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Human Services

Purpose

Human Services is a profession that equips practitioners to serve clients in a variety of professional service settings and outreach organizations.  Human Services draws from a multitude of social arenas and enables practitioners to collaborate with doctors, medical staff, police, detectives, social workers and others professionals who help clients manage the complexities of their lives. Practictioners understand the diverse relationships and circumstances of clients’ lives and assist in their challenges, sometimes intervening for citizens experiencing substance abuse, crime or other victimizations.\

Like any other discipline, the field of Human Services requires students to think critically and write effectively.  Writing assignments allow students to demonstrate Standard Written English competencies and communication skills appropriate to various tasks.

Human Service practitioners aim to understand the larger contexts of individual and family circumstances to explore how the psychology of general human behavior as well as economics, race, class and gender may be involved.  They write for various audiences, perhaps advocating for clients in clinics, out-patient centers, hospitals, nursing homes. Practitioners publish articles for their peers’ review; they may write to politicians to support policy revision; they may gather research related data to present at conferences; and, as college professors, they prepare lectures and course plans.

Graduates of the human services program are prepared to assist clients in coping successfully with a variety of developmental concerns and in solving problems resulting from personal, social, and environmental stress. Graduates may be employed to work with a variety of populations including mental health, intellectual disabilities, substance abuse, aging or gerontology, domestic violence, youth service, correction or criminal justice, health care, recreation or fitness, and vocational rehabilitation. Graduates are qualified to work in a wide range of settings, including community services boards, social services, residential services, day support services, hospice programs, career and vocational counseling, and a variety of other non-profit settings.
Types of jobs for human services majors include Case Worker, Family Support Worker, Child Abuse Worker, Community Outreach Worker, Social Service Liaison, Mental Health Aide, Residential Counselor, Behavioral Mgt Aide, Intake Interviewer, Case Management Aide, Eligibility Counselor, Social Work Assistant, Psychological Aide, Adult Day Care Worker, Life Skills Instructor, Assistant Case Manager, Residential Manager, Social Service Aide, Group Activities Aide, Probation Officer, Case Monitor, Rehabilitation Case Worker, Child Advocate, Juvenile Court Liaison, Gerontology Aide, Community Organizer, Home Health Aide, Therapeutic Assistant, Youth Worker, Halfway House Counselor, Parole Officer, and Social Service Technician

The challenge for students is to think like Human Service practitioners and learn how to address writing tasks as advocates and supporters.

Research Papers and Writing Conventions in Human Services


Research in Human Services relies on the APA method of documentation:

Materials and Resources:                  

Types of Writing Assignments

 

Personal Reflections:

Students may be asked to write brief narratives that reflect their own experiences that may have led to developing interest in the Human Service field. Personal Reflections may be in narrative form, or the instructor may have a particular format in mind and will guide students through assignments.

Intake Narratives: 


Assessments: 

Treatment Plans/  Advocacy Plans/  Interventions: these are typically represented by  Case Notes or “Soap” Notes as follows:

How to Write Psychotherapy Case Notes in SOAP Format

By Samantha Volz, eHow Contributor

To effectively treat patients, doctors, counselors and therapists struggle to understand the needs and concerns of each person they see. This understanding can grow more difficult if a patient sees multiple counselors, because each counselor may have his own opinion of the patient's wants or needs. One solution to this problem is for the counselors to use the SOAP format for taking notes. SOAP stands for subjective, objective, assessment and plan, and according to the Journal of Counseling and Development, this format allows for precise documentation and for holistic expression of needs and concerns of each patient.
SOAP template:

  1. Start the notes with the date and time of the patient's interview or assessment, as well as the patient's personal information, including name, contact information, sex, age and emergency contact person.
  2. Complete the subjective section of the notes with information that the patient has related directly to you. This section includes opinion-based information from the patient: his feelings, concerns, goals for his therapy, etc. Include pertinent comments from friends, family, case workers or other people close to the patient.
  3. Write only fact-based information in the objective section of the notes. This information includes quantitative, verifiable evidence, such as what can be directly observed by the five senses and by scientific measurements. This can include the patient's appearance, any medical measurements taken and obvious behavior.
  4. Analyze the patient's behavior and problems in the assessment section of the notes. This section is often used to speculate a mental diagnosis or potential problems by combining the information from the first two sections and analyzing it with professional thinking.
  5. Create a plan for the patient's treatment and record it in the final section of your SOAP notes. This section often includes the date and time of the patient's next appointment, recommendations for interventions or notes of interventions attempted in the current session and a list of probable gains or goals based on the diagnosis and the client's attitude toward therapy.

Tips

When completing the subjective section of the SOAP, keep direct quotes to a minimum. You should paraphrase in order to best convey the patient's information in a brief assessment. Only include direct quotes if they pertain to potential harm for the patient or the people around him, or if they indicate a significant shift in mental state.

Many counselors use the phrase "as evidenced by" when documenting objective observations in order to back up their facts. The assessment section often includes "clinical impressions," which are a counselor's unofficial diagnosis or notes on what diagnoses to rule out during the patient's care. These must be carefully monitored, and always backed up with objective information, so that the counselor does not appear unprofessional.
Journal of Counseling and Development: SOAP Notes