Client Concerns and Helping Skills
Cruz Cardenas Jr.
BSHS/305
May 5, 2014

Client Concerns and Helping Skills
Everyday individuals come across issues in life that cannot be resolved on their own. These problems keep those people from becoming productive citizens due to the many barriers that they encounter. Some of the issues can be anywhere from people not being able to meet their own needs, unable to reach self-sufficiency or economic stability, and individuals unable to cope with new problems in the modern world. There are many needs or requirements for social care as well, stemming from those that are unable to take care of themselves, social control for those who display inappropriate behavior, and rehabilitative services to promote self-help in individuals lacking independence. More specifically, many clients and communities struggle with childcare issues, which can sometimes be a huge burden on families. There are also those with debilitating diseases such as AIDS/HIV, domestic violence, homelessness, lack of education and skills, physical disabilities, mental illness, substance abuse, sexual and verbal abuse as well as individuals recovering from natural disasters. For decades now, people have asked the human services professionals for assistance in learning how to cope and overcome obstacles while growing as a person by strengthening their own abilities and becoming more productive and resilient.
As a helper, the human service professional is responsible for providing a variety of services focusing on prevention while also maintaining a quality of life for individuals, families, and communities. In order to become a positive and influential provider, the human service professional must display great values such as a great listener, while also being tolerant, accepting, and supportive. One of the key things the provider must be able to do is to communicate effectively, but at the same time have empathy towards the client and be extremely flexible. Flexibility is important in order to provide the best treatment possible. There are times that the client might need to contact you in an extreme situation and as the helper; you want to make sure you are available. The human service professional needs to be committed 100% so he or she can provide the best treatment available in order to assist throughout the healing process or betterment of the client. Without any of these characteristics, the helper will not be effective in the helping process. It is very important that the provider is a well-rounded and experienced individual if he wants to make a difference in someone’s life. Ultimately, one of the most important things a helper must do is to empower the client to become self-sufficient.
The helping process can occur in different settings, whether it is a formal or informal setting. Helping through any means enables the helper and the client to develop a helping relationship (Woodside, 2011, pg 194). As a helper, be well prepared prior to the arrival of your client. You need to set the tone and remove any barriers that will prevent you from establishing a relationship with the client (Woodside, 2011, pg 196). In order to be effective greatly depends on the on the skills of the helper. Communication between the helper and the client is the key to producing positive results between both parties. Some of the different ways that communication can take place is by sending a message to another person with the conscious intent of affecting the receiver’s behavior, which can be a verbal or nonverbal message such as body language (Woodside, 2011, pg 201). Another important skill is listening. Being able to listen and respond accordingly is crucial in building a relationship with the client. Active listening is not only about hearing words but also pay attention to the client’s nonverbal communication in order to pinpoint any underlying thoughts or feelings. Showing attending behavior is another way that the helper can let the client know that the helper is paying close attention to their concerns. This type of attention involves making eye contact, asking inviting questions, being attentive, and keeping focus on the topic of concern. Asking questions is also an important skill that helps human service professionals in assisting their clients. This technique can help set the tone and encourage the client to open up as long as the helper does not ask too many questions. Sometimes asking too many questions interferes with the helping relationship. Helpers should use questions to begin an interview, to obtain specific information, to seek clarification, to elicit examples of specific behavior, and to focus the client’s attention (Woodside, 2011, pg 207). Due to a diverse population, human service professionals now have to take a multi-cultural approach when dealing with clients of unfamiliar cultural backgrounds. The helper must know something about the different cultures and be accepting and understanding of their views. When dealing with reluctant clients, the helper is forced to soften the environment by discussing matters such as confidentiality, time limits, and expectations (for the client as well as the helper) that can help demystify the process (Woodside, 2011, pg 214). Working with clients that have resistant behavior can pose complications in the helping process. The human service professional might use a different strategy to get the client engaged and ask questions regarding his or her expectations of their current situation and solutions to the problem. Other skills include setting boundaries for overly demanding clients, and establishing rapport with the silent and unmotivated clients. As previously mentioned, the effectiveness of the helping process is fundamental to the work of helping others. This is also dependent on the skills the human service professional possesses. These skills enable the helper to provide assistance to individuals, families, and communities in crisis while helping them to cope and find solutions to their problems. Having specific characteristics such as being a great communicator, tolerant and accepting also allows the helper to be effective and to have a positive influence on the client. These tools are the key to success when human service professionals are confronted with and might have to handle the different situations that may arise when assisting various clients.

Reference List
Woodside, M. (2011). An Introduction to Human Services (7th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.