker.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. Who is the helper?

A. Motivations for choosing a helping profession

1. Influenced by direct work experience, college courses and instructors,

and the involvement of friends and relatives in the helping professions

2. Motivations include the following:

a. Help others

b. Self-exploration

c. Exert control

d. Positive role models

3. Each motivation has pros and cons

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B. Values and helping

1. Values undergird decision making.

2. Culture establishes some values and standards of behavior.

3. Values are statements of how we would like the world to be.

4. Having common values helps professionals work together.

5. The values of acceptance, tolerance, individuality, self-determination,

and confidentiality guide the human service professional.

6. Values provide a framework to create a personal philosophy of

helping.

C. Characteristics of the helper

1. The use of the whole self is important for an effective helper.

2. Characteristics important for the beginning helper include the

following:

a. Self-awareness: a lifelong process of learning through

examination of beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors

b. Ability to communicate: being attuned to the verbal and

nonverbal nuances of the client’s messages

c. Empathy: the acceptance of another person, the situation, and

the person’s feelings

d. Responsibility and commitment to improve the well-being of

others: achieved by following a code of ethics

e. Flexibility: demonstrated by a willingness to reconsider,

modify, or abandon certain approaches to helping

II. Typology of human service professionals

A. Categories of helpers

1. Three general categories:

a. Human service professionals

b. Specialists

c. Nonprofessional helpers

2. Each category is defined by preparation, skills, or both

B. The human service professional

1. Generalists with education and training at undergraduate level

2. Job titles include case worker, probation officer, social service liaison

C. Human Service Movement

1. Since 1966, the field of human services has moved toward

professionalization of service providers.

2. Certification is available as a Human Service-Board Certified

Practitioner (HS-BCP).

D. Specialists

1. Advanced training and education

2. Job titles include the following:

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a. Physicians: licensed professionals who perform medical

examinations, diagnose illnesses, treat injured or diseased people,

and advise patients on maintaining good health

b. Psychiatrists: a physician concerned with diagnosis, treatment,

1. Community caretakers: police, firefighters, clergy

2. Natural helpers: hairdressers, bartenders

3. Self-help groups: Alcoholics Anonymous

4. Volunteers

5. Accepted by human service professionals due to financial constraints or

an uneven distribution of professional workers.

1. Responsibility of many beginning professionals

2. Develops helping relationship through face-to-face contact

3. Roles include the following:

a. Behavior changer

b. Caregiver

1. Involves managerial activities as helpers supervise and oversee projects

2. Roles include the following:

a. Broker

b. Data manager

c. Evaluator

1. Helpers develop collegial networks to create or improve services within

the local area

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2. Roles include the following:

a. Advocate

b. Community and service networker

1. Frontline helpers focus on caring for the client.

2. Administrators focus on planning and organizing services.

E. Working as a cultural broker

1. Occurs throughout helping responsibilities

2. Helps client negotiate the cultural divide

3. Characteristics include self-knowledge, knowledge of others, advocacy

1. Case manager for a state agency in the southwestern United States

2. Rewarded by client variety and working with other professionals

3. Frustrated by bureaucracy and clients who do not do what she wants

them to do

CHAPTER SUMMARY

This chapter defines the helper, describes a typology of human service

professionals, and identifies the roles involved in providing direct service, performing

administrative work, and working with the community. Helping means assisting other

people to understand, overcome, or cope with problems. A helper is the person who

offers this assistance.

The motivations for choosing a helping profession are varied. They include

influences such as direct work experience, college courses and instructors, and the

involvement of friends, acquaintances, or relatives in the helping professions. Individuals

choose to work in the field of human services because they want to help others, they wish

to find out more about themselves, they desire to exert control, and/or they were inspired

by help from others. Each motivation has a positive and negative component and it is

important to explore both.

Values and philosophy contribute to the decision to choose the helping

professions and to the work of these professionals. Values are statements that describe

how we would like the world to be. The five values that guide professional behavior and

service delivery, and are critical to the human service profession, are acceptance,

tolerance, individuality, self-determination, and confidentiality.

Many educators and researchers have identified characteristics of effective

service liaison. Specialists are helpers characterized by certification, licenses, and

advanced education. Specialists include physicians, psychologists, social workers, and

counselors. Nonprofessional helpers include community caretakers (firefighters), natural

helpers (bartenders), self-help groups (AA), and volunteers.

Human service professionals are further defined by their roles in the helping

process. Following a study by the U.S. Department of Education, helping roles can be

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CHAPTER GOALS

1. To describe the helper in terms of motivations, values, philosophy, and

characteristics

2. To explore the categories of human service professionals

3. To examine the roles in which human service professionals engage as they work

with clients and other professionals

SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVITIES

1. Ask your students to write a paragraph about an experience they have had helping

someone. Divide the class into small groups and ask them to share their

experiences. Ask the groups to find common themes in the experiences and then

to define differences.

Note: Have the groups recite these themes to the class. Use these themes to

begin your discussion of the roles and skills of helpers.

4. Complete the following self-inventory. Decide how important each of the

following values is to you in your work. Write the appropriate number next to

each: 4 = most important; 3 = important, but not a top priority; 2 = slightly

important; and 1 = of little or no importance.

_____ 1. High income: opportunity for high pay or other financial gain

_____ 2. Power: opportunity to influence, lead, and direct others

_____ 3. Prestige: opportunity for respect and admiration from others

_____ 4. Job security: security from unemployment and economic changes

_____ 5. Variety: opportunity to do many different things in a job

_____ 6. Achievement: opportunity to accomplish goals

_____ 7. Responsibility: chance to be in charge of myself and others; being

able to show trustworthiness

_____ 8. Independence: freedom from rigid hours or controls

_____ 9. Family relationships: time to be with family in addition to job

_____ 10. Interests: work that matches my field of interest

_____ 11. Opportunity to serve people: being able to make a difference in the

lives of others; helping others help themselves

_____ 12. Adventure: a high level of excitement on the job

_____ 13. Creativity: opportunity to come up with new ideas and do things in

new ways

_____ 14. Inner harmony: peace and contentment through work

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_____ 17. Competition: the need to compete against others

_____ 18. Advancement: opportunity for promotion

_____ 19. Continued learning: changes to update learning and knowledge

_____ 20. Structure and routine: a predictable routine on the job that requires

a certain pattern of responses

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Name and explain the most commonly held values in human services. Why is

each important to the process of helping?

2. Describe the important personal characteristics of effective helpers.

MINDTAP VIDEO IN-CLASS DISCUSSION

TYPICAL DAY FOR A FRONT-LINE HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONAL

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KEY TERMS

Acceptance: The ability of the helper to be receptive to the client regardless of factors

such as dress or behavior.

Administrator: A human service professional whose primary responsibilities are

planning and organizing services.

Community caretakers: Individuals who reside in the community and provide assistance

and support to those in need without the benefit of education or training.

Confidentiality: The helper’s assurance to clients that their cases will not be discussed

with others.

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Counselors: Individuals who help people cope with a variety of problems, including

personal, social, educational, and career concerns.

Cultural broker: A helping professional who commits to help clients negotiate the

cultural divide that influences access and effective use of services and the development of

self-sufficiency.

Empathy: Acceptance of the client that allows the helper to see the situation or

understand feelings from the client’s perspective.

Flexibility: Multifaceted trait that allows human service professionals to shift their

perspectives of helping, clients, problems, and interventions.

Frontline helper: A human service professional who focuses on direct services to the

client.

Generalist: A human service professional with diverse skills and functions that are

applicable in a number of settings with a variety of client groups.

HS-BCP: Human Service-Board Certified Practitioner certification indicates that the

individual meets 11 core human service content areas.

Human service professional: An educated and trained individual who provides services

to individual, families, groups, and communities in need.

Individuality: The qualities or characteristics that make each person unique and

distinctive from all other people.

Physicians: Medical doctors who perform medical examinations, diagnose illnesses, treat

injured or diseased people, and advise patients on maintaining good health.

Psychiatrists: Physicians concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of

mental illness.

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Psychologists: Helping professionals who have advanced degrees in the study of human

behavior and who provide counseling, perform assessments, and conduct research in that

field.

Self-awareness: The process of learning about one’s self.

Self-determination: The act of deciding for one’s self a course of action or resolution to a

problem.

Self-help groups: Numbers of like-minded individuals facing similar challenges that

meet together to support each other

Social workers: Professionals with training in social welfare, human behavior, and the

social environment who work with individuals, families, and groups.

Tolerance: The helper’s ability to be patient and fair with each client.

Values: Statement of beliefs about what guides behavior and provides direction to

people’s lives.

Volunteers: Individuals who provide a service to others without expectation of pay or

financial benefit.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

These questions may help the students identify important concepts as they read the

chapter.

1. What is the basic focus of the helper?

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7. What is a philosophy of helping?

8. What are the major influences for the behaviors we have and the attitudes we

hold?

The following questions will help students in their review of the chapter.

1. Describe the motivations for choosing a helping profession.

2. How do values and a philosophy of helping relate to motivations for choosing a

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LO/STANDARD CORRELATION TABLE

Chapter Heading

LO

NOHS

Standards

CSHSE

Standards

HS-BCP

Standards

Motivations for Choosing a

Helping Profession

2-1

35

20

2

Values and Helping

2-2

2-3

7, 22, 35

19, 20

2

Characteristics of the Helper

2-4

27, 35, 36

20

2

Categories of Helpers

2-5

26, 29, 30

16

4

The Human Service Professional

2-6

26, 29, 30

11, 16

4

Specialists

2-7

26, 29, 30

16

4

Nonprofessional Helpers

2-8

31

16

4

Human Service Roles

2-9

29, 30

16, 18

4, 9

Working as a Cultural Broker

2-10

11, 29, 30

12, 16, 18

4, 6, 9