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Social Work with Individuals and Families
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1. Describe the components of a social work assessment that change and those that remain the same in different organizational contexts.
All assessments elicit how an individual or family understands their situation, what their goals are, and the strengths and limitations that may help or hinder the work. However, the focus of social work assessments can vary depending on the context in which a social worker is practicing, the primary role the social worker is playing, and the theoretical orientation informing the process. For example, an assessment may address how an individual copes with his/her illness in a hospital setting or explore substance use in a drug treatment facility.
2. Outline and explain the main tasks associated with the implementation/intervention phase of the helping process.
The main tasks associated with implementation/intervention include actively working towards change based on identified goals and monitoring the results of the work. If resources are needed, this may include making referrals, or actively linking individuals/families to services. When the goal is to work on a socio-emotive issue, work includes eliciting the expression of emotions, normalizing feelings and reactions, and offering information that may improve insight. It is through this work that a social worker and individual/family can determine if initially developed plans are useful or if further revisions are required.
3. How might different theoretical orientations lead social workers to think differently about worker self-disclosure?
Some theoretical orientations position the worker as neutral and thus call for minimal self-disclosure. Psychodynamic orientations tend to adhere to this understanding. More critical orientations suggest that (a) self-disclosure is inevitable (e.g., one’s way of speaking may necessarily disclose one’s class), and (b) failing to address and acknowledge these issues can create a harmful distance between worker and client.
4. Describe some of the differences between practice with individuals and practice with families.
All social work practice is concerned with family dynamics and all relies on the development of a relational base; however, when working with multiple members of a family, social workers try to elicit the description of issues in relational terms (“We fight a lot”) rather than as concerns with only one family member. Working with multiple people also necessitates different skills, such as establishing rapport with all members, managing inter-member dynamics, and tracking family interactions.
5. Identify and explain three common factors of social work practice.
Genuineness in the context of a helping relationship is being honest about one’s power and authority, one’s observations, and one’s capacity to help. Showing care and concern in a helping relationship includes caring about what happens to a client and showing respect to him or her by listening well, following up on responsibilities, and believing he or she is deserving of better circumstances. This does not mean a worker must “like” a client. Empathy is the worker’s capacity to understand another person’s subjective experiences. This involves validating emotional reactions or asking about emotions. Finally, collaboration involves establishing some level of agreement with the client on the nature of the issues to be worked on and how those issues should be addressed.
6. Describe what the case management function of social work involves.
When social workers carry out their case management function, they are focused on helping people locate and access needed resources. This function can be further divided into: (a) service navigation, which involves providing people with information about services, initiating referrals, and ensuring services are accessed and/or seen as useful, and (b) advocacy, which involves speaking with and on behalf of individuals and families to help them overcome barriers to service access.
7. How can asking questions both support and hinder the development of a relational base?
Questioning is a critical communication tool used to encourage individuals and families to elaborate on what they have said, offer interpretations of an event or issue, or reflect on feelings and needs. Open questions elicit more than one-word answers and are used to encourage elaboration. Closed questions elicit one-word answers and can be useful when clarifying factual information, but can shut down dialogue if used too frequently. Despite their usefulness, bombarding clients with a series of questions, no matter how well developed and pertinent, can be disruptive and interfere with relationship building. Hence, when asking important questions, it is critical to provide individuals and families with the time and space to respond.