Collaboration entails building relationship among individuals who are inter-depended with the strong partnership to meet a specific need in a community. This requires a high level of dialogue, understanding, trust as well as good communication skills by way of thoughts and operations. Professionals outsource their services to self-help groups in the society so as to enable the locals to access services efficiently. Therefore, for a collaboration exercise to become successful, there has to exist excellent information sharing technique to avoid misinterpretation among the participants so as to work harmoniously. Parties involved in a collaboration activity should have frequent communication for the gentle flow of ideas so as to improve awareness and enhance understanding of ideas among parties involved. It should also be noted that professionals also have a lot to learn from families that seek help in their centers as this will enhance their experience of addressing family issues at first hand. Therefore, collaboration is an important aspect of efficiency, safety, and competency in the well-being of human life and the society as a whole.
In the research articles, The Full-Service Community School Model by Wilma Peebles-Wilkins and Effective Professional Collaboration with Family Support Groups by Richard T. Wintersteen and Leslie young illustrate how professional collaborations work. In the first article, social work services partnered with local schools to meet children’s educational needs. The programs are centered towards addressing crisis intervention, family literacy, and leadership development. Services are offered through professionals partnering with self-help groups to enhance student learning and facilitation of school health services. This collaboration also saw parents take part in programs such as the family literacy program where they were taught English. Through this collaboration a relationship was forged among parents, social workers, and students, making it possible to meet the moral and educational needs of children and families. The second article outlines how research has proved that collaboration is more productive compared to individual participation. It explains ways families can cope with mental illness and how professional collaboration helps since affected families are able to receive services such as therapy, encouragement and participate in family programs which equip them with skills to handle mental illness cases. Such cases go a great length to show that collaboration is of great importance in the shaping of societies.
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Collaboration is vital to the way people work by way of innovation and service delivery. Collaborative relationships work because parties combine effort and expertise such as professionals and family support groups partnering for the benefit of the community. Collaborative efforts may differ depending on the circumstances from resolving community disputes, managing environmental pollution or engaging in rehabilitation programs such as alcoholism and depression. The two research articles depict how professional collaboration apply in getting an amicable solution. When a family member suffers from depression, most families do not know where to first seek help. This leads them to the local family support group center in the area who offer expert knowledge on depression, services such as therapy and leadership lessons to those affected. Family members are taught coping strategies such handling stigma as part of the collaborative effort through the family participation programs. Professionals may also learn some information about how families handle members battling depression.
Human services professionals work under tense and stressed environment and their clients are always in compromising positions. Human services professionals should be open-minded, in that, they should be ready to take in people from all walks of life. They should not isolate anyone and instead create a relationship between them and the affected families. Human services professionals should possess deep knowledge and experience in their fields of work as this will help to manage and give better services for example when dealing with depressed patients. Collaboration between professionals and self-help groups in the local area will also open an avenue for self-help groups to learn basic skills which they might apply to handle a depression case if it occurs in future.
Conclusion
Collaboration plays an essential role in the development of a community. The distribution of professionals to various self-help groups in the society has proved to be resourceful. This is because a family in need of help will visit the nearest support group center in the community and get help from a professional. The principles that bind collaboration among self-help groups, the depressed and human services professionals are motivating in that they all focus on a common interest, which is the betterment of the community.
References
Pickett, S. A., Heller, T., & Cook, J. A. (1998). Professional-led versus family-led support groups: Exploring the differences. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 25(4), 437-445.
Shepherd, M. D., Schoenberg, M., Slavich, S., Wituk, S., Warren, M., & Meissen, G. (1999). Continuum of professional involvement in self‐help groups. Journal of Community Psychology, 27(1), 39-53.
