Attributes of Competent Helping Professionals

Attributes of Competent Helping Professionals

Section 1: Introduction

A helping professional must be honest in their ability to assess their strengths and weaknesses. The helper should realize that who they are is the most incredible instrument for their roles are the helper. One should have interpersonal skills that can help them. One should be caring, and the care should be demonstrated through doing what is suitable for the welfare of the people one is helping (Corey & Corey, 2021). One should also show hard work and dedication, as seen in their willingness to be with the client throughout their recovery. One should also be open-minded and able to work with people from different cultural backgrounds and beliefs (Geroski, 2016). The helping professional should give their respect to these people who might have a different mindset from them. A helping professional should also take care of their life in totality, which is their spiritual, physical, and mental life. These are also the same things the helper should ask the clients. Finally, a helper should have their life philosophy since it helps them strengthen their values.

Section 2

Based on the video activity, I believe I am ready for the helping profession because I do not prioritize the finances attached to the work. Also, I think that I am prepared to be a Helping Professional because I am driven more towards wanting to help people, seeing people’s lives change, and serving people without bias (Geroski, 2016). I also feel that I am ready to work as a Helping Professional because my scores in the area of cultural competence show my ability to accommodate any client with different backgrounds and respect their cultural beliefs and understanding (Corey & Corey, 2021). I am prepared to handle clients from different backgrounds and clients with divergent views. I also believe that I am prepared to offer clients the right and best direction to improve their lives. The one area that I find challenging is working with difficult clients. I still need to learn more and be prepared to work with difficult clients.

Section 3

From the discussion in this chapter, it is evident that developmental stages are essential in the overall outcome of an individual. In other words, any challenge or negative impact on any of the stages affects the overall outcome. Also, the developmental stages are greatly affected by family. As such, their growth stages define a person’s overall belief and character within their family circle (Berk, 2017). The family also plays a very key role in development. Therefore, the stages of development may influence how the client responds to counseling and the help offered. On the other hand, the developmental stages also affect the helping professions because it also determines how the helper will feel when interacting with the people they are helping (Berk, 2017). For instance, a person whose development process killed their confidence will also have little confidence in themselves when offering help.

People can change long-established behaviors if they get the right direction, motivation, and persistence. For instance, some people have a smoking habit or have shot tempers, yet through counseling and helping the person have the right replacement, they can change their long-established behavior patterns.

In addition to academic coursework, I need professional training in cultural diversity and family counseling. As much as I am comfortable with working with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, I need to learn the professional approach to working with such people (Corey & Corey, 2021). Professional training in family counseling would be helpful for me when working with families and younger clients.

Section 4

I would find it difficult to work with a client with relationship challenges and use the helping sessions to familiarize me as a professional. There are instances where one can meet a client wanting to develop a romantic relationship with me as a professional (Berk, 2017). Sometimes, a professional and persistent resistance to such advances may annoy the client, or the client may ignore them (Geroski, 2016). In such a case, the best decision is to refer the client to another professional. The professional thing to do is to cut off from such a client since, ethically and legally, engaging in a romantic relationship with a client is not good. At the same time, a rude response or behavior that would affect the client psychologically is also unethical.

Section 5: Conclusion

From the information gathered in the text, I have learned that the helping profession is very challenging. However, I have learned that my character and values make me fit for this profession. Most importantly, I love helping people and find that helping professionals will make me feel I am in the right profession. I have also learned that I still need to be trained in some areas. School counseling and social work are the top of my interests in the helping profession. Of these two, I prefer to work as a social worker. The three attributes I believe I have that can help me succeed are: 1) Empathy will help me understand my clients and accept them as they are. 2) Endurance will help me through the challenges and hardships of this career. 3) Strong values will help me act professionally and show respect to my clients and fellow professionals.

References

Berk, L. (2017). Exploring Lifespan Development. United Kingdom: Pearson.

Corey, G., & Corey, M. S. (2021). Becoming a Helper. United States: Cengage Learning.

Geroski, A. M. (2016). Skills for Helping Professionals. United States: SAGE Publications.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and Chapter 5 of your textbook and review the Week 1 Instructor Guidance. Then, review and complete each of the following learning activities in MindTap to prepare for your assignment:

Attributes of Competent Helping Professionals

Watch Chapter 1 Video Activity: Are the Helping Professions for You? and answer the question that accompanies the video to receive instant feedback on your understanding.
Read Chapter 1, Case Study: You Decide—Are the Helping Professions for You? and respond to the questions taking the role of a counselor.
Watch Chapter 2 Video Activity: Helper, Know Thyself, and answer the question that accompanies the video to receive instant feedback on your understanding.
Read Chapter 2, Case Study: You Decide—Helper, Know Thyself, and respond to the questions taking the role of a counselor.
Read Chapter 5, Case Study: You Decide—Common Concerns of Beginning Helpers, and respond to the questions taking the role of a counselor.
Competent helping professionals actively engage in honest self-exploration and self-assessment to maintain an awareness of their strengths and limitations. Beginning this self-exploration early in one’s career development can provide useful information for career decision-making. Awareness of how one’s personal characteristics and experiences shape one’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and actions can aid in understanding how they may respond to different types of clients. For this assignment, you will write a two- to three-page paper in which you apply knowledge gained from your chapter readings and the completion of the MindTap learning activities.

To successfully complete this assignment, you must organize your paper so that it includes each of the five sections detailed below. The required section heading titles have been provided for you below in the parentheses in boldface.

Section 1 (Introduction)

Compose a one-paragraph introduction to your paper relevant to the main topic of the ideal attributes of competent helping professionals. Be sure to review the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center’s resource Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site..
Section 2 (Are the Helping Professions for You?)

Summarize what you learned from Chapter 1 Video Activity: Are the Helping Professions for You? and Chapter 1 Case Study: You Decide—Are the Helping Professions for You?
Provide a personal evaluation of how prepared you feel you are to enter one of the helping professions based on any feedback received by participating in these activities and the information discussed in your textbook. In what ways do you feel prepared, and in what ways do you feel unprepared? Support your points with relevant information from the textbook and additional scholarly sources, including APA-formatted in-text citations and references. In this section of your paper, it is appropriate to use 1st person voice. See the First vs. Third Person links to an external site. Resource for additional guidance.

Section 3 (Helper, Know Thyself)

Summarize what you learned from Chapter 2 Video Activity: Helper, Know Thyself and Chapter 2 Case Study: You Decide—Helper, Know Thyself. Based on any feedback received by participating in these activities and information discussed in your textbook, including any insights you gained from these learning activities about how life stages impact clients and helping professionals. Support your points with relevant information from the textbook and additional scholarly sources, including APA-formatted in-text citations and references. In this section of your paper, it is appropriate to use 1st person voice. See the First vs. Third Person links to an external site. Resource for additional guidance.
Your summary should also include a paragraph addressing each of the following questions:

To what extent do you believe it is possible for people to change long-established behavior patterns?
In addition to academic coursework, what types of professional training or personal development experiences would aid you in working effectively with families or individuals of different age groups, genders, cultures, religions, and so on?
Section 4 (Common Concerns of Beginning Helpers)

Summarize what you learned from Chapter 5 Case Study: You Decide—Common Concerns of Beginning Helpers. Then, envision a client who would be extremely difficult for you to counsel and the ways this client could present challenges for you. Based on any feedback received by participating in this activity and information discussed in your textbook, describe how you would determine your competence to work with this type of client from an ethical perspective and from a legal perspective. In your summary, address the following questions:

What would make this individual difficult for you to work with?
What behaviors or attitudes would cause you to want to refer a client to another professional?
In this section of your paper, it is appropriate to use 1st person voice. See the First vs. Third Person links to an external site. Resource for additional guidance.

Section 5 (Conclusions)

Compose a one-paragraph conclusion as described in the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center’s resource Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site.. Include in your conclusion a summary of the extent to which you are interested in a career in the helping professions. Specify the career(s) you are considering and identify the top two to three attributes you believe you have that can aid your success in that career. Apply key learnings from activities in Sections 2, 3, and 4 of your paper to inform your summary of areas where further development is needed. If you are not considering a career in a helping profession, state why and provide a summary of at least one career you are considering. Describe the top two to three attributes you believe you have that can aid in your success in the career(s) you are considering. Include a summary of areas where further development is needed. Include citations from your textbook.
In this section of your paper, it is appropriate to use 1st person’s voice. See the First vs. Third Person links to an external site. Resource for additional guidance.

The Attributes of Competent Helping Professionals paper

Must be two to three double-spaced pages (500 to 750 words) in length plus a title page and at least an additional page for references (total four to five pages). Your assignment must be formatted according to APA StyleLinks to an external site. as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA Formatting for Microsoft WordLinks to an external site. Resource. Consider using the University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center’s GrammarlyLinks to an external site. Resource.
Must include a separate title page with the following:
Title of paper in bold font
Space should appear between the title and the rest of the information on the title page.
Student’s name
Name of institution (The University of Arizona Global Campus)
Course name and number
Instructor’s name
Due date
Must include the subheadings provided in the instructions (Introduction; Are the Helping Professions for You?; Helper, Know Thyself; Common Concerns of Beginning Helpers; Conclusions).
Except where explicitly stated that 1st person voice may be used, must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice links to an external site. Resource for additional guidance.
Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
For assistance on writing Introductions & ConclusionsLinks to an external site., refer to the Writing Center resources.
Must use the three assigned chapters in the course text chapters required for Week 1.
Additional scholarly sources may be included. The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source.
Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your PaperLinks to an external site. Guide.
A separate references page must be included that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References ListLinks to an external site. Resource in the Writing Center for specifications.