Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Lesson 7.3
Processes in Social Work
Contents
Introduction 1

Learning Objectives 2

Explore 2

Discover 3
Services in Social Work 4
Children and Families 4
Medical and Public Health Services 5
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems 5
Developmental Disabilities 5
Workplace Administration and Management 5
Services Provided in Public Welfare and Policy Planning 6
Processes in Social Work 6
Assessment 6
Planning 7
Intervention 7
Review and Evaluation 7

Wrap-Up 10

Try This! 11

Challenge Yourself 13

Reflect on This 15

Bibliography 16
Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Lesson 7.3

Processes in Social Work

Introduction
Social work agencies deliver different services to the communities. These agencies provide
services to public and private sectors and promote and advocate the well-being and rights
of individuals by helping them be more self-sufficient and restore their family relationships.
For social workers to do these, certain processes must be followed.

In this lesson, you will learn about the different processes and methods used by social
workers in delivering services to their clients.

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

DepEd Learning Competency

Learning Objectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to
illustrate the different processes and methods
In this lesson, you should be able to do the
involved in undertaking social work (HUMSS_DIASS
following:
12-lg-27).
● Describe and differentiate the
services and processes utilized in
social work.
● Illustrate the processes and
methods in social work such as
the ASPIRE model (assess, plan,
intervene, review, evaluate).

Explore
What I Know about Social Work 10 minutes
1. Fill out the chart below.
2. In the first column, write what you currently know about the process of social work.
3. In the second column, write what you want to know about the social work processes.
4. Briefly compare your outputs in both columns.

What I Know What I Want to Know

about the Process of Social Work about the Process of Social Work

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Guide Questions
1. What are your ideas about the processes involved in social work?
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2. What are the social services offered in your community?

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3. What social services are needed in your community?

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Discover

Different factors affect the services offered and the

Words to Remember
processes involved in performing social work. Some
● administration – is
of these factors are financial stability, mental issues,
the management of
family issues, performance, and adjustment for both
public affairs
social workers and the clients. Despite all of these,
● public welfare –
social workers should still be able to aid and assist
programs formed by
those who are in need of services.
the government for
the welfare of the
public

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

● primary sources –
firsthand information
that can be found on
biographies, reports,
interviews, and
experiences
● secondary sources –
are information that
have been handed
down from primary
sources

What are the different processes and methods involved

in doing social work?

Services in Social Work

Social workers offer different services in places such as schools, offices, organizations,
military establishments, government offices, senior centers, foster homes, prisons, and
correctional facilities. Some of these services include helping clients who face psychological
problems, conducting research, finding solutions to their clients’ problems, engaging in
organizational design and policymaking, and serving a specific group of people in a specific
setting.

Children and Families

Social workers help children, families, and the elderly in various ways. They help in placing
abandoned children in foster homes and in assisting parents in the adoption of these
children. They also assist in protecting the family and ensuring that a safe environment is
provided for the children and the family. Social workers also help in providing homes for the
homeless elderly.

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Medical and Public Health Services

Social workers help people who are seriously ill and those that have chronic health
problems by providing them with the proper and adequate care they need. They help in
screening patients about their illness, help these patients and their families deal with
emotional and social responses to their illnesses and treatment, and ensure that the
services needed by the patient are in place before he or she is discharged from the hospital
or any medical facility.

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems

Social workers also extend their help to people with mental health and substance abuse
problems. They help people deal with mental health problems by diagnosing and treating
their mental health condition, providing therapy, and assisting people in dealing with
anxiety, depression, and family problems. They also facilitate support groups, come up with
plans for treatment, and intervene with patients’ problems whenever necessary. For those
who have problems with substance abuse, social workers help them by assessing the clients’
problems, designing a treatment plan, providing counsel especially for group treatments,
and helping families deal with the effects of the addiction problem.

Developmental Disabilities
Social workers assist families of children who have developmental disabilities by helping the
families know and understand their rights. Social workers also advocate their rights to
receive appropriate services and resources. With the help of other parents who also have
children with developmental disabilities, social workers closely work with the parents to
encourage them to support their children.

Workplace Administration and Management

Social workers help administration and management by designing and initiating policies that
meet the real needs of employees, establishing connections with local communities that
help improve the company brand, and providing professional guidance that helps
companies avoid ethical lapses that might tarnish the company’s good reputation.

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Services Provided in Public Welfare and Policy Planning

Social workers help in public welfare and policy planning by participating in policy-making,
helping in organizational improvement, and planning, administering, and implementing
programs for the betterment of the public. They also check the delivery of services and
evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the standard living of the community. Social
workers also examine the policies, programs, and regulations to ensure that it fits with the
environment of the organization.

Processes in Social Work

Social work involves dynamic and strategic processes that call for assessment, planning,
intervention, review, and evaluation. These processes involve intervention from both the
social worker and the client.

Fig. 1. The ASPIRE model

Assessment
Information is vital, and the effectiveness of social workers depends on the quality and the
quantity of information they have to assess the client. In the assessment phase, the social
worker collects, gathers, and interprets the client's data, such as the client’s strengths and
limitations. The social worker is generally responsible for monitoring progress and attaining

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

information so that services can be provided to the client. Such data can come from primary
sources that are the direct sources of information, secondary sources that are indirect
sources of information, existing data of the client, and observations of the social worker.

Planning
Planning is the process of turning the client’s assessment into objectives and goals. In this
process, the social worker and the clients are involved in the creation and maintenance of
the activities the client might undertake. In planning, social workers are concerned with
identifying the means to achieve the goals and come up with the solutions to the problems.

Intervention
In this process, the social worker is concerned with the actions that would help the clients
solve their problems. It involves a series of activities that require the social worker and the
client to work under an agreement. The social worker negotiates, mediates, and advocates
for clients and facilitates transitions and endings. The social worker implements the services
and implements actions to attain the goals and objectives set for the clients.

Review and Evaluation

In this process, the social worker critically analyzes, monitors, and evaluates interventions.
At this stage, the results are very crucial because the social worker, together with the client,
will determine if the goals were met. These evaluations can be done using questionnaires,
interviews, or goal attainment scales.

Social workers need to be aware and knowledgeable enough with the processes to correctly
assist clients, and carefully carry out and implement different interventions and strategies to
attain and maintain the objectives and goals.

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Check Your Progress

Are the processes identified in this lesson helpful for the social
workers? Why or why not?
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In Philippine Context

“You are not alone! Call our helplines. A social worker will be on the other
end to listen and help”: Interview with Pacita “Bing” Fortin, A social worker
at the Babaeng BiyaHero Psychosocial Support Team, Quezon City, The
Philippines
Faye Cura, “You are not alone! Call our helplines. A social worker will be on
the other end to listen and help”: Interview with Pacita “Bing” Fortin, A social
worker at the Babaeng BiyaHero Psychosocial Support Team, Quezon City,
The Philippines,” UN Women: Asia and and the Pacific (December 11, 2020),
[Link]
ll-our-helplines, last accessed on January 26, 2020.

During the pandemic, the number of Filipino women who are abused has risen
exponentially. Disconnected from their social support, it is very hard for these abused
women to seek help from the authorities.

The biggest numbers of victims belong to Filipino migrant women working abroad as
domestic helpers. Many of them work additional hours with very little food and rest. They
are at times terminated without pay. Some of those who return to the Philippines get
stranded in some shelters, or quarantine facilities without protection from the COVID-19
virus. Left without any option, some of these women end up killing themselves so they will
not be a burden to their families.

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

The Babaeng BiyaHero Psychological Support helps these women resolve the conflicts
within themselves. The organization aids women who are victims of abuse to overcome
their trauma and help them go back to the Philippines.

“...You are not alone. Call our helplines. A social worker will be on the other end to listen and
help.” — Babaeng BiyaHero Psychological Support.

Guide Questions
1. What is the article all about?
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2. According to the article, what services does Babaeng BiyaHero offer?

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3. Why are social workers regarded as front liners during a pandemic?

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Wrap-Up
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● Social workers can be found in places like schools, hospitals, offices, organizations,
military establishments, senior centers, foster homes, prisons, and correctional
facilities. The services offered by social workers include conducting research,
finding solutions to their clients’ problems, engaging in organizational design and
policymaking, and serving a specific group of people in a specific setting.
● Social work involves a dynamic and strategic process that involves assessment,
planning, intervention, review, and evaluation or the ASPIRE model.

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Try This!
A. Identification. Read the statement carefully. Identify what is being described in each
statement. Write your answers on the blanks provided.

_________________ 1. Social workers help these people by placing them in foster

homes.

_________________ 2. It is the process of translating the client’s assessment into

objectives and goals.

_________________ 3. In this process, the social worker critically analyzes,

monitors, and evaluates interventions.

_________________ 4. It is a set of dynamic and strategic processes involving

intervention from both the social worker and the client.

_________________ 5. In this process, social workers gather data and information

needed to assess the clients’ needs.

B. Short Response Essay. Describe how social workers help the following. Write your
answers in the blanks provided below.

1. Children with developmental disabilities

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

2. People with mental health problems

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3. People with substance abuse problems

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4. Administration and management

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5. People who are seriously ill

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Challenge Yourself
Picture Analysis. In your own words, explain the process of social work as illustrated in the
ASPIRE model.

The ASPIRE Model

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Suggested Rubric for Grading

The rubric below is a suggested one. Your teacher may modify it based on your needs.
Consult your teacher for the final rubric.

Performance Levels
Suggested
Criteria 1 2 3 Score
Beginning Proficient Advanced Weight
Proficiency Proficiency

Content Almost all key points Most key points of the All of the key points
of the topic are topic are discussed, are presented, and
×3
missing. but there is room for the answers show
clarification. mastery of the topic.

Relevance to The content does not The content shows The content is very

the Topic
have any relevance to some relevance to the relevant to the topic. ×2
the topic. topic

Total Possible Score 15

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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Reflect on This
Reflect on your perception of the relevance of social services in the community. Explain your
answers using relevant examples.
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Unit 7: Social Work: Clientele, Settings, Tools, and Processes

Bibliography
Ambrosino, R. Social work and social welfare: An introduction. Australia: Brooks/Colex
Cengage Learning. 2012.

Bottomley, J., Cartney, P., & Pryjmachuk, S. Studying for your social work degree: Critical study
skills. St Albans: Critical Publishing. 2018.

Hepworth, D. H., Strom-Gottfried, K., Rooney, G. D., & Rooney, R. H. Direct social work
practice: Theory and skills. Boston: Cengage Learning. 2017.

Malugani, Megan. “How Social Workers Help Substance Abusers Beat Addiction.” Monster.
Accessed June 10, 2021.
[Link]

“The Important Role Social Workers Play in Mental Health.” Good Therapy, December 14,
2015. Accessed June 10, 2021.
[Link]
health-1214157#:~:text=Clinical%20social%20workers%20diagnose%20and,mental%
20health%20or%20behavioral%20issues.

“Types of Social Work.” National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Accessed June 10,
2021. [Link]

“What Do Medical Social Workers Do?” Our Lady of the Lake University. Accessed June 9,
2021.
[Link]
do.

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