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Final Paper

Bryn Anderson

University of North Dakota

RHS 200

Dana Conzemius

December 10, 2021

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I have always considered myself someone who values helping others and coming up with

solutions for those close to me. Being personable and intuitive seemed to come naturally to me. I

thought I knew the fundamentals of how to help someone with their problems but little did I

know there was a whole other set of abilities I hadn't acquired. During my experience in RHS

200, Helping Abilities in Community Services, I learned various skills that have proven to be

extremely valuable when supporting someone seeking help.

To illustrate what I mean, let's look into some of the skills I learned this semester. Firstly,

the attending skill is the body language, expressions, and non-verbal mannerisms the helper

shows to the client during a session. This allows the client to feel like they are being heard and

that the helper is interested in what they are saying. Along those same lines, the observing skill

pertains to the helper analyzing the client's non-verbal body language and expressions. This lets

the therapist read the client for information that they may not verbally share. In my opinion,

asking open-ended questions was one of the most valuable skills during a session. I enjoy asking

clients questions so they can be the leaders of the conversation and feel comfortable sharing

details about their situation. Another skill I thoroughly enjoy using is paraphrasing. Paraphrasing

is when the helper rewords the client's statement to make sure both parties are on the same page

and provide support and show empathy. I am sufficient at this skill since I naturally paraphrase

in regular conversations.

There's no dictionary definition of an "effective helper." However, I do believe all

effective helpers tend to have similar traits. Firstly, genuinely caring about your client and their

needs is crucial. The more you build a solid client-helper relationship, the more help the client

gets out of sessions. Helpers must help the client dive deeper into discovering more of their

emotions and feelings to get to the issue's root. If a helper acts too much like a friend and not a
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psychologist, the client won't benefit from the sessions. Clara E. Hill, author of "Helping Skills

Facilitating Exploration, Insight, and Action," states, "They (helpers) listen carefully and

empathetically, are non-judgmental, are open to new experiences and perspectives, are

approachable and friendly, and like to listen (Hill et al., 2013)" (Hill, 2020). Helpers' main goals

should be to help identify and clarify the client's emotions and thoughts, provide empathy and

support, guide the client in a positive direction, and encourage further exploration of one's

feelings and thoughts.

Helping skills aren't strictly for therapists and psychiatrists. Every career can benefit from

utilizing at least a few of these skills. In the future, I plan to become a federal criminal

investigator. That job utilizes just about every helping skill we discussed in this class. For

example, I will use observing and attending skills during questioning victims or witnesses and

interrogations of offenders. I want to observe the other persons' body language for indicators of

guilt or suspicious behavior, especially an offender. During these sessions, I will also be asking

many open-ended questions. Open-ended questions can tremendously help learn further

information about someone, a crime, and guilt status. When supporting victims, using empathy

and positive body language is quintessential for them to feel safe and willing to talk. Giving

information to victims is also helpful, as it can potentially provide them with some sort of

closure.

My end career goal is to be working at the FBI as a criminal investigator. I would like to

specialize in either terrorism or the general criminal investigative division. Working with people

from all over the country is something that few people can experience. Interacting with the

public and being able to help put offenders in prison is, I imagine, very rewarding. Currently, I

am majoring in criminal justice with a minor in sociology. This summer, I plan to get an
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internship with either the Ramsey County or the Hennepin County criminal investigations unit.

From there, I would preferably like to be hired directly by the FBI. However, since that is very

selective, I would also like to join the Hennepin County or Ramsey County Criminal

Investigations Unit or the Cook County Sheriff's Office in Chicago as a criminal investigator.

This course has taught me a plethora of information I can use for years to come, not only

in my professional career but in my personal life as well. I learned how to ask quality questions

to clients, exhibit empathic and supportive body language, understand clients' reactions (verbal

and non-verbal), summarize sessions with a client, come up with a plan, and paraphrase a client's

statement about problems they are experiencing, and more. At the beginning of the semester, I

thought the only aspects of helping someone was showing you cared and giving advice. Now, I

can employ various skills when someone asks for my help.