Helping Relationship
Scenario
: Asal (Service User) You are a 23-year-old female refugee from Afghanistan. To provide a better life for your two children, you recently fled to the United States. You and your preschool-age children were constantly at risk in Afghanistan. You made the decision to leave after being held at gunpoint by a group of vandals. Your husband was in strong disagreement with your leaving—threatening to kill you and take the children. Then one night when he was asleep, you and the children silently snuck out. You are emotionally and physically exhausted at this point and become triggered when you talk about the process of leaving Afghanistan. Your hands start to shake and you begin stuttering, and therefore you typically avoid talking about it. You have come to the Immigrant Welcome Center because you and your children are in need of services. At this point, you are not fully documented, are unemployed, have little money, and are residing in a shelter with other Afghan refugees. You refuse to disclose the location of the shelter because you don’t want to risk anyone being detained or deported. “That would be the end of me,” you think. You need to convey your situation and needs to the practitioner assigned to your case, but you remain reticent to divulge too much.
Role: Practitioner You work as a human services professional practitioner for the Immigrant Welcome Center, a nonprofit organization that supports new immigrants and connects them to services in the community. You first need to get an idea of what each service user needs physically, economically, legally, and emotionally before you can best help. Your next meeting is with Asal, a refugee from Afghanistan. What kinds of questions do you ask to determine Asal’s needs and coordinate assistance? And how do you approach her with cultural humility?
Your role-play as a human services professional practitioner in which you engage with the service user (your partner). Be sure to do the following:
Demonstrate foundational and advanced skills as you interact with the service user, respond to needs, and consider goals or solutions.
Ask effective questions to advance the relationship and adapt based on the information the service user provides.
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Scenario
: Asalah (Service User) You are a 23-year-old female Afghan refugee. You recently migrated to the United States in order to build a better life for your two children. In Afghanistan, you and your preschool-aged children were always in danger. After being held at gunpoint by a gang of vandals, you made the decision to flee. Your husband was furious that you were leaving, threatening to kill you and take the children. Then, one night when he was sleeping, you and the kids crept out quietly. You are emotionally and physically drained at this time, and talking about the process of leaving Afghanistan triggers you. Because your hands begin to shake and you begin to stutter, you usually avoid talking about it. You’ve got
