"Mini-Guide" to Human Services Degrees Online

The human services major combines social science and behavioral science. Students learn to address the needs of many different populations — including elderly citizens, disabled citizens, foster children, and individuals struggling with abuse or addiction. Whether providing social services for children, adults, or the elderly, students that complete a human services degree are ready to face the unique demands and challenges of psychological and emotional difficulties in others.

The curriculum for human services generally covers counseling and psychotherapy for individuals, couples, families, and groups with a focus on racial, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, and cultural issues.

Human services courses are highly interactive. The direct involvement helps students prepare for a field that is full of interpersonal work. Graduates need to be prepared to deal directly with difficult situations, so every effort is made to get them ready during schooling.

Increasing Demand

The demand for human services graduates is expanding as the elderly population continues to grow and need adult day care, meal delivery programs, medical support, and other services. Assistants will be needed to support homeless people, pregnant teenagers, mentally disabled people, substance abusers, and developmentally challenged individuals.

Areas of Study

Areas of study on the graduate level include assessment and intervention tactics, ethical issues, clinical case formulation, group process facilitation, and behavior analysis. Additionally, doctorate-level programs encompass research and advanced theory. PhD programs offer specialty in criminal justice, counseling studies, general human services, health care administration, non-profit agency management, community services, and social work.

Licensure

One thing to remember if you're entering this field is that you may need state licenses to get employment. Most programs assist students in preparation for licensure examinations, and also provide basic education on specific policies. Proficiency tests can also be required, which can include essay questions and even role playing exercises.

Think about an online human services degree if you:

• Consider yourself a born nurturer.
• Enjoy taking a hands-on approach to helping others.
• Want to study families, and help them interact more positively.
• Could deal emotionally with heart wrenching cases of abuse and addiction.
• Can envision yourself running social programs or as a policymaker.
• Are patient, understanding, and compassionate.
• Are comfortable with feelings of accountability.
• Have undeniable teamwork skills.
• Are an articulate communicator.
• Are often who friends turn to for advice.
• Want to help people battle addictions.
• Relish opportunities to volunteer in your neighborhood.
• Enjoy working with people from different backgrounds.

In addition to a degree in human services, there are other college degrees to obtain if you want to help people in the social services arena.

• Counseling:
  Understand the needs of individuals working to overcome life's challenges; learn how to best diagnose, treat, and help persons with behavioral and emotional disorders.
  Online Counseling Degrees | Online Counseling Certificates
• Health Services:
  Learn about the needs of those living with violence, isolation, or poverty; what services are needed, how to initiate and manage the programs designed to ensure wellbeing and safety.
  Online Health Services Degrees | Online Health Services Certificates
• Sociology:
  Examine intricacies of human relationships, how people relate to each other, and how that pertains society as a whole.
  Online Sociology Degrees | Online Sociology Certificates
• Health Administration:
  With a focus on health care services, study the financial, legal, and human issues that arise, and their effects on a health organization's operational success.
  Online Health Administration Degrees | Online Health Administration Certificates
• Nursing:
  Know how to meet the immediate and long-term medical needs of patients; educate and provide counseling to the injured or those coping with illness.
  Online Nursing Degrees | Online Nursing Certificates

There are also a variety of certificate programs in the human services arena including certificates in early childhood education, substance abuse, counseling, child development associate, home visitor child development associate, and health services.

Many schools allow you to choose a specialization to "fine tune" your degree. There are a variety of concentrations that students can focus on with their human services degrees.

The more administrative or policy-related human services concentrations still require a hands-on approach and enable graduates to help others, but they provide more emotional distance from the heartbreaking situations frequently encountered in human services.

• Alcohol and Substance Abuse
  Study the effects of substance abuse, learn to counsel the addicted and their families, and work to prevent addiction.
• Child and Family Studies
  Study how families are formed and how they interact internally and within communities, culturally and sociologically.
• Gerontology
  Study the physical, sociological, and psychological aspects of aging and their impact.
• Counseling
  Understand the needs of individuals working to overcome life's challenges; learn how to best diagnose, treat, and help persons with behavioral and emotional disorders.
• Social Services
  With a focus on health care services, study the financial, legal, and human issues that arise and its effects on a health organization's operational success.
• Advocacy
  Work to make policy changes and gain funding for social services programs at a state or federal level.
• Human Services Management
  Learn how to run social services and nonprofit agencies, and help them manage their resources.

Students in human services degree programs will take a variety of courses in multiple disciplines. Sample courses can include:

• Cultural Diversity in the U.S.
• Human Socialization
• Ethics in the Helping Profession
• Theories of Counseling
• Dynamics of Group Communication
• Child Development
• Applications of Group Counseling
• Introduction to Youth and Family Systems
• Introduction to Aging
• Theories of Individual Counseling
• Volunteer Administration
• Hospice: Concepts & Skills
• Drug & Alcohol Treatment
• Art Therapy
• Psychotherapy: Theory and Practices
• Dynamics of Group Behavior
• Stress Management
• Aging in American Society
• Psychopharmacology

The skills you learn while earning your human services degree will vary according to your concentration, but these are the skills and competencies acquired most often by human services majors:

• Counseling and service theories
• Comprehension of human development
• Knowledge of organizational structures and group dynamics
• Understanding of national policies and social systems
• Familiarity with philosophical approaches to explaining social problems
• Proactive prevention of a wide variety of issues
• Promotion of healthy human functioning
• Understanding of why some people experience challenges and have difficulty overcoming them
• Excellent time management skills and ability to work in a group setting
• Ability to treat and provide rehabilitation for widespread issues

With a human services degree, you can work in a variety of settings. Employment options include:

• Community health centers
• Clinical settings
• Agency environments
• Social service agencies
• Addiction centers
• Nonprofit public organizations
• Employee assistance programs
• Religious organizations
• Law enforcement agencies
• Rehabilitation centers
• Victim centers/programs
• Universities and colleges
• Hospitals or inpatient facilities
• Private oragnizations
• Public agencies

In addition to a variety of employment settings, the human services field includes a broad spectrum of professional roles. Graduates seeking a hands-on career can work directly with service recipients. Graduates who prefer to manage facilities or oversee best practices can work as organizational directors and policy-makers. Either way, all human services graduates can make a major impact on their communities.

Top roles in the human services industry include:

• Adult Day Care Worker
• Advocates Against Child Abuse
• Case Management Aide
• Case Worker
• Client Advocate
• Community Outreach Worker
• Crisis Intervention Counselor
• Drug Abuse Counselor
• Eligibility Counselor
• Family Support Worker
• Gerontology Aide
• Group Home Worker
• Halfway House Counselor
• Intake Interviewer
• Legal Advocate
• Life Skills Instructor
• Mental Health Aide
• Organizational Director
• Parole/probation Officer
• Psychological Aide
• Rehabilitation Case Worker
• Residential Counselor
• Social Service Liaison
• Youth Worker