Many of us have lived through the awkwardness of middle school and high school years. The energy it takes to maintain social expectations, the challenges of keeping one’s grades up, balancing problems at home, all the while attempting to formulate a sense of identity and belonging, is immense. While the experiences of those years tend to be a bit more formative and dramatic from an immature perspective, the game is still the same no matter what age someone is.
Maintaining friend groups, financial stability, a family, and social safety in the community will always be important. Though the place and people may change, the challenge and importance of healthy communities never fades. That’s where professional roles like counselors and social workers come into play.
People who have dedicated their lives to encouraging others, no matter the situation, help to make the world run a bit more smoothly at times. It is for these reasons that the roles of counselors and social workers are vital to empowering individuals and communities.
Here is a brief summary of a variety of ways that counselors and social workers assist local communities in maintaining strength.
Counselors: Their Role and Importance in Communities
The word “counselor” is an umbrella term for a diverse expression of professional emphasis upon, generally speaking, helping people to better manage their lives and choices through guidance and resource direction. However, the American Counseling Association (ACA), the largest body of professional counselors on the planet, defines the role as the following: “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals.” Again, broad, but there are plenty of nuanced expressions within this diverse profession.
The service – which demands intensive education and training in order to meet the various state licensure standards while maintaining sound ethical practices – holds to plenty of proven, traditional methods of implementation all while encouraging ingenuity. These professionals can hold practice in, again, many various environments, such as schools, hospitals, community health centers, inpatient and outpatient clinics, and even private practices.
Some examples of the expression of such assistance comes in the form of creating systems and strategies to help recover from intensive medical care as the result of accidents and sickness; guidance and crisis intervention techniques for heavy life circumstances like divorce, grieving death, prolonged unemployment, or transitioning back from military service; helping to encourage and care for those who suffer from chronic emotional diseases like depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, or other mental challenges.
How Social Work Helps Communities
Generally speaking, just like with counseling, there is a very diverse template of expressions by which someone working in the field of social work can contribute to society. Overall, most types of social work focus on helping individuals and communities overcome a myriad of challenges that accompany health and development.
A social worker out in the community has the goal of attempting to join the members of that community, generally in a common cause. They do so as a way to see that the community works more lovingly and effectively.
Social work practice can also be accomplished in many different environments such as community centers, hospitals, government offices, churches, and libraries, just to name a few. Social workers don’t just advocate for people though, there are plenty of famous organizations that maintain a mission to help the earth and ecosystems. Much of that type of social work expression benefits communities from a macro approach.
If a social worker is employed by a group that advocates for certain people groups or causes they may spend their time rallying, connecting, listening to, and connecting people of like mind. This can be locally, cross country, or internationally. Sometimes this involves talking with local leaders and politicians to see that new laws or policies get put in place to better serve and support a community. Other times, a social worker’s role is through the collection of data through research in order to write grants where the money granted funds the projects which benefit communities.
Some familiar examples of social workers are adoption and foster care, food banks, welfare services, hospice and palliative care, veterans services, family planning, and criminal justice.
Regardless of what role or environment a counselor or social worker may take, they all share the same goal of empowering individuals to strengthen communities, directly or indirectly.
Photo Credit
Image by John Hain from Pixabay
Guest Author Bio
Sarah Daren
With a Bachelor’s in Health Science along with an MBA, Sarah Daren has a wealth of knowledge within both the health and business sectors. Her expertise in scaling and identifying ways tech can improve the lives of others has led Sarah to be a consultant for a number of startup businesses, most prominently in the wellness industry, wearable technology and health education. She implements her health knowledge into every aspect of her life with a focus on making America a healthier and safer place for future generations to come.
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