Description of the Helping Process
The helping process refers to the process where the human service professional empowers the client to define, strategize, and implement meaningful change. It involves a relationship between the human services professional and the client, which is based on trust and mutual respect. Different stages of importance are involved in the helping process. The first of these is active listening, and here, the counselor will listen carefully and also empathically to the client’s experience or story in order to gain an understanding of the main problem facing the client (Fook, 2022). The professional will then learn to think as the client and also feel and act like the client in the particular situation. Additionally, the professional will also gain an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the client as well as assets. The professional will aim to create a connection with the client in order to gain a complete perspective of the significant issues affecting the client.
The next stage involved in the helping process is problem identification, and here, the professional will be able to use different techniques such as open-ended questioning, reflection, and paraphrasing. The aim of this is to help the client to effectively identify and also clarify the main problem that is being faced. After this, the next stage is problem-solving. Here, the counselor will assist the client in defining goals which include what the client wants and how the client would like things to be (Fook, 2022). The professional also generates strategies to accomplish these goals concerning how the client wishes to attain these goals and make the client’s life better. The final step is follow through, and here, the counselor will provide the client with ongoing support and encouragement, as well as opportunities to examine their actions and gauge what worked and also what failed. Based on this examination, the professional will help the client to restrategize actions and also recognize their strengths and assets.
Role of Life Experiences and Beliefs in Dealing with Diverse Clients
My cultural roots have a major impact on my thinking concerning the helping process. My culture shaped how I see the world in myself as well as how I engage with others. It is because of my culture that I find it easy to interact with people from different backgrounds. Additionally, it has given me an intrinsic concern about the well-being of others. Because of my culture, I understand that people have different life experiences, some of which are good and some of which are bad (Rollins, 2020). Through this, I have been able to acknowledge the importance of the individual experiences of others. My life experiences and beliefs have enabled me to work with people from different backgrounds and have a genuine interest in understanding the situations that they face in their lives. It has also given me the necessary adaptation to dealing with people who have different experiences in their lives. Because of my life experiences, I have been able to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds, which has been valuable to me in the span of my career.\
It has also been evident that my beliefs often influence the suggestions that I make to the clients. Often, I impose my beliefs and core values on the client with the aim of helping them find a solution to the issues that they are facing. These beliefs directly affect my approach to counseling and the techniques that I use to counsel the student. My beliefs shape my understanding of my own life story as well as my reaction to different scenarios facing the client. It is because of this that I realize that I am prone to make decisions concerning the client based on my personal beliefs (Rollins,2020). Concurrently, my beliefs also lay the groundwork for the strategies that I usually draw in working with diverse individuals, families, groups, and communities. Many times, I base my strategy for solution formation on my personal beliefs or recalling issues that occurred in the past, as well as how I reacted to these scenarios. I then apply these strategies directly to the formulation of a solution for the client based on what I have experienced in the past or what I have been taught.
Essential Tasks to Human Service Professionals at Each Stage
There are various tasks of importance for human services for each stage of the helping process. In the stage of active listening, the professional will look to establish a working relationship with the client. The professional will need to listen to the client’s story to gain a personal understanding of the individual’s history and the main issues that are being faced (Specht & Vickery, 2021). It is the foundation of the remaining stages of the process, and the helper works on establishing a therapeutic working relationship with the client. The client is prepared to become actively involved in devising a solution to the main issue that is faced. The second stage is the identification of the problem. Here, the client will need to assess the client’s situation and define the present problem that is affecting the client and that needs to be dealt with to improve the client’s life.
It will be essential to investigate the significant issue that is affecting the life of the client, and this is through getting to hear from the client concerning the issue plaguing him or her and how this issue has affected personal progress. Problem-solving is the next stage, and here, the professional needs to identify and set goals that need to be achieved to ensure that there is an improvement in the life of the client. In this scenario, the professional works collaboratively with the client to determine possible solutions to the issues that are being faced (Specht & Vickery, 2021). The final stage is following through, and here, it will be critical to follow up on the life of the client and determine whether there are any improvements or challenges that have been faced in the client’s life. It will be critical to find out how the client has been able to respond to counseling and any other interventions, as well as what else may be needed if the quality of the client’s life is to be improved.
Biases or Prejudices That Might Interfere With Learning to Become an Effective Helper
In working with the client, the human service professional may face demanding clients or situations. Involuntary clients are the most difficult to work with, and this is because they may frustrate the efforts of the social worker. Many times, these clients will usually withhold information from the professional or refuse to cooperate, and this may be frustrating. There are various situations or issues which are very difficult and demanding for the social worker to deal with. For example, the social worker may find it challenging to deal with a situation of interpersonal violence in the family setting, where the client is the victim and refuses to cooperate in the devising of a solution (Sue et al., 2022). It is also tricky working in situations where the client is from a completely different culture, and this would bring barriers to communication or cooperation. Sometimes, it leads to misunderstandings between both parties, which hinder progress in the development of a solution. The best clients that the human service professional can encounter is one who is cooperative and totally committed to finding a solution to the situation that is being faced. Such a client will usually make it easier to realize positive outcomes in devising a solution.
The social worker will usually recognize challenges through personal experience in the field. It can occur by reading the environment in which one is working and identifying the main issues of concern that may hamper success in the scenario. Another way that the professional can identify a challenge is through inquiring with other individuals concerning the issue of concern. It can include asking other people in the environment concerning the perceived issue and their experience with it. In order to deal with these challenges effectively, the social worker will have to rely on experience as well as personal character strengths (Sue et al., 2022). It will be necessary for the professional to know their role and also how to deal with the issue at hand in an effective manner. Building relationships with others is also crucial and will enhance the realization of positive outcomes. In other situations, seeking support will be crucial, and this can come from others who have experience dealing with the particular scenario. These solutions will help enhance success and provide an environment of success in dealing with the particular scenario.
References
Fook, J. (2022). Social work: A critical approach to practice. Social Work, 1–100. https://www.torrossa.com/en/resources/an/5409542
Rollins, W. (2020). Social worker–client relationships: Social worker perspectives. Australian Social Work, 73(4), 395–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2019.1669687
Specht, H., & Vickery, A. (Eds.). (2021). Integrating social work methods. Routledge.
Sue, D. W., Sue, D., Neville, H. A., & Smith, L. (2022). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons.
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