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Faculty: Dr. Denise Arnold (FS)

The Social Service/Mental Health Program prepares students for service and employment in the human services. Human service professionals help clients meet their diverse human and social needs. Their work routinely involves interviewing, counseling, crisis intervention, assessment, outreach, coordination and community development.

Entry-level workers, who are also known as beginning-level professionals or paraprofessionals, are employed in a variety of settings: group homes, halfway houses, community mental health centers, family and youth service agencies, correctional institutions, work release programs, congregate care facilities and psychiatric hospitals. Clients include children, young adults, ethnic minorities, families, juvenile delinquents, senior citizens, prisoners, released criminal offenders, crime victims, and people who are disabled, mentally ill, abused, developmentally disabled, homeless and chemically dependent.

The program at Pierce College integrates a solid academic background with specialized coursework that familiarizes students with the knowledge, values and skills they will need to succeed with clients and in the professional community.

The certificate in Social Service/Mental Health is designed to prepare students for careers in Social Services and Mental Health. It is an excellent complement to the Pierce College AA-DTA degree for those continuing their higher education. For those who already have college degrees but lack formal human service training, it provides a solid career foundation.

Professional/technical program competencies can be found on the Pierce College website at www.pierce.ctc.edu/ssmh-outcomes.

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