Human Services: Counseling and Assessment

Question 1: Burnout

Burnout can be conceptualized as a syndrome whose genesis is chronic work-related stress that has not been managed successfully ( Korunka et al., 2010 ). The prolonged and excessive stress results in mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. Individuals experiencing burnout often feel emotionally drained, overwhelmed, and lacking the capacity to meet life's constant demands. Continued stress causes the individual to lose motivation and interest in undertaking a previously chosen task.

Three key dimensions characterize burnout. Firstly, the syndrome results in feelings of exhaustion and depletion of energy. Secondly, victims experience amplified mental distance from their job or cynicism or negativism in relation to the job. Thirdly, the professional efficacy of burnt-out individuals is reduced significantly. Burnout reduces its victims' productivity and depletes their energy, causing them to feel hopeless, resentful, and helpless ( Korunka et al., 2010 ). Burnt-out individuals ultimately end up feeling like they have got nothing to offer.

Several factors are responsible for causing burnout. Notable among these include lack of control in the workplace, unclear job expectations, workplace dynamics that are dysfunctional, a chaotic or monotonous job, limited social support, and lack of a work-life balance ( Korunka et al., 2010 ). The adverse effects of burnout often extend from the workplace to the victim's home and social life. If not addressed, burnout can cause long-term alterations to one's body, thus increasing their susceptibility to various diseases. Therefore, it is advisable to treat burnout immediately it is diagnosed.

Supervisors can play a vital role in the prevention of burnout amongst employees. To achieve this, they can employ several strategies. Firstly, they can create a supportive work environment ( Korunka et al., 2010 ). In such an environment, employees feel cared for and valued. They are also comfortable seeking help whenever they need it. The supervisor can show compassion through constant communication, acknowledgment, and recognition. Secondly, the supervisor should be quick to spot burnt-out employees and take action immediately. Thirdly, the supervisor ought to create awareness amongst employees about the resources available to them whenever they need help. Fourthly, the supervisor can encourage self-care, and lastly, boosting workplace well-being.

Question 2: Stigma 

Stigma entails discrimination or negative attitudes towards an individual based on such an attribute as disability, health condition, or mental illness. Social stigmas are also often associated with characteristics like culture, religion, race, sexuality, or gender. Stigma is thus a negative stereotype ( Goldbach et al., 2015 ). The implications of stigma can range from serious to devastating. 

This negative stereotype results in a limited understanding from others, which is not only painful but also invalidating. Other more serious implications of stigma include its ability to fuel anger, fear, and bias towards others ( Goldbach et al., 2015; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016 ). Individuals towards whom stigma is directed experience a wide range of problems. These include social rejection, isolation, and avoidance; reduced well-being; poor understanding among family and friends; bullying, violence, and bullying; disability, elevated socio-economic burden; and deteriorated quality of life; and lastly, self-doubt and feelings of shame.

Human services workers can help to alleviate stigma through the development of inter-disciplinary stigma interventions ( Goldbach et al., 2015; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016 ). Besides social work, the disciplines to include in these interventions include nursing, economics, medicine, psychology, public health, business, criminal justice, anthropology, public administration, and law. These interventions have to be targeted at different levels, including local, micro, and macro. 

The human services workers would lead the interventions in four different ways ( National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016) . Firstly, they can identify and address the structural factors that drive stigma. Secondly, they can advocate for the stigmatized and dis-empowered individuals and groups. Thirdly, they can work directly with both institutions and communities to help reduce prejudice and discrimination. Lastly, the human services works can form partnerships with individuals from the marginalized groups with the aim of empowering and thus helping them to reduce or resist the effects of stigma.

Question 3: Empathy

Empathy refers to the ability of an individual to emotionally understand the feelings of others, see things from their perspective, and, lastly, imagine taking their place ( Raine & Chen, 2018) . An empathetic person is one who puts themselves in another person's position and thus feeling what that person must be feeling. Empathy is rooted in peoples' bodies, brains, and their evolutionary history. There are three forms of empathy, namely, affective, somatic, and cognitive ( Raine & Chen, 2018 ). 

According to Raine & Chen (2018), a ffective empathy is concerned with the ability of an individual to understand the emotions of others and to respond to them appropriately. This understanding is not only emotional but may also cause an individual to feel increasingly concerned about the well-being of others. It may also arouse feelings of personal suffering. Somatic empathy, on the other hand, entails having some form of physical reaction while responding to the experiences of another person. It is a physical experience in response to another person's possible feelings. Lastly, cognitive empathy refers to the ability to understand the mental state of another person as well as their possible thoughts regarding a given situation. In psychology, cognitive empathy can be conceptualized as thinking about what another person is thinking about. 

Empathy is important in that it allows individuals to build social connections with others. Through an understanding of what others are feeling and thinking, an individual can respond to social situations appropriately. Strong connections help in promoting both psychological and physical well-being ( Gerdes & Segal, 2011; Raine & Chen, 2018). Empathy also assists an individual in regulating his or her emotions. This is important because it facilitates the management of feelings, especially in stressful situations, thus preventing one from being overwhelmed. Lastly, empathy aids in promoting helpful behaviors. Individuals are inclined to be helpful whenever they encounter empathy.

Question 4: Interdisciplinary Nature of Human Services

Interdisciplinarity cannot be decoupled from human services. This is because the field entails using unique approaches to meet the needs of humans. In order to achieve this objective, interdisciplinary knowledge is requisite (Kras, 2016). The interdisciplinary nature of human services has both opportunities and risks. 

With regard to opportunities, interdisciplinarity helps practitioners in knowing how to explore areas that go beyond their disciplinary boundaries. Human services workers often have to deal with complex issues. In this case, interdisciplinarity helps them to not only innovate but also to be flexible (Kras, 2016). Also, practitioners have to work with diverse groups of people in different locations. Interdisciplinarity arms them with a variety of experiences and perspectives hence preparing them for success. On the downside, the diversity of experiences and perspectives may cause frictions, thus slowing down the implementation of important interventions.

Question 5: Ethics

Ethics refer to the tenable standards of wrong and right that dictate what people should do, often in the context of obligations, fairness, rights, particular virtues, and benefits to the society (Shafer-Landau, 2017). For instance, ethics entails the standards responsible for imposing reasonable obligations for individuals to refrain from such ills as slander, rape, fraud, stealing, assault, and murder. These standards also incorporate those related to virtues of loyalty, compassion, and honesty. Moreover, ethical standards cover those associated with the rights to privacy, life, and freedom from injury.

Ethics also entails the development and study of a person's ethical standards. Often, social norms, laws, and feelings can deviate from what is considered ethical (Shafer-Landau, 2017). Therefore, it is important for one to continuously examine his or her standards in a bid to ensure that they are both well-founded and reasonable. To achieve this, people have to continuously study their beliefs and moral conduct while ensuring that they live up only to standards that are solid and reasonable.

The importance of ethics cannot be overstated. In practice, the usefulness of ethics is anchored on their ability to influence human behavior (Shafer-Landau, 2017). For instance, when a person realizes that doing something is morally bad, then they are likely to stop it. However, it can only be considered irrational for them to continue doing it. In numerous instances, human beings are bound to behave irrationally. People occasionally take certain courses of action despite knowing they are wrong. It is due to this that ethics exists. In particular, ethics offers the basis for thinking about what is good and moral and what is not.

Question 6: Client Empowerment Model and Strengths Perspective

The manner in which professional counselors conceptualize or perceive clients and the issues affecting them is often an outward manifestation of the particular counselors' world view, training, and philosophy. The conceptualizations and conceptualizations affect the therapeutic methodology, client outcomes, and assessment either indirectly or directly. One such philosophy is the strength perspective. This philosophy is anchored on the narrative that both counseling and the planned outcomes ought to be based on the recognition and use of the clients' strengths as opposed to their weaknesses (White, 2002). The strengths perspective is thus closely linked to several theories, key among them being client empowerment. Specifically, the client empowerment model is based on the idea of the therapeutic development of the clients' strengths.

Based on the strengths perspective philosophy and client empowerment theory, counseling relationships are based on the notion that the client is his or her life's expert. Based on this understanding, the client is better placed to discover and put his or her strengths into use. A clinical and philosophical link exists between client empowerment and strengths perspective (White, 2002). This is because empowerment entails helping clients to discover the power in them, which requires the counselor to recognize the clients' strengths. Emphasis is also placed on the fact that each individual is unique and has inherent dignity. By acknowledging and supporting the role of each party in counseling, a healthy relationship is developed between a counselor and his or her client. To maintain this relationship, the counselor has to be genuinely engaged in the relationship and regard the client positively. He or she should also be empathetic and maintain open communication.

References

Gerdes, K. E., & Segal, E. (2011). Importance of empathy for social work practice: Integrating new science. Social work , 56 (2), 141-148.

Goldbach, J. T., Amaro, H., Vega, W., & Walter, M. D. (2015). The grand challenge of promoting equality by addressing social stigma. American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare .

Korunka, C., Tement, S., Zdrehus, C., & Borza, A. (2010). Burnout: Definition, recognition and prevention approaches . Boit.

Kras, N. (2016). Creating an Interdisciplinary Human Services Program. Journal of Human Services , 36 (1).

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Ending Discrimination Against People With Mental and Substance Use Disorders: The Evidence for Stigma Change.

Raine, A., & Chen, F. R. (2018). The cognitive, affective, and somatic empathy scales (CASES) for children. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology , 47 (1), 24-37.

Shafer-Landau, R. (2017). The fundamentals of ethics. Oxford University Press.

White, V. E. (2002). Developing counseling objectives and empowering clients: A strength-based intervention. Journal of Mental Health Counseling , 24 (3), 270.