The fondest moment of helping was when I helped my best friend
through a tough situation. After she had her first baby she was
struggling with the change of life that came after having a child. She
would call me several time throughout the night panicking about
things that were not actually happening. I would visit her house to
help her through out the day. After the consistent night calls, I urged
her to inform her doctor of the things that were happening to her. Of
course, she denied that there were any problems. As hard as this was
for me, I feared the worse for her and her new born baby. I went to
her house after another frantic night call. When I got there she was
adamant that the baby was screaming and I tried to talk to her as he
slept in my arms. I was very worried and was forced to make a
horrifying decision. I called the police and had her 302. They took her
to the hospital and she was immediately admitted for an involuntary
treatment. She was diagnosed Postpartum Psychosis. The disorder
was causing many unusual behaviors. I kept the baby with me until
she was released. She stayed for 42 days before they released her to
an outpatient therapist. a Thankfully, the medication, a wonderful
medical team, and family support has helped her to make a full
recovery. 2 years later and she is better than ever before.
It was very hard for me to understand what she was going through. I
had a child and did not experience any of what she had experienced.
Since this situation was ver personal to me, it was very hard to make
some of the decisions I made. In the textbook, it mentioned different
stages of the helping process. Compared to the helping process
mentioned in the textbook, my way of helping was similar.
Stages of the helping process
• Preparation
• Client Arrives
• Exploring the Problem
• Intervention Services
• Ending Client Services
I evaluated the situation first. I gave ample time for her to try and
figure the problem out on her own. When I noticed the situation
progressing negatively I decided to intervene. I feel that when I did
intervene some of the problems began to ease, but the struggle was
still there. When the problem was out of both of our hands we
decided to agree on the placement of the baby and what her goals
were after she got well. All in all the helping process definitely was
similar.
References
Woodside, Marianne, R. and Tricia McClam. An Introduction to
Human Services. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (9th Edition).
Cengage Learning US, 2018.
