SW 202 Social Work Practice With

Individuals
By Mr Masuka
2014
Definition of social work & casework
Global Definition of the Social Work Profession
“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. Principles of social justice,
human rights, collective responsibility and respect for
diversities are central to social work.
Cont...
Underpinned by theories of social work, social
sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social
work engages people and structures to address life
challenges and enhance wellbeing.
The above definition may be amplified at national
and/or regional levels”.
A Generalist Approach to casework
Social work with individuals is one of the main parts
of a generalist approach to social work practice.
Main focus is to help individuals help themselves.
Traditional methods are frequently combined in
practice where the workers may work basically with
individuals and families and set goals that may also
include a group or community effort.
Social Casework Defined
Social casework is a method of helping people
solve problems. It is individualized, scientific, and
artistic.
It helps individuals with personal as well as
external and environmental matters.
It is a method of helping through a relationship
that taps personal and other resources for coping
with problems.
Interviewing and assessment are major tools of
casework.
It is biopsychosocial.
 Cont...
Social casework is a method employed by a social
worker to help individual clients,find a solution to
their problem(s) which they are unable to handle in a
satisfactory way by their own effort.
In social work working with individuals, families &
small grps as the client system is called micro-level
practice.
At this level social worker engage directly with the
client & may be involved in counselling, referral or
provision of material aid.
History of Social Casework
The history of casework is tied to that of social work.
The Association for Improving the Conditions of the
Poor approached the problem of poverty individually
(1843).
The Charity Organization Society gave additional
impetus to individualization and casework (1877).
Preoccupation with social conditions external to the
individual was characteristic of casework during the
early part of the twentieth century.
The thinking was that if the environment could not be
changed, the individual should be removed from the
environment, even if it meant separating families.
Cont…
By 1910, the introduction of psychoanalytic theory
became the focus of casework and individual therapy
came into its own.
Emotions, attitudes, repressed conflicts, and the
struggle within the unconscious became an integral
part of social casework understanding and method.
Cont…
The social and economic needs of the Great
Depression in USA refocused sociological and reality
considerations for social work and compelled action
on the part of the federal government.
The depression resulted in a healthy turnaround from
emphasis upon psychological causation to the renewed
study of economics, budgets, and environmental
factors.
To
The functions of casework
enhance the problem-solving and coping
capacities of people. This involves finding out &
solving problems of an individual.
To promote the effective & humane operation of the
systems that provide people with resources and
services.
To link people with systems that provide them with
resources ,services and opportunities.
To prevent problems, central to social work is the idea
of empowering individuals & grps so that they are
able to reach their goals.
Components of casework
Person.
Problem.
The problems within the purview of social casework
are those which vitally affect or are
affected by a person‟s social functioning.
 Problems in any part of a human being‟s living
tend to have chain reactions. …..>
cause > effect > cause..
Cont...
The multifaceted and dynamic nature of the
client‟s problem makes necessary the selection by
caseworker and client some part of it as the unit for
work.
The choice of problem depends on (1) whether the
problem is the client‟s problem
(2) Leadership given by case worker depends upon
the professional knowledge and judgment and
 (3) Agency‟s function e.g. hospital, etc.
 Cont...
 Any problem which a person encounters has both an
objective and subjective significance – quality and
intensity of our feelings.
 Not only do the external (objective) and internal
(subjective) aspects of the problem co-exist, but either
may be the cause of the other.
Whatever the nature of the problem the person brings
to social agency; it is always accompanied and often
complicated by the problem of being a client.
 Cont...
 Problems can be categorized as follows;
 1. Problems related to illness and disabilities
 2. Problems due to lack of material resources.
 3. School related problems.
 4. Problems related to institutionalization.
 5. Behaviour problems.
 6. Problems of marital discord.
 7. Problem situations needing a follow-up service.
 8. Needs related to rehabilitation of people.
 9. Clients caught up in social problems like gambling,
prostitution, alcoholism, drug
 addiction and unmarried motherhood.
 Cont...
Place.
The social agency is an organization fashioned to
express the will of a society or of some group in that
society as to social welfare – community decides the
need of the agency.
Each social agency develops a program by which to
meet the particular areas of need with which it sets out
to deal.
It depends on factors like money, knowledge and
competence of the agency staff, the interest, resources
available and support of the community.
 Cont...
The social agency has a structure by which it organizes
and delegates its responsibilities and tasks, and governing
policies and procedures.
It also has a hierarchy – roles and responsibilities clear,
designated and delegated.
The place has procedures and policies,by which it
stabilizes and systematizes its operation.
The social agency is a living, adaptable organism
susceptible to being understood and changed, much as
other living organisms. – Past, present and future – not
static and fixed.
Cont...
Every staff member in an agency speaks and acts for
some part of the agency‟s function, and the case
worker represents the agency in its individualized
problem solving help.
Case worker not an independent professional
practitioner – case worker speaks and acts for the
agency – psychologically identified with its purpose
and policies.
Cont...
The case worker while representing his agency is first
and foremost a representative of his profession. – must
know and be committed with feeling to the philosophy
that guides the practice of the social work profession.
Agency – Private e.g. funding agencies and Public e.g.
family welfare orgs.
Cont...
Primary e.g. NGO and Secondary e.g. Hospitals,
schools, etc.
Based on functions – child welfare, family welfare,
education, specialization based.
Also differs based on Source of support, professional
authority, clientele they serve, services they offer,
goals of the agency, etc.
 Cont...
The Process.
All professional & competent problem-solving as opposed
to trial -&-error method has 3 critical stages.
Study –case history. Information about the client(e.g age,
gender, picture of the problem, social conditions).This can
also be called assessment.
Social Diagnosis-search for the causes of the problem.
 Cont...
Types of diagnosis.
Dynamic –current problem and forces operating within
client, within social environment and interaction between
the two.
Clinical- classification of the nature of client problem.
It identifies the client`s personality maladaptation and
malfunctioning.
Etiological-life history of the client`s problem.
 Cont...
Social Treatment.
• It is the sum total of all activities and services directed towards
helping the client with a problem. Also called plan of action.
• Treatment begins from the moment of first contact, even when
client & worker initially speak over the phone or when an
agency receptionist greets the client.
Methods of Social Treatment.
Direct treatment-counselling, clarification & interpretation
leading to insight.
Help client to choose and use social resources such as money,
medical care, legal aid, get a job or any service that can resolve
a given problem
Cont...
Indirect treatment-manipulating the environment.
This involves changing the social conditions of client.
For instance-changing the attitude of parents,
teachers,employer,friend and relatives.
Skills training and employment creation.
Cont...
Objectives of casework treatment.
To prevent social breakdown.
To restore social functioning.
To provide positive reinforcements.
Link these objectives to functions of social work.
Cont...
The intent of the casework process is to engage the
client in solving his or her problem(s).
The caseworker establishes a therapeutic relationship.
Provides opportunities and aids to assist in the
problem-solving process.
 Cont...
Principles of casework.
Individualization
Purposeful expression of feelings
Control of Emotion
Self determination
Acceptance
Principle of non-judgmental attitude
Principle of Confidentiality
 Cont...
Client-worker relationship.
It is the dynamic interaction between the caseworker &
the client, with the purpose of helping clients achieve
better adjustments btw themselves & their environments.
The relationship btw worker & client is the channel of the
entire casework process, through it flow the skills in
intervention, study,diagnosis & treatment.
 Cont...
Elements of relationship.
Concern-involves a sincere caring for & abt others,& a
genuine interest in their experiences.
Commitment & obligation
Acceptance-involves the communication of a non-
judgemental attitude.
Cont...
Expectation
Empathy-involves the capacity to enter into the
feelings & experiences of another without losing
oneself in the process.
Authority & power.
Genuineness & congruence.
Casework Process

I. Intake (First Interview) Rapport Building

II. Psycho-Social study exploration/Investigation)
III. Psycho - Social diagnosis (Assessment)
IV. Intervention / Treatment (Problem-solving
process)
V. Monitoring and Evaluation:
VI. Follow-up and Termination
 Cont...
Interviewing Process.
Listening-is fundamental task of interviewing.
A good interviewer is a good listener.
Good listening involve sincere interest and concentration
on what is being said.
Occasional brief, relevant comments gives the client the
feeling that the listener is understanding what is being
said.
“Listening” to silences is also important.
 Cont...
Initial Interview.
Also known as first or intake interview.
Treatment process begins from the first contact.
The caseworker should prepare for the initial interview.
Why it is important?
It assists in locating the problem.
It helps in the development of the client-worker
relationship (rapport building).
Cont...
It assists in locating the stage of the problem at which
the client comes to the agency, through whom, and the
reasons for coming to the agency.
It determines whether the caseworker is in position to
help the client.
The interview help in determining the client`s level of
motivation to get rid of the problem.
 Cont...
Questioning skills.
What you ask is what you get!
Accusatory, tricky, abrupt, interrogation-type of questions
are counterproductive as they place the client on the
defensive.
Good timed and appropriate questions enhance the
interviewing process.
Leading and open ended questions are more productive
than closed questions.
Questions should evolve smoothly.
 Cont...
Observation skills.
.Observation is more than just “seeing” .
The worker should note physical appearance ,that is,
bodily tensions, flushing, perspiration, trembling,
excitability and dejection.
Observation of these assist the caseworker to
understand the problem of the client.
Physical appearance often provide clues to
motivations
Non-verbal behaviour is also significant
communication.
Cont...
The General rule is to ask questions for only 2
purposes i.e.;
1. To obtain needed information.
2. To focus the client`s conversation to the problem at
hand.
 Cont...
Contracts.
• The engagement phase of casework process involves
preparation for the meeting, introductions ,consideration
of policy and ethical factors ,and identifying the
preliminary goal of what the client want.
• Successful engagement results in agreement to proceed
with the casework process.
• This agreement constitutes a preliminary contract between
client and worker.
Cont...
 Contracting means mutual decision/agreement to work
together ie caseworker and client.
 It is an agreement between the client & caseworker to
work together toward the agreed-upon goals.
 This can be verbal or written agreement.
 A contract is a prerequisite for working together in
social work practice.
 Cont...
Parameters of a contract.
• A valid contract has the full participation of both
parties.
• A contract does not need to be agreed overnight. It
may take weeks or months.
• Contracts may be waived in an emergency or crisis
situation.
• In situations involving young children, retarded
persons and vulnerable populations, the caseworker
can act unilaterally because of the need to offer
protection
 Cont...
Recording.
• Recording in social work is an account usually written of
the interaction that takes place between workers, clients
and agencies.
• Case recording, particularly in the form of process
recording is a valuable tool for developing skills.
• Why recording?
Administration can check on the work being done in the
agency
 Cont...
• Preserves continuity of service where the initial worker is
not there for various reasons, another worker can
comfortably take over.
• Records help in providing service on a systematic basis.
• Records can be used for social research and planning.
• Records can help a worker evaluate his own work and
improve upon his own methods.
 Cont...
Records can help build client-worker relationship.
Records are useful for future references. They help the
social worker remember what has been covered before.
Records makes accountability possible and to determine if
the client got assistance.
Records add to the body of knowledge of social work and
makes this knowledge communicable.
Cont...

 Principles of Case Recording

The contents of records should be kept confidential.
Records should be objective, accurate, simple and
brief.
Abbreviations should be avoided in records.
Cont...
Notes should not be written down before the client but
after the interview is over whenever possible.
Client’s emotions should be suitably recorded.
Records should be supplemented with letters, or other
additional documents.
 Cont...
Types of Records.
• Verbatim-word for word recording.
• There is no selection or rearrangement of
information/data.
• This helps to preserve original information.
• It ensures that the social worker does not miss
any special detail.
• Condensed recording-is concise recording which is
either organised by topic or chronologically
Cont...
Summarised recording-involves a brief significant
aspects of the work covered.
Process recording-it is information presented
sequentially making the reader understand the
“process”.
The worker can indicate what the client asked and how
the caseworker responded or vice-versa.
 Cont...
Monitoring & Evaluation
Monitoring provides crucial feedback to caseworker and
the client regarding:
Whether the treatment plan is succeeding as desired.
Whether established goals have been achieved.
Whether modifications in the treatment plan are
necessary.
Whether the client is being helped in real sense.
Cont...
Monitoring provides crucial feedback to caseworker
and the client regarding:
Whether the treatment plan is succeeding as desired.
Whether established goals have been achieved.
Whether modifications in the treatment plan are
necessary.
Whether the client is being helped in real sense.
 Cont...
It determines whether the efforts of the caseworker are
yielding any result or not, if the techniques used are
serving the purpose, and if the goals are being achieved.
Evaluation strength the relationship between the
caseworker and client as well as motivate client to work
towards his goal.
Evaluation can prove to the public that casework
practices are effective and beneficial to the clients.
 Cont...
Evaluation subjects casework practice to critical review.
Caseworkers need to be held accountable for what they do
& for their social work competence.
Evaluation may highlight services overlapping and
ineffective.
Workers have to enhance their own image and also of the
agency to develop public relations. The clients need to
give a feedback on effectiveness of the services.
 Cont...
Termination.
This is the last stage in the client-caseworker
relationship.
It is the conclusion of the casework process.
This process takes place to mark the end of the
treatment process.
Termination should be a gradual process, not abrupt.
Follow-up can be done. The frequency and mount of
contacts should gradually decrease.
It is best to discuss termination and its implications
several times before the final interview.
Cont...
• During termination, the caseworker should discuss the
original as well as revised goals and objectives ,and
efforts needed to maintain the level of achievement
and the feelings aroused by disengagement.
• Termination bring both positive and negative feelings
to the worker and client –these should be discussed.
e.g transference.
Cont...
• After termination, follow-ups can be conducted and
appropriate help should be provided e.g referrals
• Follow-ups should be planned on a diminishing basis
e.g after 2 weeks, 1month, 3months, 6months, 1 year.
The Practice Framework
Purpose:
To prevent or ameliorate those conditions which
contribute to the breakdown of a healthy relationship
between the individual and their family, other associates,
or the environment.
Help people to identify and resolve problems in their
relationships or to minimize the negative effects.
To strengthen the maximum potential in individuals,
groups, and communities.
The Practice Framework
Social Work Values:
Assumes the inherent worth and importance of the
individual and the interdependence between the
individual and society.
Emphasis is placed on the importance of respect for the
dignity of the individual and on their ability to make
important decisions.
Self-determination is a basic right of the individual.
Social Work Values
Value Assumption on Individual Worth and
Capacity:
A “worth” value places the individual in a position of
eminence. They are above objects and institutions, worth
caring for because they are an individual.
Other values include respect, dignity, and opportunities
to express individuality.
The value of “worth” suggests that the individual has the
ability to guide their actions and the potential for
determining goals and their achievement.
Social Work Values
Uniqueness Value:
Belief in the individual’s uniqueness and individuality
suggest a casework approach of acceptance and the view
of differences as assets.
Strength in role relationships is viewed as coming from
differences.
Social Work Values
The Value Postulate of Self-Determination
Self-determination means that the client will decide
whether or not to engage in the casework process.
Self-determination is affirmed, explicated and
implemented at the beginning, in the middle and at the
end of the process.
Impositions that remove free choice and self-
determination may damage the relationship and weaken
the client’s problem-solving resolve and capacity.
Sanctions /Authority
Work with individuals and families is under the
auspices of various governmental and private agencies
that receive their sanction from the people.
Governmental agencies are intended to express the
will of the people.
Knowledge
The theory underpinning for casework is derived
basically from the profession of social work and from
casework practice.
Research contributes to the knowledge base and
appears to be growing in sophistication and
importance.
The profession continues to recognize the
contributions from the behavioral, social , and natural
sciences.
Knowledge
Pavlovian and Skinnerian psychology is a well
integrated theory and readily applied to casework
practice.
Behavior modification does not use a theory of
personality.
It proceeds from assumptions about operant behavior
and practice focused on observable behavior that can be
researched and explicated.
Knowledge
Social casework practice applies role theory.
Learning theory, adult socialization, small group,
cognition theory, general systems theory and the
ecological perspective, and discoveries in biology
and endocrinology are also adapted in casework.
Although social work “borrows” from psychology,
sociology, and from the biological sciences, the
profession itself orders, arranges, adapts and
determines the emphasis it will make of these
contributions.
Knowledge
Knowledge of the various services of the community is
basic to the practice of social casework.
The function and purpose of agencies and referral
procedures, and increasingly the legislative process, all
provide essential underpinning for the casework
process.
Models of Casework
Psychosocial Model:
One of the first models employed developed by Gordon
Hamilton and her associates from the Columbia School
of Social Work.
Cause and effect relationships are identified between the
individual and environment.
Model has a Freudian theory base.
Cont…
The Problem-Solving Method:
Identified with the work of Helen Perlman at the
Chicago school in l957.
The purposes of the process are to free the client for
investment in tasks related to the solution of the problem,
involve the client’s ego in work designated to deal with
the problem, and to mobilize inner and outer forces in the
service of satisfactory role performance.
Methods of Casework
Task-Centered Casework:
Developed at the University of Chicago in the l970’s.
Designed to solve specific psychosocial problems of
individuals or families in a short-term, time-limited form
of practice.
Caseworker and client reach an explicit agreement on the
particular problems to be worked on and also the
probable duration of treatment.
Methods of Casework

The Behavioral /Behaviour Modification Model:

Began to be incorporated in the l960’s
Practice applying to this model lends itself to research
since behavior to be modified is observable.
Symptoms are the same as other responses in that the
behavior is mainly respondent or operant.
Problematic behavior is learned through the process of
conditioning.
Methods of Casework
Generalist Practice Model:
Based on a problem-solving model from a systems or
person-in-environment perspective.
This model is applied with the unique qualities, values,
and ethics espoused by social work.
Problems in Social Casework
Social casework addresses itself to the solution of
problems that block or minimize the effectiveness of
the individual in various roles.
Social workers are frequently confronted with
situations in which the casework objective may be that
of helping a client use a service.
Casework Process
Study
In the study phase, the client is engaged in presenting the
problem.
The key is engagement.
Client makes the important decision of whether to enter
treatment.
Emphasis on the interaction is on the here-and-now and
on the problem not as might be perceived by the worker,
but as experienced at the moment by the client.
Data gathering and history taking concentrate on
relevance.
Casework Process
Study:
Contacts during the initial phase may be among the most
dynamic of the entire process.
Client is likely to feel most helpless and vulnerable and
most available to the helping process.
Sympathetic listening, demonstration of acceptance,
reassurance, demonstration of confidence in ability, and
judicious stroking are powerful tools of the social worker
and can be highly therapeutic.
Casework Process
Assessment:
Provides a differential approach to treatment based on
individual differences and needs.
An individual’s strengths need to be identified and
utilized as part of the change process.
Assessment is fluid and dynamic.
Assessment begins with a statement of the problem by
the client.
Results in an understanding of the problem.
Casework Process
Assessment:
It includes initial impressions that are confirmed,
modified, or rejected in the light of additional
information.
It includes judgment about the strength and limitations of
the individual in coping with the situation.
Treatment planning and treatment itself are guided by
assessment.
Casework Process
Assessment:
There is mutual agreement of the worker and the client
in assessment.
Goals must be congruent with the client’s needs and the
availability of services. These goals are respected,
supported and reinforced.
Casework Process
Intervention:
Intervention or treatment begins with the first contact.
The study process is treatment when it helps the client to
clarify the problem and to make changes from this
understanding.
The relationship is the mainspring of social work
intervention.
 Warmth, caring, and congruence have been identified as essential
qualities.
Casework Process
Intervention:
Skills include interviewing, recording, letter writing,
referrals to other agencies and services, and helping the
client to use personal and other resources.
Efforts support and strengthen the client’s ego through
emotional catharsis, reassurance, clarification of the
problem, and sympathetic listening.
Casework Process
Intervention (basic principles):
Right to determine own course of action within the limits
of their capacity to make sound choices.
Acceptance of client as is, implying acceptance in their
capacity to change.
Relate to strengths rather than pathology.
Seeks to understand the person and to help plan for
constructive change.
Casework Process
Intervention (basic principles):
Knowledge about the client’s family and its situation is
used responsibly.
Professional responsibility for the welfare of the total
family
Responsible not only to the client but to oneself, the
agency, the community, and the profession.
Innovations of professional activities must be consistent
with casework goals.
Casework Process
Termination:
The ending or limiting of a process that was commenced
when the agency agreed to enter into the interventive
process aimed at delivering a service to a client with a
problem.
A time when the client can look back with satisfaction
on what has been accomplished.
Signals that the worker has confidence in the client’s
ability to learn to cope with situations and grow.
The Multi-Systems Approach
One of the newer approaches to social work.
Affirms the interrelationships of the individual to an
interlocking network of systems each influencing the
other.
Takes into consideration the importance of the systems
impacting and being impacted by each other.
Case Management
One function of social work is to locate, coordinate,&
obtain formal social support through the provision of
case mgt.
This involves assisting clients to identify their social
support wants & needs,determine where & how these
needs may be secured within the community,& secure
appropriate formal services.
 Cont...
Case mgt is the process of planning, or organising,
coordinating,& monitoring the services & resources
needed to respond to an individual `s social services
needs.
Social work case managers serve diverse client groups,
including children, families, older individuals, persons
with mental illness, people who are homeless, persons
with HIV/AIDS, and persons who abuse drugs or alcohol.
 Cont...
Case mgt involves the coordination of mutiple services on
behalf of individuals, families & grps so that they may be
efficiently & effectively directed at defined problem areas.
Through case mgt ,coordination & integration of services
occurs at the client level.
Functions of case mgt are assessment, planning, linking,
monitoring and advocacy.