One theory that human service professionals use when working with
clients is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The theory proposes the idea
that the needs of an individual exist in a hierarchy with the lowest
level needs being physiological such as food, clothing, and safety
while the highest level needs include social relationships and self-
esteem (Woodson & McClam, 2018, p. 201). According to the theory,
the higher level needs can not be addressed if those of the lower
levels are not met. One example of the theory’s application in the
work of a human service professional would be their work with
clients who lost their home in a natural disaster. In the short term,
meeting the physiological and safety needs such as food, clothing,
shelter, and water is of the highest priority to the helper. When an
individual is in such a life threatening situation, they are not thinking
about esteem needs or self actualization (Woodson & McClam, 2018,
p. 201). That comes later on in the helping process as clients have
their higher level needs met once their lower level ones are taken
care of. This comes in the form of moving the clients from shelters to
permanent housing, helping them return to work, and providing
therapy to deal with the long term psychological effects of the
experience on the client.
References
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2018). An introduction to human
services (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
