WORKSHOP 8 - UNDERSTANDING THE HELPING ROLE

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he most effective professional to address this subject would be a clinical social worker, either self-employed or from a quality community agency. He/she has the best skills to manage groups, especially if some hostility surfaces. He/she is not the punitive protective worker or the welfare case worker who controls resources for basic needs. He/she is not the medical person who is often perceived as unable to understand the needs of the poor. He/she should understand and respect the roles of others in the professional helping community. With understanding and respect for the fact that families in poverty can easily become victims in a very confusing system, this professional will be a valuable resource for the trainees.
WORKSHOP 8 - UNDERSTANDING THE HELPING ROLE Exercise 1: Setting the Agenda

Exercise 2: Guest Speaker Presentation

PROGRAM EVALUATION

EVALUATION QUESTIONS

Background

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ocial programs serving families in long-term poverty receive positive and negative reviews from their clients. At times, families living in poverty have been deluged by service providers trying to "help" but creating more chaos or problems. The barriers of poverty have often made the professional's helping role ineffective. The provider's advice may have even added new stresses to the life of the client, increasing feelings of discouragement. Parents have heard about children taken away from neighbors or relatives. Residents have heard of individuals going to therapy and then dropping out because they thought the therapist was ineffective. The service provider is not always at fault; sometimes the circumstances were not accurately reported as the story got back to the neighborhood. At other times, however, an overworked or inexperienced provider who did not understand the issue at hand may have made a mistake. Confused families often avoid seeking professionals, concerned that their services may do more harm than good.

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any educators and consumers do not understand the different roles of service providers including protective social workers, clinical social workers, psychologists, welfare case managers, and other helping professionals. With the confusion has come disappointment and hostility as those who become involved in families do not appear to be doing the job expected of them. In some cases, the providers are doing what is expected by the agency, but this may be seen as unfair by the family involved. There are times the provider cannot accomplish his/her task because of the chaos at hand (either in the home or in the bureaucratic system). At other times, the family at risk simply does not cooperate and problems escalate. In some cases it seems that providers do not have enough background or knowledge to implement an effective intervention. Understanding the role of each type of helper and what is fair to expect of him/her may clear up some misconceptions. A clearer understanding of roles and chain of command when there is a problem will also be helpful should problems arise during a crisis situation.

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rainees need to understand where their helping role stops and when professional intervention is needed. If trainees take on problems that require clinical intervention, they will soon burn out. Worse still, if they do not refer to professionals, a person at risk could hurt him/herself or others without proper intervention. Knowing when to encourage professional intervention and awareness of the best available services is important. With a clear understanding of their helping role, Master Teachers will enjoy the community involvement more fully.

Goal:

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o help trainees understand the roles of professional helpers in the community. To encourage effective use of professional expertise when it is needed to address difficult community problems.

Objectives:

- To promote an understanding of the roles of professional helpers within the community;

- To promote a clear understanding of the role of the trained volunteer helper versus the role of the professional clinical helper when working with a family in crisis;

- To provide a forum for discussion of problems, real or perceived, for which both positive and negative intervention outcomes have been reported in the targeted community;

- To provide information about quality helping agency services available in the area.

Materials Needed:

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efreshments, handouts from area agencies, newsprint listing the four topics for discussion as identified in the objectives, other materials as requested by guest speaker.

Exercise 1: Setting the Agenda

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ssues related to the helping professions can be plentiful and, for some trainees, painful. By introducing a specific issue to be discussed this workshop will continue to be an educational training, rather than a counseling session to address specific personal agendas.

1. Post a newsprint list of the items to be addressed at the meeting. Encourage the group to keep these topics in mind throughout the discussion.

2. Introduce the guest speaker. Explain his/her role as a clinical social worker in the community. Include reasons why you felt this particular guest would be effective in addressing items on the agenda.

Exercise 2: Guest Speaker Presentation

1. Ask the guest speaker to identify specific resources he/she views as especially effective in addressing families in need of support. Ask the group to suggest helpers they view as effective.

2. Encourage the group to pick up handouts available on a resource table to put in their notebooks.

Closing the Meeting

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emind the group that the next meeting will focus on substance abuse. Give a brief summary of the credentials of the next speaker and encourage the group to be on time so the topic can be covered fully.

PROGRAM EVALUATION

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sk the group members to fill out an evaluation form. Remind them that the evaluation will help you be more effective. Ask meeting participants to leave the evaluations with you as they go.

EVALUATION QUESTIONS

1. Which type of helping professional would you look for if a teen is considering suicide?



2. What is one new piece of information you learned this evening?



3. What would you like to know more about?



4. What is one thing you would change about this workshop?



5. What is one thing you liked about this workshop?



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