See Beauty... in impacting the individual
Direct Services Essay
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When I decided to go into the field of Human Services I came in with the most basic understanding of what it means to be a Human Service Professional. I knew that I wanted to support people and be a tool to society to create change where change is needed. The only depiction of how I saw to do this was through direct service. Now I have a much more in depth understanding of all that is encompassed by Human Services and the nonprofit sector itself, and I believe direct services is a critical aspect needed to make this sector successful. Social injustice and issues of human rights can, and should, be addressed on an institutional level and through advocacy, but providing support on the individual level can make it possible to tailor services and outcomes more distinctively and with promptness for an individual in need.
When providing services for a client it is recognized that resources and support provided should be the least intrusive and the best capable of strengthening the individual. During Winter Quarter of 2010 I took Case Management and Interventions, HSP 345, where we discussed various methods and approaches towards case management-all of which should focus on ethics and values and what is best for the client. The following is an excerpt from our final paper:
“Choosing the least intrusive intervention in the least restrictive environment.” It is the job of the case manager to help the client with the services needed. Individuals come across challenges when they have not been fully supported by something institutionally, such as the educational, medical, economical systems, and that is where the job of a social worker comes in to play. “The interventions you design or choose should be two-pronged: personal interventions that strengthen the person to handle the environment, and environmental interventions that change the context to accommodate the person” (Summers, 2009, pp. 75).
By Standard 16 of the Council for Standards in Human Service Education, it states that there should be skills to facilitate appropriate direct services and interventions related to a specific client. All persons will be different from the next, so it is plausible to say direct services should allow for adaption according to the needs of the individual client being supported.
During the spring quarter of my junior year I took Human Development and Human Services, HSP 315. One of our assignments involved reviewing a fictitious case study and suggesting resources for said example, but they had to be actual resources you could refer a client to. The reason I found this activity so valuable was because I was able to gain the experience of going through the process of service referral while becoming familiar with the tangible resources within my community. My skills developed pertaining to direct service while expanding my knowledge of available resources for future clients.
Having exposure to the coursework before emerging into the field gave me a sense of confidence that I had skills to offer and knowledge to apply to the work I was doing. It was valuable to work within the community through internships and volunteering while still being in the major. You cannot be presented with every scenario you may be put in while in the field, that’s why it becomes so crucial to take part in experiential learning. For Internship and Seminar, HSP 440, part of the requirement was to complete a bi-weekly experiential critical analysis. In the third analysis I talked about the challenges I had with participating in group. I interned at Catholic Community Services and would sit in on weekly process groups, with a responsibility to fill out events slips about each client attending group. I was encouraged to be involved with the group and help with facilitation, but I found that it was fairly challenging to me, not knowing exactly what my role was and what to say. In the essay I write the following, “it was getting very close to the last few minutes of group and I felt I had to say something since I told the counselor I would. Finally, there was an opportunity that I felt I could speak up and I did even though it took everything in me to open my mouth. The counselor told me I had brought up a good point which helped me to feel like I had contributed to group in a positive way.”
I consider myself to be a pretty outgoing person, but I have come to realize that in a group setting such as that if I don’t feel confident in what I have to say I have a hard time raising my voice. In relation to the client I worry that I will not be relatable. I have started to understand that it’s more about listening and providing your own perspectives and experiences rather than trying to assume that it takes experiencing the same thing to make a connection. “This type of work we do constantly challenges us to integrate others’ points of view with our own perspectives” (Kottler, 2000, p. 35), and in doing so we can keep up with our ‘respectful curiosity’ without trying to force commonalities.
For Interviewing and Human Services, HSP 325, we were to choose a type of therapy to report on to the class. From the beginning I had an interest with narrative therapy so I decided to make that the focus of my paper. The following is an excerpt from that research paper:
‘It normalizes parents seeking help and assumes that all families have both needs and strengths’ (Sax, 1997, p. 114). Narrative therapy has taken various aspects of other practices, but the method this therapy is modeled upon is the idea that people will bring meaning to their lives by connecting various events into a larger life narrative (Combs & Freedman, 1994, p. 69)….Your personal experience is crucial. The language you use can be an outlet to highlight the complexity of the endless perspectives that can be present. As for the individual, the person is a participant in his or her world as well as others in the process of re-authoring.
The reason I was drawn to narrative therapy is because the basis is that an individual can create their own reality for the better. Sometimes clients will come across gaps when they try and tell their life story, but this does not mean we should try to create that story for them. If you work with the “not-knowing” you can help people to feel they are the experts in their own lives, rather than suggesting to them what they should be getting out of their own experiences (Combs & Freedman, 1994, p. 71). The client’s history belongs to the client and they should be able to look back at it and refer to it in such a way that they can grow from it and ignite positive change for their future.
If I ever go into therapy I would make sure my approach is based on positive reinforcement to help my clients. Standard 20 of the Council for Standards in Human Service Education discusses students developing awareness about our own values, reaction patterns and interpersonal styles. Through the experiences I have been able to have with direct service and those I continue to learn about I am establishing what I believe to be my strengths, preferences and goals as a professional.
References
Combs, G., & Freedman, J. (1994). Narrative Intentions. In M. F. Hoyt, Constructive therapies (pp. 67-91). New York : Guilford Press.
Kottler, J. (2000). Doing good: Passion and committment for helping others. Philadelphia, PA: Georg H. Buchanan
Sax, P. (1997). Narrative Therapy and Family Support: Strengthening the Mother's Voice in Working with Families with Infants and Toddlers. In C. R. Smith, & Nylund, D., Narrative therapies with children and adolescents (pp. 111-146). New York : Guilford Press.
Summers, N. (2009). Case management practice: Skills for the human services. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole
When providing services for a client it is recognized that resources and support provided should be the least intrusive and the best capable of strengthening the individual. During Winter Quarter of 2010 I took Case Management and Interventions, HSP 345, where we discussed various methods and approaches towards case management-all of which should focus on ethics and values and what is best for the client. The following is an excerpt from our final paper:
“Choosing the least intrusive intervention in the least restrictive environment.” It is the job of the case manager to help the client with the services needed. Individuals come across challenges when they have not been fully supported by something institutionally, such as the educational, medical, economical systems, and that is where the job of a social worker comes in to play. “The interventions you design or choose should be two-pronged: personal interventions that strengthen the person to handle the environment, and environmental interventions that change the context to accommodate the person” (Summers, 2009, pp. 75).
By Standard 16 of the Council for Standards in Human Service Education, it states that there should be skills to facilitate appropriate direct services and interventions related to a specific client. All persons will be different from the next, so it is plausible to say direct services should allow for adaption according to the needs of the individual client being supported.
During the spring quarter of my junior year I took Human Development and Human Services, HSP 315. One of our assignments involved reviewing a fictitious case study and suggesting resources for said example, but they had to be actual resources you could refer a client to. The reason I found this activity so valuable was because I was able to gain the experience of going through the process of service referral while becoming familiar with the tangible resources within my community. My skills developed pertaining to direct service while expanding my knowledge of available resources for future clients.
Having exposure to the coursework before emerging into the field gave me a sense of confidence that I had skills to offer and knowledge to apply to the work I was doing. It was valuable to work within the community through internships and volunteering while still being in the major. You cannot be presented with every scenario you may be put in while in the field, that’s why it becomes so crucial to take part in experiential learning. For Internship and Seminar, HSP 440, part of the requirement was to complete a bi-weekly experiential critical analysis. In the third analysis I talked about the challenges I had with participating in group. I interned at Catholic Community Services and would sit in on weekly process groups, with a responsibility to fill out events slips about each client attending group. I was encouraged to be involved with the group and help with facilitation, but I found that it was fairly challenging to me, not knowing exactly what my role was and what to say. In the essay I write the following, “it was getting very close to the last few minutes of group and I felt I had to say something since I told the counselor I would. Finally, there was an opportunity that I felt I could speak up and I did even though it took everything in me to open my mouth. The counselor told me I had brought up a good point which helped me to feel like I had contributed to group in a positive way.”
I consider myself to be a pretty outgoing person, but I have come to realize that in a group setting such as that if I don’t feel confident in what I have to say I have a hard time raising my voice. In relation to the client I worry that I will not be relatable. I have started to understand that it’s more about listening and providing your own perspectives and experiences rather than trying to assume that it takes experiencing the same thing to make a connection. “This type of work we do constantly challenges us to integrate others’ points of view with our own perspectives” (Kottler, 2000, p. 35), and in doing so we can keep up with our ‘respectful curiosity’ without trying to force commonalities.
For Interviewing and Human Services, HSP 325, we were to choose a type of therapy to report on to the class. From the beginning I had an interest with narrative therapy so I decided to make that the focus of my paper. The following is an excerpt from that research paper:
‘It normalizes parents seeking help and assumes that all families have both needs and strengths’ (Sax, 1997, p. 114). Narrative therapy has taken various aspects of other practices, but the method this therapy is modeled upon is the idea that people will bring meaning to their lives by connecting various events into a larger life narrative (Combs & Freedman, 1994, p. 69)….Your personal experience is crucial. The language you use can be an outlet to highlight the complexity of the endless perspectives that can be present. As for the individual, the person is a participant in his or her world as well as others in the process of re-authoring.
The reason I was drawn to narrative therapy is because the basis is that an individual can create their own reality for the better. Sometimes clients will come across gaps when they try and tell their life story, but this does not mean we should try to create that story for them. If you work with the “not-knowing” you can help people to feel they are the experts in their own lives, rather than suggesting to them what they should be getting out of their own experiences (Combs & Freedman, 1994, p. 71). The client’s history belongs to the client and they should be able to look back at it and refer to it in such a way that they can grow from it and ignite positive change for their future.
If I ever go into therapy I would make sure my approach is based on positive reinforcement to help my clients. Standard 20 of the Council for Standards in Human Service Education discusses students developing awareness about our own values, reaction patterns and interpersonal styles. Through the experiences I have been able to have with direct service and those I continue to learn about I am establishing what I believe to be my strengths, preferences and goals as a professional.
References
Combs, G., & Freedman, J. (1994). Narrative Intentions. In M. F. Hoyt, Constructive therapies (pp. 67-91). New York : Guilford Press.
Kottler, J. (2000). Doing good: Passion and committment for helping others. Philadelphia, PA: Georg H. Buchanan
Sax, P. (1997). Narrative Therapy and Family Support: Strengthening the Mother's Voice in Working with Families with Infants and Toddlers. In C. R. Smith, & Nylund, D., Narrative therapies with children and adolescents (pp. 111-146). New York : Guilford Press.
Summers, N. (2009). Case management practice: Skills for the human services. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole