Human Services Reflection

In this paper, I will be reflecting on what I have learned during this course about human services and systems thinking. This will include human service definitions, themes, and the history of the helping profession. Additionally, I will write about the models of service delivery, system approach to people, relationships, and organizations. Finally, I will conclude with where I am now as I consider a career in human services and where I would like to be in the future with my involvement in human services. In the textbook called, “An Introduction to Human Services” written by Marianne Woodside and Tricia McClam (2015) the authors write about the six perspectives that make up the human services definition. They are themes and purpose of human

This relationship is oriented towards assisting the client to meet their own needs. Helpers must also be aware of client’s culture and religion during the relationship. It is essential to understand the management principles in human service delivery which define how services are delivered. The principles help the professionals to be effective and efficient when assisting clients. The roles and activities of the human service professional are provided in a variety of settings. The professional must have a broad education and be willing to adapt to changing circumstances (Woodside & McClam, 2015, pp. 13-23). In the journal article called, “Defining Human Services” written by Chaim Zins (2001) the author further discusses how the human service profession has frequently changing social conditions and social norms. This creates confusion defining the field and an adequate definition is needed based on a solid theoretical foundation which can be done through critical analysis of the concept of human services. There is literature available which offers numerous definitions of human services, but they are generally not accepted and can be misleading (Zins, 2001, pp.

The author discusses the American welfare state during a period of undergoing reorganization. There was an explosion of for-profit human service corporations due to the corporate sector exploiting the postindustrial human services market. This create domination in such areas as nursing homes, hospital management, health maintenance organizations, and home care. The first corporate movements into the social welfare were primarily health care. Then the movement expanded into child-care and corrections markets also. This caused a struggle for the non-profit agencies in the voluntary sector to maintain competitive in the welfare market (Stoesz, 1988, p.