Discussion Topic- Intro to Human Services

LECTURE NOTES: CHAPTER 3 STANDARDS IN THE PROFESSION: SKILL STANDARDS, CREDENTIALING, PROGRAM ACCREDITATION, AND ETHICAL STANDARDS

Chapter Outline I. Skill Standards II. Credentialing

a. Certification b. Licensure c. Credentialing in the Human Services d. Selected Credentials in Related Helping Professions

i. Credentialing as a Substance Abuse Counselor and Other State Credentials ii. Credentialing for the Master’s Degree in Counseling

iii. Credentialing for the Master’s Degree in Social Work iv. Credentialing as a School Psychologist and as a Counseling or Clinical

Psychologist v. Credentialing for Couples and Family Therapy

vi. Credentialing as a Psychiatrist vii. Credentialing as a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse

III. Program Accreditation IV. Ethical Standards

a. The Development of Ethical Codes V. Ethical Decision Making

a. Problem-Solving Models b. Moral Models: Principle and Virtue Ethics Models c. Developmental Models d. Summarizing and Integrating the Models e. Final Thoughts

VI. Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues: Competence and Qualifications as a Professional

VII. The Effective Human Service Professional: Professionally Committed, Ethically Assured

SUMMARY: Relative to the Skill Standards, twelve competencies are discussed with skills and tasks presented as a natural outgrowth of these competencies. Also emphasized is the importance of training in these skills that can lead to the strengthening of educational programs. In reference to credentialing, author distinguishes among registration, certification, and licensure and to discuss the value of each of these credentials. Further emphasis is on the various types of credentials that exist in the mental health professions and highlighting the importance on the new credential in human services: The Board Certified—Human Services Practitioner (BC—HSP). Ethical guidelines as well as some of their limitations is also discussed noting that making ethical decisions is a complex process and discuss different models of ethical decision-making including

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problem-solving models, moral models, and developmental models. The author further discusses another standard, program accreditation by highlighting the advantages of such accreditation and note that the CSHSE has developed national accreditation standards for human service programs.

The chapter concludes discussing the importance of keeping abreast of changes in the field, and the significance of knowing one's limitations as they relate to the ethical issue of competence are highlighted (Standards 26 and 30 of NOHS’s ethics code). Make sure that as a human service professional you know your roots, can work side-by-side with other professionals, are committed to the field, and have a strong sense of ethical correctness. This is all a part of your professional expectation.

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