Chastity Adams
Southern New Hampshire University
HSE-101
Professor Betancourt
1-2 Journal
Areas of Interest in Human Services
My interest in the Human Service field is to become a Substance Abuse/ or Mental
Health Counselor. This is a subject I am familiar with due to my own struggles in the past
with substance issues along with being diagnosed at a young age with a mental health
diagnosis. Since starting therapy or counseling at a very young age, I felt that none of my
counselors understood anything about me in no way shape or form because I couldn’t relate
to them in any way. The older I got along with changing counselors a few times; I finally
found a counselor that I could relate to too. I have discovered through my struggles and the
struggles of others in similar situations that when we can relate to our counslor we are more
successful in these tough situations. I have taken my struggles in turned them into a positive
thing because I would like to help child even adults who have been in similar situations as
myself become a success story and show the world that their disease of addiction didn’t hold
them back in life.
I would like to work in either inpatient or outpatient treatment centers, or in a hospital
setting that treats substance abuse along with behavior/ and mental health issues. I have
found through my own experiences that a hospital setting then moving to an inpatient/ or
outpatient treatment center gave me the best resources to be successful in daily life. I spent
most of my time during my adolescent years in a hospital setting, while there along with
going to the treatment center I felt like my counselors actually cared for me and my issues
that I was struggling with not to mention I could relate to the advice and situations they used
to help me.
Things I would need to familiarize myself with to provide the best care to my clients
would be resources and services, such as job placement services and support groups in the
community. I will also need to familiarize myself with different coping strategies so that I
can help my clients learn to cope with stress and life’s problems in ways that help them
recover, along with help clients improve their personal relationships and find ways to discuss
their addiction or other problems with family and friends. I would need to familiarize myself
with the court system in case some of my clients are court ordered by judges or probation
officers to receive treatment. The biggest issue I need to be familiarized with would be
treatment plans so that I can be better prepared to help my client be a success story.
References
Substance Abuse Counselor | Human Services Education - Human Services Edu. (n.d.).
Human Services Edu. https://www.humanservicesedu.org/substance-abuse-counselor/
Psychology: a Human services profession - Human Services Edu. (n.d.). Human Services
Edu. https://www.humanservicesedu.org/psychology/
Social and human service assistants. (2024, August 29). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-and-human-service-
assistants.htm
