Discussion 5

The Human Services Professional

The human services professional is an individual who is driven to succeed in helping

people and organizations perform at an optimal level. The human services professional

must have an array of knowledge and a skillset that helps them understand people, both as

individuals and within groups. This requires knowledge of a variety of factors in human

behavior. The human services worker must be familiar with human development, how

culture and society impact behavior and the influence of economic structures on human

behavior. The human services worker can fill a variety of roles all of which are designed to

create optimal patterns for the people and organizations that the human services worker

serves.

The Human services professional must be able to show competency in the following areas:

Knowledge of human systems and organizations, knowledge of the conditions that are

conducive to the highest functioning in human systems, Being able to identify what types

of interventions will help to bring about the highest functioning in a given human system,

the ability to have a strategy to implement and analyze the effectiveness of interventions,

consistency in the application of appropriate interventions, having excellent process skills

to both plan and implement services.

By harnessing these competencies along with personal abilities in the form of

communication and planning skills, the human services professional helps their clients to

reach their goals and be happier, healthier individuals and more effective organizations.

The human services professional can perform this task in a variety of setting from direct

service, to planning and implementation of public policy or in a clinical setting.

How Human Service Professionals are a Service to Society

Human service professionals assist individuals, families and members of groups and

communities in renew their capacity to function as individuals and in society. The human

services professional also helps individuals and organizations to reach peak efficiency by

implementing interventions and services that help to ensure peak performance. Human

service begins with an understanding of how interactions between individuals and groups

or organizations impact the individual and help or harm their functioning and abilities to

attain goals. Working with individuals or groups, human service professional’s work with

individuals to understand and optimize their capabilities, ability to cope and problem

solving skills to maximize their effectiveness. By helping the individual or organization

implement structural changes through interventions and services the human services

professional creates an environment where optimal results are most likely to occur.

Human Services Impact on Society

The impact a human services professional has on society is very significant. The impacts of

the human services professional are felt throughout society from, to elder care, education,

public policy planning health care and criminal justice. The human services professional

performs a variety of critical services that makes the individuals and organizations they

impact operate at a more efficient, healthier and safer level. The entire community benefits

from the tremendous impact of the human services professional.