1.5: Human Services Professionals Take on a Variety of Roles

Common Roles of Human Services Professionals

Over the course of their career, a human services worker at any one time may perform multiple roles to varying degrees. The difficulty for many professionals is that over time the roles that involve direct case work have lessened; often those in the helping field will find themselves in a position that involves little client involvement. One of the most difficult situations human services professionals will experience in their careers is the conflict they face while fulfilling some of the following roles often expected at one time.

Broker

A human services worker acting as a broker assists and links people with services or resources. In this role human services workers assess the needs of the individual while also taking into account the client’s overall capacity and motivation to use available resources. Once the needs are assessed and potential services identified, the broker assists the client in choosing the most appropriate service option. The human services worker as a broker role is also concerned with the quality, quantity, and accessibility of services. This role is expected to be up-to-date on current services and programs available, as well as familiar with the process for accessing those resources and programs (Zastrow, 2016).

Case Manager

A human services worker acting as a case manager identifies the needs as well as the barriers of their clients. Occasionally case managers may also provide direct service to their clients. Case managers often engage with clients who require multiple services from a variety of agencies and work with the client to develop goals and implement interventions based on the identified goals. human services worker acting as case managers remain actively engaged with clients throughout the process by identifying and coordinating services, monitoring identified services and providing support when necessary, and finally providing follow-ups to ensure services are being utilized (Zastrow, 2016).

Advocate

A human services worker as an advocate seeks to protect client’s rights and ensure access and utilization of services they are entitled to receive. Human services workers may perform advocacy work by advocating for a single client or by representing groups of clients with a common problem or identified need. They may advocate with other organizations/providers and encourage their clients to advocate for themselves in order to address a need or obtain a service. Advocacy is an integral and fundamental role in this profession as it is necessary to promote overall wellbeing. The National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) ethical standards (2024) require “Human service professionals advocate for social justice and seek to eliminate oppression. They raise awareness about systems of discrimination and inequity that affect historically minoritized and marginalized groups and advocate for systemic change to address these inequalities within their workplace, communities, and legislative systems." Human service professionals acting in this capacity may advocate in varying capacities but often times may find themselves in a position of educating the public in order to garner support to seek changes in laws that are harming and impacting the wellbeing of clients. Human service workers acting as advocates should always consider whether they are acting and advocating in a way that maximizes client self-determination (Zastrow, 2016).

Educator

Human services workers acting as a teacher or educator often help in times of crisis for many clients. In this role they help clients develop insight into their behaviors through providing education aimed at helping clients learn skills to handle difficult situations and identify alternative life choices. In this role human services workers aim to increase their client’s knowledge of various skills some of which include: budgeting, parenting, effective communication, and/or violence prevention (Zastrow, 2016).

Counselor

A human services worker acting as a counselor helps clients express their needs, clarify their problems, explore resolution strategies, and apply intervention strategies to develop and expand the capacities of clients to deal with their problems more effectively. A key function of this role is to empower people by affirming their personal strengths and their capacities to deal with their problems more effectively (Zastrow, 2016).

Risk Assessor

Human services workers acting as risk assessors have been given a major role in the assessment of needs and risks over a variety of client groups. Assessment is a primary role for human services workers and often times is what dictates the services and resources identified as needs for clients. Often time’s, when acting in this role, they find themselves in precarious situations as the relationship between the client and human services worker may be conflicting, especially when working in the mental health field. While working as a risk assessor in the mental health field the human services worker may experience conflict between encouraging client self-determination and addressing safety risks.

Mediator

It is common that human services workers act as mediators and negotiators as conflict is often a root issue. Human services workers acting in these roles are required to take a neutral stance in order to find compromises between divided parties. In this role human services workers seek to empower the parties to arrive and their own solutions in order to reconcile differences and reach a mutually satisfying agreement (Stoesen, 2006).

Researcher

A human services worker in the role of researcher or program evaluator uses their practice experience to inform future research. The human services worker is aware of current research and able to integrate their knowledge with the current research. Human services workers acting in this capacity are able to utilize the knowledge they have obtained through gathering and examining the research to inform their practice interventions (Grinnell & Unrau, 2010).

Group Leader

Human services workers who play the role of group leader or facilitator can do so with groups of people gathering for purposes including; task groups, psychoeducational groups, counseling groups, and psychotherapy groups. Task groups are like the name infers task oriented and human services workers facilitate that process by understanding group dynamics. Psychoeducational groups are led by human services workers who focus on developing members’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills in an area group members are deficient through integrating and providing factual information to participants. Human services workers who facilitate counseling groups help participants resolve problems in various areas that can include: personal, social, educational, or career concerns. In psychotherapy groups human services workers address psychological and interpersonal problems that are negatively impacting member’s lives (Corey, Corey, & Corey, 2014).

Attribution: Introduction to Social Work at Ferris State University Copyright © 2017 by andes109 and Department of Social Work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.