An internship is supervised practical training intended to be a positive experience to prepare you for a professional career in human services. It is an opportunity for you to learn new skills and often includes becoming aware of potential mistakes you might make in the workplace setting without being completely responsible for them. Human services is an applied science, meaning that students not only get the background theory and knowledge but also learn skills needed for the profession and get the opportunity to demonstrate those skills.

One goal of an internship is to explore real-world professional possibilities while learning about them. In other words, the primary goal of an internship is to learn about and experience the duties of the profession in a specific environment, hopefully one that interests you as a potential professional. Keep in mind that although the internship can feel like a job with big responsibilities, it is also intended to be a rewarding experience that will help prepare you for a successful career in the future (figure 1.1). The instructor and the agency staff typically want you to do well, and they are usually happy to help make that happen.

Sociology, Social Work, and Human Services

Students are often confused about what the difference is between the fields of sociology, social work, and human services (or, indeed, about whether there is any difference). The main differences have to do with the intention of the coursework and the specificity of the subject matter covered.

The American Sociological Association (2014) defines sociology as “the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.” Sociology focuses on how humans interact in groups and organizations, including personal groups as well as the groups formed by different societies. Sociology studies society from an academic and/or research point of view. The field focuses on understanding the root causes of human social behavior and identifying theories to explain it. It is not necessarily focused on how to change behavior at the societal level.

According to the International Federation of Social Workers (2014), social work is a “practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people.” Social work is based on the values of social justice and respect for diversity. Theories from social sciences, humanities, and Indigenous knowledge guide social workers. Beyond theory, social work also involves engaging people to address life challenges and quality of life.

Social work focuses on understanding and changing social behavior. The definition of social work as a practice-based field necessarily includes creating change underpinned by social justice and human rights values. This focus on creating change is what separates social work and sociology.

Human services contains a much more diverse area of academic study. The National Organization for Human Services (n.d.) defines the field of human services as “broadly defined, uniquely approaching the objective of meeting human needs through an interdisciplinary knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations.” Human services looks at populations and the systems and services that support them. The human services profession seeks to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among professionals and agencies.

Under this definition, human services can contain many different areas of study and many different careers, including social work, criminal justice, substance use treatment, rehabilitation, community mental health, and services to older adults, just to name a few (figure 1.2).

The Role of Fieldwork in Professional Helping

Internships today have their historical roots in apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are teaching and learning relationships in which the student learns an art, trade, or job from a skilled professional. This type of learning environment usually takes many years. It begins with a selection process, which might require you to have a certain ability or grade point average. It involves finding someone to guide you through the learning process (e.g., an experienced craftsman or instructor). The apprenticeship often concludes with some sort of final examination that ends in graduation and the apprentice’s recognition as a professional. Teaching relationships are often mutually beneficial. Most people like to share their expertise with others, and teaching often teaches the teacher as well as the student.

Supervision is at the heart of fieldwork. In this sense, fieldwork is like an apprenticeship, although you are likely to continue to have supervisors if you pursue a graduate degree or license. Learning how supervisors interact with coworkers and clients gives you an opportunity to observe and even model similar behaviors as you start to turn theory into practice. Supervisory insight, experience, and involvement with your education will help you develop a sense of what it means to be a professional in your field as well.

Occasionally, a supervisor can also become a mentor, which is a special type of teaching-learning relationship and can have a positive impact on your career. Most times, a supervisor will schedule individual time with an intern to go over the student’s duties, clients, and caseloads. However, sometimes supervisors are too busy to give interns as much direct supervision as interns would like. While this can be disappointing, it might be helpful to remember that supervisors usually sacrifice productive work time and space to make room for interns. So even if your supervisor does not seem to meet your expectations at first, that does not mean they do not care or that you can’t improve the situation. Similarly, not all supervisors have the same style or approach, so be prepared to be as flexible and realistic with your expectations as possible. See Chapter 6 for more on supervision.

Students (and sometimes supervisors) often ask how an internship, fieldwork, practicum, cooperative work experience, and apprenticeship differ. We discussed the example of apprenticeship above, but the others are similar in scope. The title of this experience often depends on factors such as university or college standards, a credentialing body, or even a funding source. For this text, we will use the term internship to encompass all types of experiential learning listed above.

Human Services as an Applied Science Licenses and Attributions

“Human Services as an Applied Science” is adapted from “Chapter 3: Getting Started at the Site” in “Succeeding at Your Internship: A Handbook Written for and with Students” by Christopher J. Mruk, and John C. Moor, Bowling Green State University Libraries. This work is licensed under CC BY NC SA 4.0. Edited for consistency, style, format, and inclusive images by Yvonne M. Smith LCSW.

Figure 1.1. Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com is licensed under the Unsplash License.

Figure 1.2. Photo by Utility_Inc is licensed under the Pixabay License.