This practical, easy-to-read guide provides a nuts-and-bolts overview of the field as well as a glimpse of what readers can expect when working in human services. Because the field encompasses many career opportunities, skills, and client populations, this text also helps readers decide which specialty is right for them. AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN SERVICES, 2nd Edition, provides a look at human services agencies, jobs, workers, and populations served; a clear analysis of the major theories of causality; and helpful special chapters on such important topics as ethics and stress management. It also prepares readers for a future in human services by challenging them to become active learners via self-reflection, case studies, real-world scenarios, applied and experiential activities, and inventories.
Horn-Mallers, Melanie: - Melanie Horn-Mallers (Ph.D, University of Arizona) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Services and the Masters in Gerontology Program at California State University, Fullerton. She was trained to be a life span developmental researcher with a focus on stress, health, and coping across adulthood, as well as emphasis on family systems theory, social ecology, and biopsychosocial models of human development. Her current research includes examination of the role of parent-child relationship quality on stress reactivity across adulthood and the relationship between technological use among aging Americans and well-being. Her published works include refereed journal articles in Psychology and Health, The Gerontologist, and Developmental Psychology. She also recently co-edited a reference text entitled CONSUMER SURVIVAL: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CONSUMER RIGHTS, SAFETY, AND PROTECTION. Her teaching interests are in the areas of human services, leadership, and advocacy; and health and development.
Kanel, Kristi: - Kristi Kanel (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is a Full Professor at California State University, Fullerton in the Department of Human Services where she has been teaching for over 31 years. She is the author of A GUIDE TO CRISIS INTERVENTION, 5th Edition; HUMAN SERVICE DELIVERY TO LATINOS, 2nd Edition; and AN OVERVIEW OF THE HUMAN SERVICES, 2nd Edition (with Melanie Horn-Mallers). Dr. Kanel was a practicing psychotherapist for over 25 years. Her experience as a counselor includes working at two non-profit agencies (the Anaheim Free Clinic and a battered woman's shelter), a public agency, a managed care organization, and in private practice where she worked with a multitude of client populations, specializing in trauma. Her most recent research has focused on the mental health needs and interventions for the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Other research includes mental health needs of Latinos and crisis intervention practices.
