Social Work with Individuals and Families PDF

Social Work with Individuals and Families  Outline Social worker roles in different contexts and settings Components of relationship building and maintenance Stages of the helping process – Exploration/assessment – Contracting/planning – Implementation/i...

Social Work with Individuals and Families  Outline Social worker roles in different contexts and settings Components of relationship building and maintenance Stages of the helping process – Exploration/assessment – Contracting/planning – Implementation/intervention – Ending/evaluation Skills for practice with families  Learning Objectives To outline different aspects of social work practice with individuals and families To understand the critical role of relationship- building and maintenance in practice with individuals and families To identify the different phases of practice with individuals and families To learn about the skills and tasks associated with direct practice To appreciate the importance of assessment as both a process and a product To identify techniques and tools specific to working with families What types of roles might a social worker take with an individual or family?  Historical Contexts of Social Work with Individuals and Families Social work with individuals and families has its origins in the work of charity organizations that provided support to those living in poverty – Friendly visiting/social casework – Founded on belief that good information gathering was only possible when caseworkers communicated care and concern Today, direct practice focuses on collaboration rather than diagnosis, and identifies strengths alongside challenges Practice with Individuals and Families  Practice with Individuals and Families Social workers practice in a variety of settings and address myriad issues – With individuals and families across the life span (from infancy to older adulthood) – In schools, hospitals, community-based organizations, etc. – Issues include child welfare, immigrant and refugee issues, physical and mental health, housing and financial issues, etc. – Clients may request services, be referred, or be legally mandated to seek services  Practice with Individuals and Families, cont’d Regardless of the life stage, setting, issue, or referral type, social work with individuals and families involves both clinical work and case management – Clinical work: focuses on working with thoughts, interactions, behaviours, and emotions of an individual or family – Case management: focuses on helping individuals and families locate and access resources  Practice with Individuals and Families, cont’d The case management function can be further divided into service navigation and advocacy – Service navigation: includes providing information about services, initiating referrals, and ensuring services are accessed and useful – Advocacy: includes speaking with and on behalf of clients to overcome barriers to service access, such as rigid and complex service structures and client difficulties representing their needs  Practice with Individuals and Families, cont’d Some organizational settings may lend themselves to a primary focus on clinical work – E.g., short-term counselling in a health clinic for individuals and families managing difficult life events Others may position the social worker role as that of a case manager – E.g. a community-based mental health team focused on helping people with severe and persistent mental health challenges locate housing and access social programs What distinguishes social work from other helping professions is its focus on both clinical work and case management, despite the organizational setting or presenting issue Communication Skills  Communication Skills All forms of direct practice with individuals and families require the use of effective communication skills that help clients feel heard and respected – Attending – Questioning – Reflecting – Summarizing  Attending Non-verbal aspects of communication that convey interest and presence What might be some ways of Attending? How do we know someone isn’t Attending?  Attending Facing individuals squarely Leaning forward Remaining relaxed Using a soothing tone of voice Establishing periodic eye contact, if culturally appropriate Paying attention to client reactions and adapting accordingly  Questioning Used to help individuals and families elaborate on what they have said, offer their interpretation of an event, and/or reflect on their feelings and needs Open questions: require more thought than a one-word answer – Preferred when encouraging clients to elaborate Closed questions: can be answered in one word – Useful to clarify facts – Can shut down communication if used too frequently  Reflecting Typically involves paraphrasing what a worker believes a client is trying to convey Can be especially important when working with clients whose social location differs significantly from that of the social worker, as it helps to: – Clarify meaning – Affirm that significant statements have been understood – Support the development of trust and collaboration  Reflecting “It sounds like you felt misunderstood when she did that.” “So when that happened you thought he was being intentionally hurtful.” What is the difference between reflecting and parroting?  Summarizing An effort to pull together key themes, feelings, concerns, and issues Useful when: – Refocusing an interview that has gone off track – Providing closure or an ending to a meeting – Providing continuity between meetings by recapping what has already been shared The Social Work Relationship  The Social Work Relationship Communication skills are effective in part because they assist in the formation of a relational base Common factors: the common relational elements in all approaches and techniques informing direct practice with individuals and families – Care and concern – Genuineness – Empathy – Collaboration  Care and Concern Expressed when the social worker seeks to understand an individual or family out of a genuine desire to help – Emanates out of the social work value of dignity and respect – Grounded in belief that all individuals and families are worthy of respect and improved circumstances – Sincere care facilitates the expression of difficult emotions  Genuineness Being open, real, and sincere with individuals and families – Also referred to as authenticity or congruence – Congruence of tone, body language, and actions signals the social worker’s commitment to helping – Genuineness is demonstrated by keeping individuals and families well informed and remaining truthful  Empathy The capacity to understand and respond to another person’s subjective experience – Involves putting oneself in another’s shoes – Empathy is communicated by asking about clients’ feelings and reactions, using empathic statements, or offering insights of how the social worker may have felt or reacted in a similar situation – Also communicated through acknowledgement and recognition of how an individual or family’s social location intersects with their experiences  Collaboration The development of mutually agreed upon goals and tasks between a social worker and individuals and families – Collaboration is paramount in relationship building – Important in both voluntary and involuntary working relationships – Based on mutual understanding of the nature of the issues to be worked on and how those issues should be addressed Hope: A Neglected Common Factor Care and Concern Collaborati HOP Genuinene E on ss Empathy  The Social Work Relationship Three fundamental processes underlie the social work relationship: – Client-centred: focus on helping individuals and families tell their stories and identify needs and solutions – Self-awareness: social workers must be acutely aware of their own reactions, beliefs, and experiences – Attunement: social workers should attend to how each individual is experiencing the social work relationship  Which type of communication do you see here? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGMGX tfAX7U  Self-Disclosure An intentional attempt at revealing something about the self of the worker What, when, and how often to self-disclose is a widely-debated topic Debate must be understood within the context of divergent theoretical orientations – Traditional view: The social worker is viewed as “neutral” and must use self-disclosure sparingly and with care – Critical view: Neutrality is harmful and fails to recognize the impact of social location on the helping process Phases of the Helping Process  Phase I: Exploration/Assessment Involves the initial collection and analysis of information around how individuals and families understand their issues, what they hope to be different, and their strengths and limitations Process: the manner in which a social worker gathers information Product: the written assessment The assessment process and product are guided by: – The context in which a social worker is practicing – The nature in which the client came to the attention of the social worker or agency  Phase I: Exploration/Assessment, cont’d Voluntary: requests for services wherein clients have self-referred or agree with referral – Exploration questions: “What brings you here today?” “What led you to call our agency?” Involuntary: requests for services wherein clients have been mandated to seek services – Exploration questions: “I understand that your parents are concerned about your behaviour. What do you think?”  What are the goals of assessment? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kagGIy lgAnw Phase II: Contracting/Planning Developing a shared understanding of the issues to be addressed, including: – Purpose: the rationale for service – Target problems: issues or challenges that clients wish to change – Goals: future desired end states for clients – Time limits: the time parameters social workers and clients establish for the work they will do together – Actions, activities, and responsibilities: the negotiated expectations workers and clients establish for the work they will do together  Phase III: Implementation/Intervention Actively working towards change within the individual or family, the environment, or both – Lack of resources  social worker will provide referral or facilitate access to services and monitor to ensure suitability of services – Difficult life event  social worker will elicit expression of emotion and offer information Interventions may include: – Questions that challenge the client’s perceptions – Statements that offer alternate ways of reacting – Information that elicits new insight – Mediation  Phase IV: Ending/Evaluation Ending phase of a social work encounter can be activated: – When identified goals appear to be achieved – Due to worker-initiated endings Worker leaves an organization Student finishes field placement – Due to client-initiated endings Client stops attending Client stops returning calls  Phase IV: Ending/Evaluation, cont’d Four interrelated processes to facilitate “good” endings: 1. Reviewing progress: Facilitated by the worker to help clients reflect on initial concerns to elicit insights about progress made 2. Consolidating gains: Involves reinforcing the capacities within clients that led to positive change 3. Planning next steps: A process of exploring and anticipating future needs and potential resources to address them 4. Processing the emotional bond: Facilitating the expression of emotion associated with ending the work between worker and client https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sv6eml OJeI What do you see the counselor doing? The Helping Process with Families  The Helping Process with Families Family-specific skills and techniques include: – Establishing rapport with all members of the family – Eliciting each member’s understanding of the purpose of the social work encounter – Inviting all members to express emotions, apprehensions, and perceptions about engagement in the social work encounter – Helping the family consider issues in relational terms – Eliciting each member’s concerns while  The Helping Process with Families, cont’d Observing patterns of interaction provides the worker with valuable information about how, if at all, family structure may be connected to the presenting issues – Tracking: observing patterns of interaction between family members while listening to the issues they are discussing – Family structure: the way the family is organized, including roles family members hold and closeness and distance between members  The Helping Process with Families, cont’d Genogram: a visual representation of a family that illustrates the family’s history, structure, demographics, functioning, and patterns of relating to one another Genograms chart the following: – Information about current members of the family and the two previous generations – Dates of significant life events – Sibling position – Race/ethnicity, religion, etc. – Patterns of interaction  Let’s see a family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWuy7aC-N00 What do you observe in terms of: Tracking: observing patterns of interaction between family members while listening to the issues they are discussing Family structure: the way the family is organized, including roles family members hold and closeness and distance between members