The differences between human services professionals and non-professionals are the services
they provide to the client. All services offered should show a commitment to the client and
concern for their well-being no matter what capacity they are servicing. From my experience
in the field, some non-professional services would include transportation drivers, custodians,
cooks, and volunteers, all providing services catered to improving the quality of life for an
individual. So whether intra-agency or inter-agency, they are organized services that provide
services to meet the needs of the individual. Working as a team in the human services field is
crucial. Whether working as a professional or non-professional, you should provide
outstanding services. Lives depend on you to have a helping relationship because they require
assistance to help them navigate life. It would help if you understood the needs of the
population you serve to be an asset in their lives. They are counting on the services they seek
out. So the differences are the services they provide and the similarities they are working
collectively to provide services to improve an individual's life.
Human service professionals differ from other professionals within the same agency as the
background and requirements of each professional are different (Woodside, 2018). An
example of this would be a community mental health center.
Those administering therapy to clients and groups of individuals would require certifications
and education in psychology and human services. With that, there are legal aspects of the
organization as well. The mental health center may have a legal department where these
professionals would require a law degree and possibly additional experience in the
psychological field. In addition to that, the center may offer medication services. In order to
provide such services, the center must have a psychiatrist which is a medical doctor who
specializes in mental illnesses. In order for the agency to run efficiently, administrative service
professionals would be present as well. These individuals would have a background in
administrative duties such as planning & coordinating and general office management.
In addition to professional functions of the community mental health center, there could be
non-professionals such as volunteers. These individuals are considered as resources available
to the agency (Woodside, 2018). Volunteers would need to be trained and evaluated for where
their time can be best utilized. This could be as simple as comforting in a peer-to-peer support
capacity or community outreach as this can be more effective than professionals reaching out
(Chaplan et al., 1966)
Professionals and non-professionals of an organization should operate in symbiosis. All
functions within an organization are necessary to be successful and provide for the needs of
the client. Mental health professionals, therapists/counselors, and psychiatric workers should
work in congruence in providing therapies and interventions to their clients. The legal
department would be a resource to the organization to ensure they are operating within legal
guidelines. Administrative professionals work with mental health professionals to ensure the
organization is operating efficiently. Volunteers work with administrative and mental health
professionals to ensure they are enhancing and supporting services appropriately.
Comparing human services professionals and professional helpers that work in the same
setting, the similarity I came up with is the environment. Working in the same office. The
professional and professional helpers also work with the client. They may both share the
client’s demographic information. There are many roles that each individual plays in the care
of a client. A volunteer may be there to officer assistance with needs the client may have, an
example would be if the client is in a wheelchair, pushing the wheelchair, or helping to fill out
paperwork. There may be an abundance of office staff. The receptionist checks in clients and
makes appointments, others may be checking insurance and handling billing, and other staff
may handle referrals. Different educational degrees may come with different positions. Then
we have the professionals, a doctor, psychologist, and counselor whose primary focus is
helping clients and addressing their needs. The roles of human services may differ from each
other when it comes to the tasks they perform and how they help the clients. The similarity is
they all have the same goal: to provide the best care they can and meet the client's needs.
Human services professionals are similar to the other professionals in the same agency
because they all there to help the client eat in some way shape or form. They differ when it
comes to how they contribute to helping the client or what stage in the process they help the
client. These roles are different when it comes to other non-professionals because the
volunteers will not hold any specific certificates or degrees to perform their role. Professionals
and non-professionals are the same because they too are working toward the same goal which
is to help the client. One was volunteers are different is they might had out food or handout
clipboards to people coming in at health fair pop up. This can assist the professional so that
they can focus on client and providing resources for them. Both are assisting clients and
making sure needs are met.
Both, human service professionals and other professionals revolve around the same goal, to
address the client's needs. They both essentially revolve around the client. There would be no
need for either if the client didn't have dilemma or necessity.
Non-proffesional helpers differ for a few reasons. For instance, some are inexperienced or
lacking in proper training. Another may be lack of credentials, certification or education. Last,
most non-professional helpers are temporary or seasonal.
Cooperation is needed if we want to work collaboratively. Understanding that we are all there
for the same reason, the client. We must let go of our ego's and realize that we function more
efficiently when we work as a team.
Human Services Professionals and other professional helpers are similar because they all
focus on. serving families and their meeting their needs. They are also similar because they
rely on other professionals for resources and assistance in servicing the client. Human services
professionals and other helpers are different because professional have a broader role where
they may advocate or mobilize for their clients. Other helpers may consist of specialist who
can be licensed, or have a degree from and educational institution. Human service
professionals and other professional helpers are similar to non-professionals because the
overall job function is to provide services to the community around their place of employment.
They are different because non-professional helpers may consist of police, volunteers,
hairdressers, or bartenders. Although their essential role is providing services to the
community their role differs from human service professionals because they may lack
trainman in helping. Also, they may be given training to prepare for their role, whereas
professionals typically know and have experienced what is needed in their role.
In order to work collectively and build relationships with other professional and
nonprofessional workers in the agency, there must be a level of trust and respect for each
essential role. Also, following policies and rules would allow for the majority to work
collaboratively. I believe knowing the role expected and not over stepping anyone would also
allow for others to work together. Overall, I believe whole heartedly, working collaboratively
consists of acknowledging the importance of everyone's role whether professional or non-
professional. Expressing the importance of everyone's positions and appreciating their role no
matter how major or limited their role may be. If the goal and focus is to serve the client, I
believe everyone should work together to help them.
In general, it is observed that the human services professional works along with other
professional helpers in the same setting who are all broadly concerned with serving
communities, individuals, and families to remediate problems, improve quality of life, and
coordinate services through a multidisciplinary approach. Overall, these professionals must
look at the whole person as their duty. Usually, plenty of overlap is observed between the roles
of professionals working in the field of human services when having an all-encompassing
mission. The human services professionals work with other professional helpers with years of
experience and specialized training. Other professionals in the same agency often have
supervised clinical experience and graduate-level training in helping skills and theory, but
sometimes the credentials and training of these job roles vary based on the specific
requirements (Woodside & McClam, 2014).
Many non-professional helpers in the same agency may offer basic human service functions,
including volunteers, natural helpers, and community caretakers. Here, the Volunteer role is
taken as one great example of non-professionals in human services who use their talents and
time free of charge, have little concern for monetary gain, and have a sense of social
responsibility. It has been identified that the same mission is followed by both human service
professionals and non-professional helpers, that is, to meet the client's specific needs. I would
like to acknowledge the necessity of every position in the same agency to work collaboratively
with both non-professional and professional human services. I would like to utilize my
experience and knowledge, and I would ensure to reach out to more experienced individuals to
learn many new things from them. A constantly evolving role is found in human services, so I
believe it would be imperative to be open to the ideas and opinions of others in the agency and
interact with others by using my communication skills. However, It is important to follow the
chain of command and reach out to the higher position holders to make some creative results
for human services.
References
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2014). An introduction to human services. Cengage
Learning.
Woodside, M. R., & McClam, T. (2018). An Introduction to Human Services (9th ed.).
Cengage Learning US. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781337671262
Chaplan, A. A., Price, J. M., Jr, Zuckerman, I., & Ek, J. (1966). The role of volunteers in
community mental health programs. Community mental health journal, 2(3), 255–258.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01419690
Woodside, M. R., McClam, T. (2018). An Introduction to Human Services, 9th Edition.
[[VitalSource Bookshelf version]]. c Retrieved from vbk://9781337671262
