Human Service Professional
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Human Service Professional
I want to work within the human service field as it aligns with my purpose and meaning in life. My goal in life is to help others regardless of their situation or their abilities in life. The idea of helping people has always resonated with me since I was a teenager after I volunteered under a mentorship program in helping people with mental disabilities. The satisfaction I got from helping the individuals and seeing them rise above their challenges helped me realize that helping others was my life’s goal. Therefore, working in the human service field aligns perfectly with my purpose in life, specifically in mental health services and social services.
My values are to connect and communicate with people as well as showing kindness and compassion to others. The idea of feeling a genuine connection with people can result in unfathomable consequences, including intimacy and improved communication. It makes people feel connected to me and vice versa in addition to feeling significant. Also, fulfillment is one of my values. It gives me meaning and personal achievement whenever I can help others and put a smile on their faces. As for my goals, I hope to develop creative projects that will help me bring focus, reinvention, and joy in people who feel depressed or have some degree of mental disorder or social abandonment. I also strive to nurture relationships that support my value on connection and communication, as it helps me realize how I can help others.
The organization that conforms to my values and goals is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA’s mission is to promote improved health or wellness for the public through advanced behavioral healthy (SAHMSA, 2020). Ideally, the vision is to reduce the influence of substance abuse and mental illness in American communities. Substance abuse disorders are linked to mental disorders. In the United States of America, it is reported that those who experience mental illness have a history of substance abuse disorder. It gets worse if the person has both mental illness and substance abuse disorder (Melinda, 2018). The co-occurrence of the diseases can make living problematic, especially for teenagers and young adults. Therefore, addressing the disorders is pivotal for an individual to maintain a stable life, handle their difficulties, and relate to others (Melinda, 2018). If such issues are not handled, they can get worse along the way and make it difficult to help those in need.
SAMHSA works with individuals diagnosed with mental health illness and has a history or co-occurrence with substance abuse disorder. Primarily, the organization has set-up programs tailored for each cohort, including juveniles, young adults, and adults suffering from both illnesses (SAHMSA, 2020). The reason I would work with the organization is because of the achievement the organization has in the past, helping people with mental illness and substance abuse disorder. I have a close personal friend who has suffered through this traumatic stress, and the organization was pivotal in helping them the treatment intervention needed in assisting them to regain strength and courage in their life. Also, the organization’s values and mission parallel my values and goals in making a brighter America.
The services provided by SAMHSA are varied from treatment programs, practitioner training, programs centered on patients including behavioral welfare, integrated health solution, criminal and juvenile justice as well as drug-free workplace programs. The organization, in a nutshell, provides programs that are two-fold. The first is catered for the training of professionals to work in different programs that handle patients. For instance, training is done to provide early intervention for criminal delinquents while in prison, another ensures there is disaster preparedness for patients during calamities, especially how to handle their anxiety. The second involves the patients by providing the right professional in training for workplace drug-free environments and programs that boost early treatment interventions, among others. The services are essential in improving the lives of others because they allow people to gain the right services and professional help to alleviate their problems and to seek medical care. Accordingly, patients can find the right program for them. It can either be seeking rehabilitation and counseling or seeking counseling and training for work-preparedness. In other words, the services ensure they promote care, courage, hope, community-support, and reinvention for the patients.
The critical information provided about the organization through the website is the treatment location and the suicide helpline program. The two programs cater for substance abuse treatment location search and mental health helpline for patients (SAHMSA, 2020). Each program provides to each substance abuse disorder, including alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (SAHMSA, 2020). On the other hand, there is a suicide prevention program that seeks to provide available services for patients who feel depressed and have suicidal thoughts (SAHMSA, 2020). Also, the service line offers services in disaster distress, veteran crisis, and drug-free workplace. What stands out for me is the suicide service lines. The service line is available around the country, and it is a 24-hour toll-free, confidential line that allows anyone feeling depressed or suicidal can call. There is also the central helpline for SAMHSA, which offers 24-hour free service. Additionally, the organization provides specialized helpline services for veterans, alcohol drug abusers, and drug-free workplace helpline that assist employees and employers in policy development on drug testing and education on substance abuse and mental illness.
Press releases by the organization include: the release of $ 15 million for COVID-19 behavioral health response, the helpline opens up to the South given the recent tornado hit, and the organization is providing guidance and resources to communities and providers affected during COVID-19 (SAHMSA, 2020). Programs include substance use treatment locator and suicide prevention lifeline (SAHMSA, 2020). In my opinion, the organization’s effectiveness in achieving its mission is at 8. The reason I state this figure is due to a lack of proper data provision on how well the organization is achieving its mandate to the public. The website praises the organization profoundly but, there is limited support on what is happening in communities, especially the minority communities, and how effective the organization is in handling the rise in substance use disorder and mental illness.
The skills I possess are active listener, have high emotional intelligence, and I am a critical thinker. As a person willing to work with individuals that have substance abuse disorder and mental illness, I am required to have high emotional quotient, which allows me to be self-aware, sanative to others, and empathetic. Also, I have critical thinking skills that are necessary when trying to understand the complex emotions of a human being and offering the best help to solve the problems of my patients. To do so, I need active listening skills, which allow me to listen intently to the needs of my patients. These skills will help me in balancing the need to know and be intuitive about the illness, symptoms, and needs of my patients.
The areas I could focus on are improving my inner strength. Working with these types of patients can be mentally exhausting and emotionally challenging. I must work on this skill to improve on the efficacy of my practice in caring for myself and my patients. I need to seek a higher degree in social services, which will guarantee me employment in handling patients under the treatment programs. I am only allowed to work with patients with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and depression if I have attained a higher degree, such as B.S. in social work.
References
Melinda. (2018, November 2). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Issues—HelpGuide.org. Https://Www.Helpguide.Org. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/substance-abuse-and-mental-health.htm
SAMHSA. (2020). About Us | SAMHSA – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved May 2, 2020, from https://www.samhsa.gov/about-us