Skills & Characteristics
Skills & Characteristics of Mental Health Human Services Workers
BSHS/471
December 24, 2013
Skills & Characteristics of Mental Health Human Services Workers
Personal characteristics of a human services professional can be both essential and detrimental for success. Essential characteristics of a professional do not make the job easier. However, they create a higher tendency for the professional to work successfully with clients. An open-minded professional recognizes differences between themselves and clients. They treat those differences with respect and include them in treatment according to the clients’ desires. Judgment can be appropriate in a human services setting. For example, a counselor may judge a recently relapsed client by revoking privileges within a clinic. Patience is the most essential characteristic. A professional must be able to deal with relapses in negative behavior. They cannot let human weakness impede progress. Professionals who choose the human services field in order to help people make genuine progress with clients. They maintain connections that benefit both parties.
Detrimental characteristics of a professional do not make the job impossible. However, they can impede a professional’s relationship with their client when unchecked. A narrow-minded professional does not recognize differences between themselves and clients. They assume that differences result from a harmful lifestyle on the clients’ behalf. Judgment becomes inappropriate when it results in ill-informed assessments of the client. For example, judging a mother as incompetent without a full assessment is inappropriate. Impatience from professional to client can cause the professional to rush the clients’ progress. Internalized impatience within the professional can cause a lot of mistakes. Professionals who choose the human services field mainly for money make artificial progress with clients. The quality of their work is usually lacking. On the one hand,
BSHS/471
December 24, 2013
Skills & Characteristics of Mental Health Human Services Workers
Personal characteristics of a human services professional can be both essential and detrimental for success. Essential characteristics of a professional do not make the job easier. However, they create a higher tendency for the professional to work successfully with clients. An open-minded professional recognizes differences between themselves and clients. They treat those differences with respect and include them in treatment according to the clients’ desires. Judgment can be appropriate in a human services setting. For example, a counselor may judge a recently relapsed client by revoking privileges within a clinic. Patience is the most essential characteristic. A professional must be able to deal with relapses in negative behavior. They cannot let human weakness impede progress. Professionals who choose the human services field in order to help people make genuine progress with clients. They maintain connections that benefit both parties.
Detrimental characteristics of a professional do not make the job impossible. However, they can impede a professional’s relationship with their client when unchecked. A narrow-minded professional does not recognize differences between themselves and clients. They assume that differences result from a harmful lifestyle on the clients’ behalf. Judgment becomes inappropriate when it results in ill-informed assessments of the client. For example, judging a mother as incompetent without a full assessment is inappropriate. Impatience from professional to client can cause the professional to rush the clients’ progress. Internalized impatience within the professional can cause a lot of mistakes. Professionals who choose the human services field mainly for money make artificial progress with clients. The quality of their work is usually lacking. On the one hand,