Human Services Professionals must be able to effectively communicate in verbal and written formats. There are several written formats used in the field; from case manager case notes to persuasive letters to the newspaper. I enjoyed creative writing prior to enrolling in the Human Service program. My time at Western Washington University has increased ability to write. I am now comfortable in ability to use America Psychological Association rules of writing and formatting. In this essay I will explore the five types of writing: academic voice, professional voice, creative voice, reflective voice and advocacy voice.
Academic Voice
My prior classes gave me an introduction to my academic style of writing. The Human Services Program has allowed me to fully develop my ability to communicate in an academic voice. My first quarter at WWU trained me in the correct and updated rules of APA citation. I learned that improper citation could cause accidental plagiarism. I was able to use correct APA styling in my first essay on altruism [altruism essay]. It was a successful academic essay.
Academic voice is a tool to communicate among professionals and researchers. In Applied Research Methods class, I learn how to write an annotated bibliography [annotated bibliography]. The project gave me an overview on the GLBTQ chemically dependent population. I learn that an annotated bibliography is useful tool to understand what other academics in field have researched. It also shows gaps of current research.
It was from my annotated bibliography that I could write a research paper about the needs of GLBTQ chemical dependent individual. Academic voice is not just limited to research papers. Human Service Professionals also need to be able to successfully communicate needs of the community. In Program Planning and Evaluation class I wrote a community needs paper on Whatcom County heroin users. I conducted interviews with Jackie Mitchell, Director of Substance Abuse Specialist at Whatcom County Health Department and Dennis Whelan, manager at Whatcom County Social Detox Center for my needs assessment [needs assessment]. I pulled information from the interviews, and local health department research studies. It was then I provided community recommendations for youth and young adults opiate users [program plan].
PROFESSIONAL VOICE
Professional voice is a type of communication that is use every day in the field. It is typically used in case studies, and client documentation. I developed my professional voice at my internship cites. I wrote progress notes for clients at Catholic Community Services. I observe client behavior during group therapy sessions. I would ask myself several questions. Did the client appear engaged? Did the client seem defensive about the group discussion? Was there anything important that need to include in the documentation? Then I wrote my observations of the client. It was important to translate my observation in a professional voice. I would typically write progress notes for around twenty clients a day. The progress notes where a legal document. It took a few tries to successfully use the professional voice. At Pioneer Human Services I would read clinical department client documentation during staff team meeting.
In Human Development and Human Services class I create service recommendations for family in need while using a professional voice [case study]. Each essay required local research of services and recommend service programs for specific family members. I was then required to justified service recommendations. Client case studies are a significant way to use professional voice.
In Human Services Professionals and Organizational Systems class I wrote an ethnographic paper on the downtown Bellingham vagrant population [downtown population]. It was based on four hour-long observations and interview with an individual who used to belong in that community [field notes]. The research to conduct an ethnographic paper assisted my ability to practice observational skills and awareness of my professional voice.
Reflective Voice
The Human Service Program has a large emphasis on experimental learning—“learning from doing”. Reflective voice is a type of writing that requires the writer to process their actions and feelings around specific topics. It is a useful tool to explore personal reaction patterns to conflicts and challenges. A large percent of essays used the reflective voice. In my practicum classes we would write essays using the reflective voice [internship essay]. It was through writing in this voice that I became aware of my biases and challenges.
Creative Voice
The creative voice is often an overlooked tool. I believe it is a successful way to communicate the needs of a marginalize group of individuals to the greater community. I practice my creative voice by writing a poem about a typical chemical dependent clients’ experience in Family Treatment Court [poem]. The poem was from the client’s point of view as an addict who struggles for help in the system. It communicates the pain of addiction and long journey into recovery. Other human service students enjoyed the poem. I wrote the poem based from things I observe from the mothers in my two quarters interning at Catholic Community Services program for recovering mothers.
I used my creative voice in a group video project on the 2010 Washington State Good Samaritan Law [video]. The YouTube video contains images of drug abuse, local neighborhood footage, interviews with overdose survivors, music and a few PowerPoint slides with facts on overdose. I located the volunteers and conducted the interviews of the survivors. I later provided my voice on the second interview. The project was response to a rash of recent heroin overdoses. The video uses creative voice to communicate the change of state law. The video was also advocating individuals to use emergency services.
Advocacy Voice
The advocacy voice is used to be persuasive the audience. It is often used to impact public policy. I practice advocacy by lobbying Representative Vincent Buys regarding House bill 1166. The picture on the home page is evidence of my visit to the state capital. House bill 1166 would extend the Good Samaritan Law protection to underage individuals with alcohol poisoning. I researched and wrote a fact sheet regarding why we need the house bill to pass [fact sheet]. Human service professionals often advocate the needs of the community and their programs. In times of economic crisis, professional must defend their program funding. Successful communication is vital to the helping field.