Lesson 9: What is Mental Health?

Attention

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

• Describe the difference between Mental Health and Mental Illness
• Identify where a Human Service Work could find employment
• Describe the term Human Service Professionals

Teaching

What is Mental Health? What is Mental Illness?

(Watch this video)

What does it mean to work in Human Services?

The field of Human Services is a broadly defined one, uniquely approaching the objective of meeting human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The Human Services profession is one which promotes improved service delivery systems by addressing not only the quality of direct services, but by also seeking to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies in service provide to clients.

Human Services Professionals

"Human services professional" is a generic term for people who hold professional and paraprofessional jobs in such diverse settings as group homes and halfway houses; correctional, intellectual disability, and community mental health centers; family, child, and youth service agencies, and programs concerned with alcoholism, drug abuse, family violence, and aging. Depending on the employment setting and the kinds of clients served there, job titles and duties vary a great deal. The primary purpose of the human services professional is to assist individual and communities to function as effectively as possible in the major domains of living.

A strong desire to help others is an important consideration for a job as a human services worker. Individuals who show patience, understanding, and caring in their dealings with others are highly valued by employers. Other important personal traits include communication skills, a strong sense of responsibility, and the ability to manage time effectively.

Where Human Services Professionals Work?

Working conditions vary. Human services workers in social service agencies generally spend part of the time in the office and the rest of the time in the field. Most work a 40-hour week. Some evening and weekend work may be necessary, but compensatory time off is usually granted. Human services professionals work in community-based settings move around a great deal in the course of a workweek. They may be inside one day and outdoors on a field visit the next. Human services professionals work in residential settings generally work in shifts. Because residents of group homes need supervision in the evening and at night, 7 days a week, evening and weekend hours maybe required.

Despite differences in what they are called and what they do, human services professionals generally perform under the direction of professional staff. Those employed in mental health settings, for example, may be assigned to assist a treatment team made up of social workers, psychologists, and other human services professionals. The amount of responsibility these workers assume and the degree of supervision they receive vary a great deal. Some workers are on their own most of the time and have little direct supervision; others work under close direction.

Human services professionals work in community, residential care, or institutional settings provide direct services such as leading a group, organizing an activity, or offering individual counseling. They may handle some administrative support tasks, too. Specific job duties reflect organizational policy and staffing patterns, as well as the worker's educational preparation and experience.

Assessment

Lesson 9 Quiz

Be sure to complete the lesson quiz.

Lesson 9 Discussion A

Describe the differences between "mental health" and "mental illness" both from your own perspective and from what you have learned in the video. Share a bit about the personal experiences you have that help you to understand mental illness or may even limit or bias your understanding of mental illness.

Lesson 9 Discussion B

Do some research in the newspapers or online and locate at least two ads for positions requiring an MHRT/C. Based on these advertisements identify the agencies themselves and how they portray the role of the Human Services Professional. For this discussion you can use the Indeed Job Search app outlined below. You can search using terms like "MHRT" and "Maine" or "Waterville"