Human services professionals have education and training in their
fields, whereas non-professional helpers, such as volunteers, do not
have specified training. However, professionals and non-
professionals can be found working together in human services
agencies as they all have the same goal of helping the client. They all
have an important role.
Sometimes, it's the non-professionals who can quickly make clients
feel welcome and understood. I have interacted with professionals at
different agencies who had extensive training in their field, and were
amazing at tackling a problem and finding resources, yet weren't as
welcoming as their non-professional team members. However,
working collaboratively made it all work out. I think it's important for
team members to learn the strengths and weaknesses of their team
so that they can all find the best way to work together with the skills
they have to best meet the needs of the client.
References:
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2018). An Introduction to Human
Services (9th ed.). Cengage Learning US.
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781337671262
