DIASS QUARTER 4. LESSON 1

• Social Work


  An academic discipline and profession that concerns itself with individuals, families, groups and communities in an effort to enhance social functioning and overall well-being
• Social Work


  • A practical profession designed at helping people address their problems and matching them with the resources they need to lead healthy and productive lives
  • A person who helps clients and audiences in coping up with their physical, mental, behavioral or emotional problems
• Maya Angelou: 'Diversity makes for a rich tapestry. We must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value, no matter their color; equal in importance no matter their texture.'
• Smith (2002): 'Social work is "a very practical job" and since it is about protecting people and changing their lives and not about being able to give a fluent and theoretical explanation of why they got into difficulties in the first place.'
• Goals of Social Work

  • Caring - Focuses on the well-being or the welfare of an individual and the community
  • Curing - Treating people with problems in social functioning
  • Changing - Active participation of social workers in social reforms
• Caring - Examples

  • Enhancement of quality of life in prison
  • Upgrading and humanizing services in nursing homes
• Curing - Examples

  • Popular counseling approaches, family therapy, behavior modification, gestalt therapy
• Scope of Social Work as Primary Discipline

  • Adoption and services to unmarried parents
  • Foster care
  • Residential Care
  • Support in own home
  • Protective services
  • Family services
  • Income Maintenance
• Adoption


  The action or fact of legally taking another's child and bringing it up as one's own
• Foster care


  Removing children from homes and placing them to foster homes temporarily
• Residential Care


  For children exhibiting social behaviors that require intensive treatment
• Family Services


  • Family counseling
  • Family Life Education
  • Family planning
• Social insurance


  Social provisions that are funded by employers and employees through contribution to a specific program
• Public assistance


  Financial aid to the poor, including cash grants, food stamps, general assistance such as medical care and supplemental security income
• Scope of Social Work as Equal Partner

  • Support for people in their own homes program
  • Support for people in the long-term care facilities
  • Community services
• Scope of Social Work as Secondary Discipline

  • Correctional facilities
  • Industry
  • Medical and health care services
  • Schools
• Principles of Social Work

  • Acceptance
  • Affirming Individuality
  • Purposeful Expression of Feelings
  • Non-Judgementalism
  • Objectivity
  • Controlled Emotional Involvement
  • Self-Determination
  • Access to Resources
  • Confidentiality
• Acceptance


  A fundamental social work principle that implies a sincere understanding of client
• Affirming Individuality


  To recognize and appreciate the unique qualities of the client, to "begin where the client is"
• Purposeful Expression of Feelings


  Clients need to have opportunities to express their feelings freely to the social worker, going beyond "just the facts" to uncover the underlying feeling
• Non-Judgementalism


  Communicating non-judgementalism is essential to developing a relationship with a client, implying a non-blaming attitude and behavior, and not judging others as good or bad, worthy or unworthy
• Objectivity


  Closely related to non-judgementalism, essential to social work
• Controlled Emotional Involvement


  Involves sensitivity to expressed or unexpressed feelings, understanding based on knowledge of human behavior, and a response guided by knowledge and purpose
• Self-Determination


  The principle that recognizes the right and need of clients to freedom in making their own choices and decisions
• Access to Resources


  Social workers are implored to assure that everyone has the necessary resources, services, and opportunities
• Confidentiality


  The right to privacy, implying that clients must give expressed consent before information is disclosed
• Core Values of Social Work

  • Service - Elevating public service above self-interest and personal gain
  • Social Justice - Advocating for social justice and fighting social injustice
  • Values - Treating each client with dignity, compassion and respect, mindful of individual differences, cultural norms, and ethnic diversity
  • Human Relationships - Recognizing the primary importance of human relationships as vehicles for change, advocacy and equity
  • Integrity - Maintaining trustworthiness, awareness of organizational mission, professional values and individual ethical standards
• Areas of Social Work

  • Child, Family and School Social Work
  • Community Social Work
  • Hospice and Palliative Care Social Work
  • Medical and Health Social Work
  • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Work
  • Military and Veterans Social Work
  • Psychiatric Social Work
• Child, Family and School Social Work


  Reaching out and rehabilitating children who have experienced trauma or abuse; counselling individuals undergoing stress and anxiety due to grief or depression; helping parents with a child suffering from severe illness
• Community Social Work


  Assisting in the effective implementation of infrastructure building, volunteering, and fund-raising efforts; serving as links to community-based non-profit organizations that help neighborhoods in times of crisis and disasters
• Hospice and Palliative Care Social Work


  Providing assistance to those seriously or terminally ill, including relief from pain and other relevant services
• Medical and Health Social Work


  Helping clients with emotional, financial and physical struggles caused by medical conditions
• Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Work


  Providing assistance and counselling to individuals who struggle with addiction, substance abuse or mental health problems, as well as their families
• Military and Veterans Social Work


  Providing assistance to military and combat veterans by helping them overcome post-traumatic stress and slowly adjust to life and family outside combat
• Psychiatric Social Work


  Providing therapy and assessing the psychiatric health of clients