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Lachelle Market 

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The three major interpersonal skills a Human Service Professional needs facilitate the positive alliance with clients are empathy, warmth, and genuineness (Frances & Weikel, 2014). One thing Human Service Professionals need to understand is that when our clients finally begin to open up to us and build a rapport with us, there are certain expectations they expect from us. Clients expect Human Service Professionals to treat them with dignity, be respectful towards them, and to have empathy toward them. 

Empathy involves understanding someone and communicating our understanding to them (Frances & Weikel, 2014). This can be done when our clients know that we understand them by communicating with them and paraphrasing what they said back to them. Our empathic skills are received by our clients, when we focus on them with our undivided attention, to help them and doing it with compassion. 

Warmth is a skill that we use to make our clients feel accepted and whole. Similar to Dialogic Listening, where clients feel comfortable enough to communicate (Stewart, Zedeker and Witteborn, (Stewart, 2012). 

Genuineness is being true to what you say. Being truthful and doing what you say will give you grounds and go a long way with your client and the rapport you are establishing. Human Service Professionals and clients develop real relationships off being genuine, just being yourself, or as they call it now, “just keeping it real”. A real relationship is said to be built when Human Service Professionals and clients share genuineness and accurate perceptions of each other (Frances & Weikel, 2014).  

Clients know when someone is not being genuine/real with them while talking to them. Any sense of mistrust could lead to the client shutting out the Human Service worker. But making genuineness in your relationship will lead to a lasting relationship when exercising all three skills combined. 

Frances, K., Weikel, K. (2014). Helping skills for Human Service Workers: Building relationships and encouraging change 3(rd ed.). Springfield, Il. Charles C. Thomas 

Stewart, J. (2012). Bridges not Walls: A book about interpersonal communication (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill 

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