Unit 5: The Philosophical Foundation of Social Work Practice PDF

o Applied to persons whose social functioning is normal or if impaired, has been restored. Unit Five. The Philosophical Foundation of Social Work Practice Brieland, Donald, Lela Costin and Charles Atherton (1985). Contemporary Social Work Practice, 3rd ed. De Guzman, Leonora (1992)....

o Applied to persons whose social functioning is normal or if impaired, has been restored. Unit Five. The Philosophical Foundation of Social Work Practice Brieland, Donald, Lela Costin and Charles Atherton (1985). Contemporary Social Work Practice, 3rd ed. De Guzman, Leonora (1992). Introduction to Social Work. Q.C. New Day Publishers. Hepworth, Dean et al., (2006). Direct Social Work Practice Theory and Skills, 7th ed., Singapore: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Morales, Armando and Bradford Sheafor (1995). Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, 7th ed., Singapore: Allyn and Bacon. https://paswimagcot.wordpress.com/social-workers-code-of-ethics/ A. The Philosophy of Social Work Philosophy: Definition An activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and to each other. 1. Social Work Philosophy: a. Belief that the human being was created after the image of God, imbued wit inherent worth and dignity and endowed with the capacity to reason and the freedom to exercise his/her free will. b. The individual is the primary concern of society. c. There is interdependence between individuals in society. d. They have social responsibility for one another. e. There are human needs common to each person; yet each person is essentially unique and different from others. f. Society has a responsibility to provide ways in which obstacles to self-realization (i.e., disequilibrium between the individual and his/her environment) can b e overcome or prevented. 2. Social Work Beliefs Belief – a feeling of certainty that something exists, is true, or is good. Social work believes that the environment (social, physical, organizational) should: a. Provide the opportunity and resources for the maximum realization of the potential and aspirations of all individuals; b. Provide for their common human needs and the alleviation of distress and suffering. 41  c. Individuals should contribute as effectively as they can to their own well being and to the welfare of others in their immediate environment as well as to the collective society. d. Transactions between individuals and others in their environment should enhance the dignity, individuality, and self-determination of everyone; people should be treated humanely and with justice. 3. Social Work Values Value – a type of belief, centrally located in one’s total belief system, about how one ought or ought not to behave, or about some end-state of existence worth or not worth attaining. a. Human Rights – that which a person has a just claim to; power, privilege, etc., that belongs to a person as a human being. o Social workers believe that human beings possess basic rights endowed on them by God which are natural, inalienable, and universal, such as: ▪ Right to life, liberty and security ▪ Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion ▪ Right of opinion and expression ▪ Right of peaceful assembly and association ▪ Right to equal protection of the law ▪ Right to own property ▪ Right to work ▪ Right to get an education ▪ Right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of people and their families (this includes the right to acquire food, clothing, housing, and medical care and other necessary social services in cases of disability, widowhood, old age, and the lack of livelihood due to circumstances beyond people’s control). b. Social Justice – the equitable distribution of the national wealth and income and the equality of access to opportunities for the full development of every citizen as a human being. o The humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the state so that justice in its rational meaning and objective secular conception may at least be approximated. o It involves the principle of equality of opportunities, equality before the law, and the equitable/fair distribution of the fruits of production. c. People’s Participation – refers to people's voluntary involvement in self- determined change. o Levels of Participation: 42  (1) Direct participation in policy-making and program development usually at the local level; (2) Participation through representation usually at the national level; (3) Participation in mutual self-help programs at the neighborhood level. 4. Guiding Principles of Social Work Principle – fundamental truth, law, doctrine, or motivating force upon which others are based; the law by which something operates. a. Acceptance – the act of extending unconditional love to those seeking help. o Unconditional love means critical love in that the worker is aware of the client’s failures and weaknesses but despite these, the worker proceeds to help the client solve his/her problem so that s/he could become a better person. o Love in this sense is an act of will rather than emotional impulse. o The client is accepted but not his/her anti-social attitudes and behavior. o Acceptance is the starting point of the client-worker relationship, of the helping process. o Acceptance is based on the following beliefs: (1) Every human being is born with inherent worth and dignity; (2) S/he is intrinsically good and naturally virtuous and therefore should be treated as such; (3) Clients are accepted for what they are, irrespective of what they have done or failed to do; (4) Clients are held accountable for their actions and must behave responsibly towards others. b. Individualization – based on the idea that no two individuals are alike because each personality is the product of genetics and the environment. o This implies that the social worker must be skilled in differential diagnosis so that the kind of help rendered to each and every client meets the particular needs of each specific case or situation, using as much as possible the client’s own resources, capacities and capabilities. c. Non-judgmental Attitude – the worker’s mindset does not: (1) Use derogatory labels to identify the client; (2) Assume condemnatory attitude towards the client’s attitudes and behavior, values, standards, actions, lifestyle; 43  (3) Assign guilt or innocence. The worker’s skills and techniques are used to: ▪ Bring the client to the point of self-discovery or self-awareness. ▪ Bring the client to self-recognition of his/her own failings or innocence. d. Purposeful expression of feelings – refers to the clients’ emotional expression to release their pent-up feelings. o The client must be enabled to share his/her private thoughts and feelings freely, especially the negative ones. o Shared feelings must be those that reflect the client’s authentic needs, and not a response to what s/he thinks the worker is looking for or wants to hear. o The worker encourages the expression of feelings and emotions that are only relevant to the problem at hand to enable the client to view his/her problem situation and own place in the mix-up more objectively. o The worker interposes relevant questions or encourages observations that facilitate a better understanding and knowledge of the client and his/her situation. e. Controlled emotional involvement – refers to the social worker’s reaction to the client’s expression of feelings. o This implies emotional detachment, i.e., the worker must be empathetic, understanding and responsive, but must guard against becoming emotionally involved with the client. o Controlled emotional involvement requires sensitivity on the part of the worker. ▪ Sensitivity refers to the ability to perceive or respond to the client’s unexpressed feelings, attitudes or behavior. ▪ The worker must understand the meanings of these feelings and behaviors in relation to the client and his/her problem. f. Client’s self-determination – refers to the right and need of clients to make their own choices and decisions in the process of receiving help. o The worker has a corresponding duty to respect that right, recognize that need, and help activate the person’s potential for self-direction. o In cases when the clients are unable to make or come to a decision, the worker has to take them through the process of decision-making. 44  o The worker sees to it that the clients know their options, the advantages and disadvantages of alternatives that are presented. o Clients are helped to understand and anticipate the possible consequences of the action they want to pursue and be made aware that they are responsible for their action. o The right to self-determination is limited by: (1) The client’s capacity for positive and constructive decision making; (2) The framework of civil and moral law (rights of others must be respected); (3) The function of the agency. g. Confidentiality – the preservation of secret information concerning the client, which is disclosed in a professional relationship. o Clients have a right to keep their past behavior and present troubles private. o Exceptions to confidentiality: (1) When certain information has to be shared with other helping persons within the agency or other agencies so that they may be able to help the client; (2) When the client intends to commit an act that is harmful to him/herself and/or others. 5. The Philippine Social Work Code of Ethics We, the members of the Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc. believing: In the inherent worth and dignity of all persons emanating from a Supreme Being who directs our actions of love for one another; We believe that the government and the people have a joint responsibility to promote social justice and to ensure the economic and social well being of all people. We believe in free men freely living in a free society where poverty is neither a fate nor a punishment but is a condition that can and must be changed. We are committed to the development of the highly fulfilled human being in an atmosphere of social equity and economic prosperity. We are committed to seek a higher quality of life for all people. We bind ourselves to the following principles of conduct: 45  1. The social worker shall endeavor to contribute his utmost to nation building. 2. The social worker shall give paramount importance to the well being of those whom he helps. 3. The social worker shall accept with respect and understanding his clients, colleagues, and all those who come within his sphere of professional activity. 4. The social worker shall engage in social action which according to his convictions will further the best interests of the people and country. 5. The social worker shall create and avail of opportunities for continuing professional growth. 6. The social worker shall at all times conduct himself in accordance with the standards of the social work profession. Unit Six. The Scope of Social Work Practice Alle-Corliss, Lupe & Randy (1998). Human Service Agencies, An Orientation to Fieldwork. NY: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co. Beckett, Chris and Nigel Horner (2016). Essential Theory for Social Work Practice, 2nd ed., London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Kirst-Ashman, Karen K. (2007). Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare, 2nd ed., Singapore: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Morales, Armando and Bradford Sheafor (1995). Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces, 7th ed. Schulman, Lawrence (2006). The Skills of Helping Individuals, Families, Groups and Organizations. Singapore: Brooks/Cole. Sheafor, Bradford W. and Charles Horejsi (2015). Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice, 10th ed., Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Thompson, Neil and Paul Stepney, editors (2018). Social Work Theory and Methods: The Essentials. NY: Routledge Zastrow, Charles H. (1992). The Practice of Social Work, 6th ed., Singapore, Brooks/Cole Publishing A. The Methods of Social Work Practice Method – is a way of doing something. It implies regularity and orderliness in action. 1. Primary/Direct Methods – helping methods that involve fact-to-face contact with clients. o Types of Primary Methods a. Social Casework – aimed at helping individuals on a one-to-one basis to meet personal and social problems. ▪ It may be geared to helping clients adjust to the environment or changing certain social and economic pressures that adversely affect them. ▪ Casework Activities o Counseling o Helping unemployed people secure training/employment o Placing homeless children in adoptive or foster homes o Providing protective services to abused children and their families 46