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The Person and Paraprofessional Essay
Christian McEntire
Grand Canyon University
BHS 320-0500: Ethics of Behavioral Health Science
Professor Ken Harris
09/10/2023
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Your motivations for entering the sector and your ethical principles will have a significant
effect on how you treat your customers as a paraprofessional and how well your career develops.
Depending on how you approach them, your motives for entering the mental health industry may
help or hurt your future clients. For instance, if you choose this line of work because you are
passionate about helping others, your clients will benefit greatly from your commitment to their
needs. However, if you chose the area out of a desire for financial gain or because you believe it
to be a simple job, this may be detrimental to your customers as it demonstrates your lack of
commitment to their care (Mental Health America, n.d.). Clients can benefit greatly from a
behavioral health professional who is passionate about helping others, but it is crucial to be
conscious of the impact personal presumptions and ethical issues have on treatment outcomes.
My personal experience with relationship abuse, substance use, and dealings with the
Department of Children and Families served as my inspiration for entering the mental health
sector. It was through the dedication of all of those professionals and my own willpower and
motivation, not to mention the grace of God, that I was able to safely leave an abusive
relationship, overcome my severe drug addiction and reobtain legal custody of my children. This
has become my main motivation because I know what it is like to deal with these life struggles,
and I also remember the many wonderful people in the behavioral health field that helped me to
rise up and overcome these struggles. I personally feel as though I have an unspoken obligation
to use my personal negative life experiences and turn them into something positive by furthering
my education in behavioral health and obtaining my degree so that I can go on to help others that
have been in the same or similar experiences as I.
Your motivations for entering the field can have either a favorable or negative impact on
how your clients are treated. For instance, in my personal experience with successfully
The Person and Paraprofessional Essay
Christian McEntire
Grand Canyon University
BHS 320-0500: Ethics of Behavioral Health Science
Professor Ken Harris
09/10/2023
, 2
Your motivations for entering the sector and your ethical principles will have a significant
effect on how you treat your customers as a paraprofessional and how well your career develops.
Depending on how you approach them, your motives for entering the mental health industry may
help or hurt your future clients. For instance, if you choose this line of work because you are
passionate about helping others, your clients will benefit greatly from your commitment to their
needs. However, if you chose the area out of a desire for financial gain or because you believe it
to be a simple job, this may be detrimental to your customers as it demonstrates your lack of
commitment to their care (Mental Health America, n.d.). Clients can benefit greatly from a
behavioral health professional who is passionate about helping others, but it is crucial to be
conscious of the impact personal presumptions and ethical issues have on treatment outcomes.
My personal experience with relationship abuse, substance use, and dealings with the
Department of Children and Families served as my inspiration for entering the mental health
sector. It was through the dedication of all of those professionals and my own willpower and
motivation, not to mention the grace of God, that I was able to safely leave an abusive
relationship, overcome my severe drug addiction and reobtain legal custody of my children. This
has become my main motivation because I know what it is like to deal with these life struggles,
and I also remember the many wonderful people in the behavioral health field that helped me to
rise up and overcome these struggles. I personally feel as though I have an unspoken obligation
to use my personal negative life experiences and turn them into something positive by furthering
my education in behavioral health and obtaining my degree so that I can go on to help others that
have been in the same or similar experiences as I.
Your motivations for entering the field can have either a favorable or negative impact on
how your clients are treated. For instance, in my personal experience with successfully
