Learning Activity - Developing Policy for Implementation - Assessment Answers

Role of professional in assessment phase of helping process

People seek help from human service providers to resolve the issues interfering with their routine life or cause them deep anguish. Professionals use the assessment phase to find significant information about the clients and their problems and then formulate an intervention to put them at ease by improving their present situation. So after the personal meet the professional attempts to assess the client using the extracted information. The professional tries to know his/her client at personal level, understand the problem, duration of its existence, client’ behavior, thoughts and feelings associated with the problem, involvement of client in various physical, cultural and recreational activities. Family history and friend circle may also be indirect the reason behind the problem. Observing client’s warmth, readiness, motivation and passivity can further help the professional to choose the appropriate intervention. If required, professionals can try to obtain more information using psychological tests and self-ratings. Professional should also find out the strengths, resources and support systems available to the client to help him/her change. Based on this information professional then chooses an intervention which may include assistance, referral, advocacy, or direct counseling (Levine, 2012; Moffat, 2011).

Assessment at the early stage helps the professional to formulate the hypothesis. However, it is a parallel process throughout the helping session to evaluate the variation in the intensity of the problem and the extent to which the client is able to cope up with it.