Values, Beliefs, Clinical Gestalt with Indviduals, and Systems

My Values, Beliefs, Gestalt Systems BSHS/322 Communication Skills for the Human Service Worker

My Values, Beliefs, Gestalt Systems Many influences on a person’s life privately and professional can come into play when working with clients in the human service profession. In the helping profession we need to take into account our experiences, cultural up-bring, and communities where we lived in. Just as much as those play a part, our clients are reflecting the same thing when they come to see us. They are looking at us through their beliefs and values. There are many types of helping professions. Social work, counseling, human services and, psychology fall into these categories. All of these professions work very closely with one another. We may be working with multiple professionals when seeing clients. My personal ideas of the human service profession were very narrow at best when I started out in school. I knew that working as a human service worker was broad but the profession goes out even further. It can be a guardian ad litems, child protective services, child advocates, teachers who teach adolescents how to cope with grief. I was amazed to see how broad of range that fell under the human service profession. My professional assumptions were more court-based settings. There are many class options as well as the office settings. There are a few other outside options for people. My personal and professional values play a large role in how I will be able to help my clients. I was raised in a family where communication was not always done openly. Over time my value of communication was changed. Over time through experiences our values will changes as we are exposed to different situations and also as they are challenged, just as my communication value changed. I learned that being open and honest was more important than not communicating. As I got to know other people, they showed me the importance of communicating. Now I come home and communicate just as I have learned. I may not always get the response that I am looking for but I am aware that I have done my part in sharing what was on my mind. We will find this in our professional interviews as well. Not everyone will have the same values as you. We may end up working with a person who is not from our culture, or country. They may not have been raised in the same manner and will open up our eyes to a larger picture of shared human values (Murphy & Dillon, 2011) Whenever we are looking out into the society the things we grew up with are presenting themselves through us. How we were raised in our families. The things we learned in school and how we were taught teaches us how to process things. The friends we hung out with also influence how we do things now. All the experiences we have had through life’s lessons continue to make us who we are in the present time. Our families instill culture from other generations. My mother’s family was very strict and very religious. We were forbid to eat with our elbows on the table, and hats under the chair. If we started eating before our grandfather, or before everyone else that was at the table we were in trouble. We also were taught if you were late it was rude and inappropriate. So all of this influences how I work as a person today. This will influence how I work with my clients as well. Some parts of our culture may be easy to recognize, such as skin color or the language that you speak. Other parts of your cultural background are hard for others to know about unless you choose to tell them or they ask you. Some of these differences are spiritual practices, healing practices, family customs, and holiday celebrations (Practice Innovations, n.d.). What is accepted as normal and not normal influences how we work with clients in various settings. I was raised in a house where everyone was equal. In my grandparent’s house this was very different. My grandfather was raised when slavery was going on so African Americans were not considered equal. It is important to an open mind when dealing with different cultures, races, and people that everyone was raised with what they consider to be normal. We must keep open communication with our clients for this purpose. What we see as normal dressing, normal speech and what is normal in public or private may not be normal for a different culture or even age group. In the human service profession, we may deal with many different types of clients. Children will need a different form of counseling then an elderly client. A woman who has been abused will need a different treatment plan then a woman who is struggling to support a family because she is a single parent. With the experiences had I am going to have a stronger ability to relate to children going through a divorce and empathize with them. We are going through this in my family right now. I will have a stronger idea of how to handle families who have lost loved ones. As I have gone through the process with my parents, as they have lost their parents. I will not be able to work as effectively on those who are abused or going through emotional trauma as I have not had as much experience with that in my life. This will give me an area to expand my experiences with other coworkers, teachers from class, students, and friends who have worked with clients in those areas. Another area that I have been looking into for continued education is US Department of Health and Human Services. They offer a wide variety of programs for students. These include the student training to acquire real-life skills program (STARS). Here students get on-the-job training while still going to school and learning academically as well. There is the student temporary employment program (STEP) that has a variety of jobs available while the student is still in school. These may range from summer employment or even employment while the student is in school for the whole time (US Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). As we continue with our career paths it is very important that we continue to realize that our personal and private lives do influence what we do as human service workers. Things that have happened in our pasts develop who we are as individuals who we are today. We must be open to many different cultures because we will be working with people from Asia, Mexico, Germany, and Canada. We just never know who we will come in contact with. It is our job to help individuals see there are people who care about their well-being and provide a safe place for them to learn and grow.

References Murphy, B., & Dillon, C. (2011). Interviewing in Action in a multicultural world (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Practice Innovations. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://practiceinnovations.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=8z/lUTKozrc=&tabid=126 US Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/careers/student/index.html

References: Murphy, B., & Dillon, C. (2011). Interviewing in Action in a multicultural world (4th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Practice Innovations. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://practiceinnovations.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=8z/lUTKozrc=&tabid=126 US Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/careers/student/index.html