Skills and Characteristics of Mental Health Human Services Worker

Skills and Characteristics of Mental Health Human Services Worker

There are not many people, whom I have worked with; that I could say, is an excellent Human Service Worker as Sarah Van Bortel. Sarah was working with the Mt. Hope Family Center in Rochester, New York, when I first had the opportunity to meet her. Her specialty at the time was working with children with mental health, and behavioral issues, with most of her patients from home life situations in connection with the Child Protection Services division of the Monroe County Department of Human Services, through the with the Mt. Hope Family Center which is dedicated to helping children and families improve their lives. Sarah clients range from the age of three to twelve and also works with sibling groups. Sarah has many different clients that have many different problem and behavior issues. Foster Children are the main focus in Sarah's clients.

The Center deals primarily with the through treatment, prevention, research, and training in the areas of human development, child maltreatment, and mental disorders in children and families, they provide the resources parents and children need to build strong, healthy family, and peer relationships. (http://www.psych.rochester.edu/MHFC). With the unique personality she poses, and the excellent communication skills, she built a cliental that has made her a valuable resource that could be utilized to give the care, and therapy that many children of Monroe County, New York are in need of.

The relationship that Sarah builds with the clients is like a lifelong friendship, and is in place until the client ages out, and or moves on in their life. Her relationship she builds using various

types of therapy, is one of trust, loyalty, parental strength, and genuine care for each of her patients. Sarah personalizes the treatment plans for each client through play therapy, allowing the child to draw on their current situations to express the feelings and emotions...

When it comes to working in the human service field, there are many characteristics and skills that are essential for a person to possess. While many of the characteristics are generally a product of ones upbringing, skills may have to be learned and refined over time. It is important for a person working in this field to be true and honest with themselves about these particular traits because they can ultimately determine the success of your career. A few of the characteristics that seem to hold the utmost importance are communication, patience, and empathy. In this paper we will consider why these traits are so important to the human service field and how a person can refine some of the skills needed to possess these particular characteristics.

Communication may be one of the most important characteristic of the three mentioned above. There are many people that have a hard time with communication. Whether it is public speaking, tone of voice, finding the right things to say at the right time, or simply having difficulty speaking with others, are all things a person may come across when working in human services (France, 2006). In the field of human services; communication is everything. Written communication, gestures, visual cues and speaking itself are all ways that human service workers need to be able to relate to patients and clients. Allowing yourself to become skilled at all types of communication will better help you, the human service worker, deal effectively with whomever it is you are working with. Communication is more than just speaking with someone. Many clients will have a hard time talking about issues and you may have to be able to look at their face or their eyes to see what it is they are trying to tell you. Other clients may have a sarcastic tone and a worker will then have to be able to determine what they are really trying to get across. Other clients may simply not

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