Week 6 Discussion: Online and Text-Based Applications of Helping Skills
Texting is an informal “shortcut” communication, full of abbreviations, meant to be read and responded to quickly, and often lacking in context. These qualities can pose difficulty for the human services professional practitioner who must not only convey appropriate helping skills but also remain professional. As more and more organizations engage in remote services, practitioners must be ready to meet this challenge.
In this Discussion, you work through a scenario in which you receive a series of texts from a service user. You then share your approach with colleagues.
To Prepare
- Review your course announcements for possible information related to this week’s Discussions.
- Review the Learning Resources on texting and human services ethical standards.
- Download the Texting Scenario and consider how you would respond as a human services professional practitioner.
By Day 3
Explain how you would adapt your helping skills to address the online/text-based setting in the scenario. How could you professionally convey listening, empathy, and mindfulness in words only? Consider the National Organization for Human Services ethical standards and your local laws in determining your approach to address the service user’s concerns.
Tutorial for Online and Text-Based Applications of Helping Skills
