This document discusses understanding clients in human services from several perspectives: 1) It examines the "whole person" by exploring the multifaceted psychological, biological, cultural, social, financial, educational, vocational, and spiritual factors that integrate to form individuals. 2) It describes Erik Erikson's eight stages of psychosocial development and the crises resolved at each stage from infancy through older adulthood. 3) It emphasizes understanding problems from developmental, situational, and human needs perspectives to fully appreciate clients' circumstances. Meeting basic survival and security needs can be challenging for vulnerable populations like the homeless.

1. Introduction to
Human Services

2. The Client
• The Whole Person
• Multifaceted Individuals
• These Prospective are integrated within the
individual to form the “Whole Person”
• Psychological
• Biological
• Cultural
• Social
• Financial
• Educational
• Vocational
• Spiritual

3. The Client
• Problems for clients are rarely single issues
• Human service Professionals should approach
each client with the expectation of more than
one problem
• One problem can cause, influence or be related
to other difficulties.

4. The Client
• Perceptions of Client Problems
• Problems are a normal part of life
• Coping Skills
• Defining Problems
• It is difficult to predict what an individual will experience as
a problem
• Problems in living have two components
• A description of the problem
• A course of action leading to a definition
• How clients view own situations and what they perceive
to be problems are important factors in problem
identification.
• Person lacks to e resources to solve the problem
• Person lacks the skills to solve the problem
• No guarantee exists that an individual will seek help

5. The Client
• Understanding Client
Problems
• Developmental Perspective
• A Situational Perspective
• Meeting Human Needs

6. The Client
ERIKSON’S EIGHT PSYCHOSOCIAL
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
• Basic trust vs. mistrust
• Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
• Initiative vs. guilt
• Industry vs. inferiority
• Identity vs. role confusion
• Intimacy vs. isolation
• Generativity vs. stagnation
• Ego integrity vs. despair

7. The Client
• Erikson believed that Freud attached too much emphasis to the
role of biological and sexual forces (the largely unconscious id)
on human development.
• Erikson’s psychosexual theory emphasized the interaction
between biologically based maturation and the demands of
society (incorporated into the ego).
• Unlike Freud and many of his followers who believed that
identity formation was largely complete by adolescence, Erikson
believed that identity development continued across the entire
life course.
• Erikson divided life span development into eight stages, each
characterized by a vital psychological task or psychosocial
crisis.

8. The Client
• Erikson divided life into eight stages, each characterized by a
vital psychosocial crisis.
• In Erikson’s meaning, crisis does not mean an extreme
emergency or traumatic experience.
• A crisis is a bipolar set of critical psychological tasks that
require adaptation or coping.
• Crises are resolved by the individual in interaction with the
people around the individual and the social role expectations of
society.
• The degree to which one successfully resolves crises in earlier
stages affects a person’s ability to resolve crises in later stages.

9. The Client
BASIC TRUST VS. BASIC MISTRUST
Infancy (birth to 12 months)
Infants who consistently receive warm loving care and nourishment
from caretakers learn to trust and view the world as a safe,
dependable place. Inconsistent care yields anxiety and distrust.
AUTONOMY VS. SHAME AND DOUBT
Toddler (12 months to 3 years)
Development of a sense of autonomy, separateness, feeling of
competence and self-worth. Child strives to accomplish things
independently; tests limits imposed by parents. Roots in toilet
training and development of motor skills. Children with a sense of
autonomy like to make decisions; those who have sense of shame
prefer being told what to do.

10. The Client
INITIATIVE VS. GUILT
Pre-school (3 –6 years)
Active imagination; desire to explore/investigate world; eager to learn;
creative make-believe and play. Wants to try everything but must
discover limits set by society (parents). If over restricted or punished
children become fearful, passive observers and followers instead of
self-starters and leaders.
INDUSTRY VS. INFERIORITY
Elementary school (6-12 years)
Major influence is school or learning adult roles in other cultures.
Work and cooperate with others. Need to be productive and succeed in
activities – master skills. Much comparison with peers – do I ‘pass’ or
‘fail’?

11. The Client
IDENTITY VS. ROLE CONFUSION
Adolescence (12-18 years)
Massive physical changes (puberty). Drawing away from family to
find own identity. Who am I? Self-chosen values. Identification with
peer group enables teenager to escape family domination. Sense of
personal identity essential foundation for intimacy.
INTIMACY VS. ISOLATION
Young adult (20-35 years)
The ability to share with and give to another person without
sacrificing one’s own identity. Major issues: love and work, mate
selection and career choice. Sex as part of an intimate relationship
rather than sex as a recreational or purely reproductive act.

12. The Client
GENERATIVITY VS. STAGNATION
Mature adulthood (35-60 years)
Productivity. Creating one’s legacy for future generations. Raising
one’s family and career progression. Feeling that what one is doing
is worthwhile, making a contribution.
EGO INTEGRITY VS. DESPAIR
Older adulthood (65+ years)
The ability to look back over one’s life and find it complete.
Satisfaction with one’s accomplishments. Closure, sense of readiness
for death. Sense of peace and satisfaction vs. regret and despair.

13. The Client
• Understanding Client Problems
• Developmental Perspective
• Individuals engage in certain tasks or activities at
different times during their life
• Stages are experienced differently by each
person
• Their social context affects movement through
developmental stages
• Traditional stages are changing as society
changes
• A Situational Perspective
• Meeting Human Needs

14. The Client
• Understanding Client Problems
• Developmental Perspective
• A Situational Perspective
• Such situations occur because an individual is in
a particular place at a particular time
• Problems can lead to short or long term
difficulties or both
• Experience results in a variety of feelings for the
person
• A person experience situational problems is
often viewed as a victim
• Meeting Human Needs

15. The Client

16. The Client
• Understanding Client Problems
• Developmental Perspective
• A Situational Perspective
• Meeting Human Needs
• Basic survival, security, safety, recognition and
acceptance are needs
• Homelessness results for a variety of reasons
• The very nature of homelessness makes a count
of the numbers of homeless difficult to obtain
• Families with young children, dually diagnosed
individual and teenagers comprise a large
groups of the homeless.

17. The Client
• Clients as Individuals, Groups
and Populations
• What are some of the issues that
your clients will present?

18. The Client
• Ways of Getting Help
• Referrals
• Involuntary Placement in the
System
• Inadvertent Services

19. The Client
• Barriers to Seeking Help
• Clients perspective of the situation
• Embarrassment
• Reluctance to admit to having a problem
• Perspective of the helper
• Cultural Factors
• Cost of Services
• Transportation
• Time
• Fear
• What others can you think of?

20. Resources
• Allyn & Bacon, 2003
• Woodside & McClam, 5th Ed.,2006