Roles and Skills Assignment #1

HS2860 Mrs. Dritsky

Taylor Sowell 02-14-19

There are three Roles of the Human Service Worker that I have mastered. As these are

incorporated into our practicum experiences, I have had many opportunities to practice these skills in

my daily life and practice as a Human Services Professional. The Skills I will be identifying include: Crisis

Intervention, Group Facilitation, and Orientation/Education/Prevention. These skills have been

imperative to my success as a worker in the field. During my time at Golden Ciphers, I have been blessed

to be apart of many programs and instances that have given me a new perspective and a way to

cultivate these skills.

Crisis Intervention was an easy choice, because it is a part of my daily experiences at Golden

Ciphers. In working with any persons, not just youth, there are instances when life’s experiences get

overwhelming, and one may be unable to process basic information. In such a circumstance, change is

not possible for the client. Knowing how to deescalate a situation and help restore clarity to a client is

essential to Crisis Intervention. Because of my experiences at Tri-c, and Golden Ciphers, I am able to

pinpoint an individuals’ needs and help be the bridge that allows them those essential moments that

can lead to functionality once again.

Most of the clients I work with at my practicum site are youths between the ages of 12 and 17.

They have not yet developed fully, and sometimes are more easily susceptible to a state of crisis.

Sometimes, because of their personal lives and situations, they experience crisis at a more frequent rate

than others. Because of this, it can be difficult when several of the youth are experiencing crisis at once.
I feel as though my experience in class and through the work I’ve done at Golden Ciphers has brought

me many lessons that I have also used in becoming better at that very skill.

For example, yesterday at group, one of the girls was having a very difficult time adjusting to the

instructions given to her in the drum circle. She became hyper-aware of the group’s attention to her in

that moment, and she threw herself into an overly emotional state within a few seconds. Once I saw the

change in her affect, I immediately recognized the signs, and excused us both from the group. Upon

getting her isolated from the situation that triggered her, I was able to have her state in her own words

how she was feeling. Having her shift her focus to her breathing, as well as recounting the incident in

her own words helped me re-align her to a healthier state.

Because of my intervention, she was able to see where she had assumed some things that

allowed her to further her feelings of anxiety, instead of recognizing and addressing them. While we

were together, I reminded her of some helpful tools we had went over last week, and I made sure she

had eaten and had enough rest since last night. Often times during a state of crisis, and individual will

not take care of themselves, which can lead to more issues. Instances such as these have aided me in

becoming a Human Services Worker that prides herself on her ability to assist others in crisis.

For my second choice, Group Facilitation, it has been a matter of practice that has helped me

become the lead facilitator in our high school demonstrations. In cultivating the Group Facilitation skill, I

have become more of a leader, more assertive, I have higher standards, I am more conscious of my

content and information I disperse. I am more readily able to lead discussions, and to organize

information. With the group facilitation skill, I was able to acquire that skill once I had been at the center

long enough with the youth. Once I knew enough of the “house rules”, I was entrusted to shadow some

staff at a group demonstration given to youth at the Detention Center. It was realized soon after my first

visit that I was a natural, and that Group Facilitation was a skill I already had a space for in my
professional toolbox. By incorporating my public speaking skills, I was able to get a quick feel of my role

as a facilitator.

I like being able to have an agenda, a standard, rules for a group, the connectivity and

communication skills that group work promotes, I love giving clients a safe space to explore their

thoughts and feelings with others, and Group Facilitation includes these and may more beneficial

aspects of therapy work. Most of my practice has been hand-on. As a facilitator, I have had groups of

varying sizes, my largest being about 20 individuals in attendance. I can recall moments where I was

afraid to speak up, or utilize my authority as leader of the group, and since then I don’t even think of

those things when working. Aside from practice facilitating groups, I have cultivated this skill by studying

theories and methods of Group Facilitation. Also there have been specific instances in my previous

classes where we have role-played or even done immersive Q and A’s that help give a Human Service

student perspective and insight. There have been multiple resources such as videos and scenarios

available to us to discuss, all of which have been instrumental in the cultivation of this skill.

Lastly, I have chosen to touch on the skill listed in our paperwork as

“Orientation/Education/Prevention”. I chose this specifically because my educational/learning

experience during the past two years has been multi-dimensional. I have learned, in several different

forms, how to take parts of my experience as a student to cultivate these skills. For example, I am

constantly educating myself on information and knowledge relative to the field. Yet, there is no “best”

way to educate another person, as we all learn differently. We do not all receive information the same

way because our experiences and interests differ. As a Human Services Worker, it behooved me to

familiarize myself with several ways to reach others. Being flexible and staying empathetic to those I am

working with has helped me understand education from a different perspective, and exploring that idea

has allowed me to reach more than just a certain population.

 Golden Ciphers is a prevention-based organization. Most, if not all of the work we do is centered

on connecting our communities and family structures. We use education in our efforts, and they are

furthered by our program implementation, and the demonstrations we give. We are able to reach our

population in the ways that we do largely in part due to the fact that we use our culture as a sort of

road-map. By utilizing our past and our history as a learning tool, we are helping the youth to develop a

strong sense of self-identify. This is absolutely necessary when developing a character that allows the

room for rational decision-making that honors one’s authentic self and purpose. The use of drugs and

alcohol have the opposite effect.

It is sometimes difficult to get the youth to comprehend the gravity of some of the lessons they

will face in their adult life. However, these instances have allowed me to develop my orientation skills. I

have become someone who is comfortable with introducing information and helping those new to the

facility become familiar with our organization and what we do. It Is through these experiences that I

have become a more competent worker in the Human Services field, and through the integration of

these skills that I will become even better.