Implications for Social Work Practice - Essay Example

 Implications for Social Work Practice Abstract This paper looks at the definition of human services and the different forms that human services take. It also aims to explain how society views individuals with human needs. This paper researches further on the attitudes that individuals and society have towards people in need of human services. It explains how our views are shaped by our individuality as well as the society we live in. It concludes by giving personal views on human services needs and what has shaped them or the experiences we have had and how we can develop a self directed human services support for individuals with human services need. Human Services Human services have been defined by different scholars but there is a general guideline that it refers to jobs whose aim is to provide a particular service to society and in particular during the time of a crisis. It is a service provided to people so as to help in their stability on life as well as get self-sufficiency usually by counseling, guidance, treating and providing their basic needs (Woodside & McClam, 2011). Human services usually refer to a wide variety of services such as education, social welfare and healthcare such as mental services. These are services rendered to individuals or groups in society. These services are provided in order to meet their basic needs since all humans have needs but others are in more need than others due to their health status. Human services addresses the needs and problems that people have either as individual or collectively as a group. These services facilitate the daily lives of the needy groups such as the sick, poor and the elderly by enabling them to function and cope with life. Human services have programs as well as facilities that aim at meeting basic welfare of society. These services have been categorized as health, personal social services, education, housing, income transfer and employment training (Neukrug, 2002). Human services are disseminated through programs and policies. Their delivery is through a system which involves laws and regulations. As Woodside & McClam (2011) states, human services will address the problems people are having with either society at large for instance deviance, in organizations such as poverty and unemployment, with primary groups for instance divorce and difficulties amongst individuals themselves be it mental or emotional. They use a unique approach towards the objective of human services by integrating an interdisciplinary approach in focusing on how to prevent as well s get remedies to problems affecting the overall quality of life in society population. Human service practitioner works to enable individuals or groups prevent or alleviate as well as are able to cope with stress, change or a crisis. The goal of human service delivery is to have people live more productive and satisfying lives through utilizing resources, knowledge and innovation within the society (Diller, 2007). The professional in this field uses practice model to deliver and assess services. The model is based on the principle that environment, service and people are an integrated entity. The professionals work is to facilitate change and growth either indirectly or directly and focus on goals, objectives and tasks. Attitudes towards Clients of Human Services Individuals and groups have different needs and thus require different approach to services delivery. Over time, societies have viewed them with mixed reactions as well as emotions. Attitudes include both stereotypes and prejudices and thus can determine how we treat others. Culture and color has been shown to have an impact on the attitudes that we have on clients of social services. Atrinson in 1983, documented a report that clients prefer to have helpers come from ethic groups they belong to, to them it gives them a sense of safety as well as familiarity (Neukrug, 2002). People of color are underrepresented in the helping professionals in US and thus lack of non white provider has seen underutilization of health services for the mentally change among people of color. In 1979, only about 3% of American Psychological Association members were none white (Neukrug, 2002). Ayón (2014) noted that since 1994, little has changed with only an increase to 4%. There is a perception especially on the mentally handicapped patients as being troublemaker. He also observed that staff labeled clients in accordance to their predominant behavior, this negative feeling increase resentment from both parties. Labeling was also another attitude that society had on groups that require special attention such as the destitute and homeless where the society views them as thieves .This labeling has an effect on the labeled population and the result can actually be the manifestation of the labeled behavior. There was an attitude on clients who have some physical abnormality. Clients are seen as favorable depending on their physical likeability and attractiveness, there was a common belief that behavioral change and development of skills in these groups can only be done after change in their appearances physically. The views we have on clients in need of human services are shaped by our individuality and the culture of the society we live in. The mentality and notion that we have about a client is depended on us that is how we have perceived them. We can give positive help to clients through listening to them and reaffirming them on way forward. From the individual perception ,our culture and the socialization processes that we have gone through play a role in how we view the clients how are seeking for human services (Diller, 2007). Where our belief and norms end as individuals we join the large cultural diversity of the society. In this respect, our views are often influenced by the values and importance that the society attaches to the human services. For instance it has been observed that due to bias that exist between white and non white in US, minority groups do not go to receive mental health care services on time. Clinician bias prevents people of color from accessing, utilizing and receiving proper mental care. In some cases, the culture of the society determines if one is to seek care and help, the type of help and care they seek as well as the support they receive socially. The stigmatization that occurs around clients of human services is determined by the socialization process that individuals have gone through in society. The society is embedded through its culture which has attitudes and the belief on how people who seek human services should be treated (Diller, 2007). Stigma was deemed the biggest obstacle by people who seek human services needs. For instance in the case of the elderly some would opt to save some money especially in westernized society to be able to cater for their medical bills and care than be put in the homes for the aged. Stigma towards family members makes them have a low self esteem and also damages their relationship with others. For instance, in Asian cultures, mental illness is often associated with the poor (Diller, 2007). This makes other people in that society not seeks medication attention until they have shown severe symptoms. For individual and society that has many stereotypes about certain group, they tend to handle the human services that a particular group needs with bias which later results into discrimination. This discrimination can result either from variation in skin color or ethnicity. Discrimination has been propelled by both individual and society and this affects how we treat people who are outside our racial background despite the fact they need human services. It has been observed that in US, the statistic on clients who need human services especially in mental health is high for whites than for African-Americans because of discrimination by individual and society (Ayón, 2014). He also noted that with or without intention, they don’t seek diagnosis and treatment on mental health unless with severe cases. Choices and decisions that we make strongly reflect who we are as individuals in the society. Ability to make decisions gives us an opportunity to express our desires, our views, what we think is important in life and express our personalities. These are the attributes that influence my personal views for individuals with human services need. It is important to note that decision making forms a key point in determining the ultimate satisfaction of these individuals. The outcome or results of decisions whether good or bad has a bearing on learning and ultimate growth of individuals with human services need. I strongly believe that by involving these individuals through the process of making decisions they can enrich their lives by gaining confidence, experience, knowledge and empowerment. Moreover, when individual with human services needs are not given the right to make their own decisions, they are actually being denied their human rights. A self directed approach to services for individuals with human services need will make their support easier and simpler. This would include services at the hospitals, schools, and play for children and participation actively in the society. As stated by Diller (2007), this would also eliminate bias, stigmatization and discrimination against individuals with human services need. It is important to note that services for individuals with need differ from one individual to the other and involving them would be useful in delivering efficient and effective customized services. This approach would also change the role of individuals with human services needs in that rather than being just the recipients of services, they become active participants in the planning for the support that they feel would effectively meet their goals and needs . In this kind of approach, the services providers and the department of human services retain the responsibility of ensuring that the services are of high quality in order to realize the desired outcome. However, their role would be limited to providing support and advice to individuals with human services to exercise as much control and choice over their life as possible. My decisions have been influenced mainly by the experience and the need to offer services that correspond to individual needs. We have discussed how society and individual perceptions can impact on individuals with human services needs. Most of these impacts can be well managed when individuals themselves are involved in making decisions on how they can be well served. This is only possible through a self directed human services support. However, this support would require assistance including access to information advice on alternative choices and their respective implications. These would require corporation not only from the service providers but also from other members of the society including parents, guardians and teachers for school going children with human services need. References Ayón, C. (2014). Service Needs among Latino Immigrant Families: Implications for Social Work Practice. Social Work, 59(1), 13-23 Diller, J. (2007). Cultural Diversity: A primer for the Human Services (Fourth Edition). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Neukrug, E. (2002). Theory, Practice, and trends in Human Services: An Introduction (Fifth Edition). Belmont, CA: Cengage learning. Woodside, M. & McClam, T. (2011). An Introduction to Human Services. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Read More