Assignments_03

Chapter 3 Study Questions
1. What is a helping relationship? What implications does it have for therapeutic recreation programming?
• A helping relationship is one that is positive and gives support for another person. In a helping relationship both the helper and the client grow. A helping relationship is important in therapeutic recreation because we have to be able to support the client. They are going through a hard time and need someone to understand. We can help them see their potential and in return we become a better person. I don’t think you can interact with people like that and have relationships like that without coming out a better person.
4. What is meant by the ethics of helping? Discuss several ethical problems that helpers face.
• Ethics of helping I think all goes back to the reason behind it. If you truly care about the client then you will do everything that is morally right to help that person. One thing that people face with this is not allowing the client to make their own decisions. We may sometimes make their disability a bigger deal than it really is and forget that they are capable of making their own choice. Something else we must be careful of is how dependent our client is on us. We need them to trust us and need us, but to some point that has to stop. Our purpose is to help them become self-efficient not dependent on a therapist. A problem we talked about in my RM 343 class that relates to this is children. Children must have a parent’s permission to participate in somethings. Many times the child doesn’t understand what is a risk and what is required so we must determine if it is ethically right for a parent to sign for a child in that way.
6. Identify five interpersonal facilitation skills and discuss the importance of each in developing a      helping relationship.
• Leading: in a helping relationship the client and the helper are on equal ground. It is important to let the client ask questions and make suggestions and try to take the lead because that is our whole purpose. We want them to be dependent on themselves and by leading they can do that.
• Warmth: we talked about in class that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It is important that the client can see us as friendly and that we genuinely care about them or they won’t trust the things we ask them to do.
• Listening: this isn’t just hearing, but actively listening can help the client feel that they are understood. If we don’t understand their feelings and situation, we can’t help them overcome it.
• Informing: when a client asks a question there may be a deeper question underneath. In informing and responding we should be sensitive to those questions. I think it will help them gain our trust and we can be aware of our clients fears and feelings so we don’t do anything to further harm that.
• Empathy: this helps the relationship feel like it is equal. You don’t want the person helping you to pull you up until they have been where you are.
7. How does one’s culture impact the helping relationship and use of various interventions?
• People have different customs and beliefs in many cultures. One example that I learned on my mission is that in Hispanic culture, they believe in taking care of family in the home when they are not able to take care of themselves. Suggesting something like putting that family member in a nursing home shows to them that you don’t actually care about their family. Words and gestures in other languages can be insulting. Different religions have different beliefs on what drugs and treatments are clean and worthy to use. It is important to be aware and sensitive to these things as to not offend the client.