Beginning

1
Beginning

• Chapter 6
• 46-304

2
Review

• In Chapter 5 we discussed how you prepare to work
  with your client.
• In this chapter, Chapter 6, we discuss how you
  begin work with the client.

3
Beginning

• This chapter is about your beginnings with a
  client.
• How a relationship starts frequently sets the
  tone for subsequent encounters.
• Successful beginning is a skill which can be
  learned.
• A poor start may be overcome but why waste the
  time?

4
Remember...

• You never get a second chance to make a first
  impression.

5
Chapter 6 Beginning

• Topics
• Introducing Yourself
• Seeking Introductions
• Describing Initial Purpose
• Outlining Client Roles
• Discussing Policy Ethical Factors
• Seeking Feedback

6
The First Order of Business

• At the start of a first contact identify yourself
  by first and last name, profession, your
  affiliation, and status (if you are a student
  intern say so).
• It is also useful to make a brief statement as to
  your specialty or any particulars about the
  capacity in which you will be working with the
  client.
• Avoid over-familiarization during initial
  contacts.

7
Seeking Introductions

• A persons name is a precious thing. Learn the
  name of your client, and learn how to pronounce
  it correctly.
• Ask how the person prefers to be addressed (Miss,
  Ms., Mrs., Mr., Reverend, Doctor, first name or
  nickname).
• Periodically during the course of an interview
  refer to your client by name.

8
How many languages do you know how to say hello
in?

• List all of the foreign language (non-English)
  words you know for hello

9
Hello Spanning the Globe
Catalan Hola
Chinese Ni hao
Croatian Zdravo
Danish Goddag
Dutch Hallo
French Allô
German Hallo
Hebrew Shalom
Hungarian Szervusz
Turkish Alo
Vietnamese Chao
Yiddish Halo
Italian Ciao/Pronto
Japanese Konnichiwa
Korean Aunung haseyo
Lithuanian Sveikas
Modern Greek Chairete
Norwegian Hei/Hallo
Persian Salam
Polish Czes'c
Portuguese Oi
Russian Privet!
Serbian Zdravo
Spanish Hola
Swedish Hej/Hallå
Tagalog Kamusta
10
Class Role Play Exercise 1

• At this point we are going to take turns
  introducing ourselves.
• You are about to begin an interview with a
  77-year old widow who has a hearing impairment.
  She can make out most words if they are spoken
  clearly, distinctly, and at a low pitch.
• How would you introduce yourself and seek an
  introduction from her?
• What else, if anything would you say or do?
• Discuss your rationale for the words you choose
  and the action you propose.

11
Class Role Play Exercise 2

• Another opportunity to introduce ourselves.
• You are about to begin an interview with a
  22-year old male. As you walk together to your
  office you smell a strong odor which resembles
  marijuana.
• How would you introduce yourself and seek an
  introduction from her?
• What else, if anything would you say or do?
• Discuss your rationale for the words you choose
  and the action you propose.

12
Describing Initial Purpose

• Clearly and succinctly describe your vision of
  the purpose for the meeting early in the
  interaction.
• Clearly and succinctly describe your role as well
  as the role of the client.
• Also keep in mind the goals of any social work
  agency, program or service you may affiliate
  yourself with

13
Goals of Most social work agencies, programs, and
services (Garvin, 1997)
Socialization
Supporting normal people in transition from one
status to another
Resocialization
Supporting people labeled or deemed abnormal
who display conflict with others
Social Control
Control and manage deviance
Rehabilitation
Support individuals attempting to become
functional, healthy and socially accepted
14
Class Activity

• Social workers can take on many roleslist the
  roles that come to your mind.
• Which roles would you like to play?

15
Roles of the Professional Social Worker

• Social workers are engaged in many practices -in
  many roles. Some of them are
• advocate
• broker
• case manager
• counselor
• educator
• evaluator
• facilitator
• mediator
• therapist

16
The Client Role

• Clients assume two basic roles -
• involuntary
• Pressured by some external source to seek
  services
• voluntary
• Seeking services of their own will and volition
• The dynamics for each type of role can be very
  different.
• With involuntary clients you will need to go into
  more depth in explaining your role and function.
  Why is that?

17
INVOLUNTARY CLIENTS

• The following questions might be useful for a
  client who is
• mandated or referred.......
• What do you want from coming here?
• What does want from you coming here?
• Is some of this something you want as well?
• When says you do not have to come anymore,
  what will they say you are doing differently?
• When says you are 'on track' what will they
  say you are doing or doing differently?

18
The following questions might be useful for a
client who is mandated or referred.......
19
Outlining the Client Role

• Most clients who you will see are unsure, or have
  misconceptions, about what it is you do and are
  particularly uncertain as to what is expected of
  them.
• Clients are concerned with what they are
  supposed to do.
• Take time to negotiate and discuss with the
  client what is expected of them.

20
Sample Client Role Prescription
21
Defining Roles A Collaborative Effort

• Never assume that the client knows what is
  expected of them.
• Discuss with the client what their role is and
  invite them to discuss what they see their role
  as being.
• Collaborate with the client in defining their
  role.
• Do not leave the role of the client to chance.
  Collaboratively define what their role is and
  help teach them how to perform it.

22
Policy and Ethical Considerations

• At the outset, before detailed discussion, you
  need to discuss relevant legal, policy,and
  ethical factors.
• In order to educate the client you need to be
  well versed as to what your responsibilities are.
  
• During the preparation stages take the
  opportunity to become knowledgeable about any
  special considerations you might have to your
  client.

23
Liability

• Social workers often incur certain legal
  responsibilities and liabilities in their
  professional roles.

24
What You Can Do as A Student

• Be familiar with
• The NASW Code of Ethics and with the policies and
  expectations of the School of Social Work
• The policies and expectations of the Social Work
  Program as outlined in the Field
• Program Manuals, and the policies and procedures
  of the agencies you are placed in
• Purchase malpractice insurance.
• Low-cost student malpractice insurance is
  available for students who are NASW members.
• At some Canadian universities students have
  liability coverage while registered in the
  Faculty of Social Work
• If you are concerned about the ethics of specific
  agency practices or specific assignments or
  situations bring these concerns to a Field
  Instructive, Program Director or other potential
  resource people.

25
Worker Ethical, Policy, and Legal Practice
Guidelines

• Every social worker performs under various legal,
  ethical, and policy considerations.
• There is some variation from one agency to
  another.
• There is some variation from one province to
  another.

26
Origins of Legal, Ethical, Policy Guidelines

• Legal Provincial and federal government
• Ethical Professional organizations
• Policy Agency

27
Policy

• Policy practice supports social works purpose in
  facilitating social justice.
• Policy action emerges from within social work
  practice
• Ife, 1997

28
Policy
Document Available at http//www.casw-acts.ca/adv
ocacy/socialpolicy_e.pdf
29
Policy and Practice

• Policy Sensitive practice
• Understand the wider practice context
• Social workers recognize and observe the
  implications of wider systems on individuals
• Policy related practice
• Actively engage your skills to assist specific
  clients. Informed by knowledge of existing
  policies, ensure that individuals are receiving
  fair implementation of existing policies.
• Policy Practice
• When you engage in class advocacy that is, seek
  policy reforms that benefit a range of people

30
Policy and You

• -History of the Welfare State
• -Theories of the state
• -Institutions of Government
• -Policy frameworks
• -Stages of Policy Development
• Examples of Development of
• different Policies
• -Policy language
• -Different policy discourses

KNOWLEDGE
POLICY PRACTICE
VALUES
SKILLS

-Policy Analysis research conceptual,
analytical -Interactional listening, group
work skills, persuasion oral and written,
networking,, negotiation, social
linkage -Political understanding and working
with power, developing influence, advocacy,
political action, using the media -Value
Clarification ethical decision making
framework, analysis
-Social Work values and ethics -Ethical Decision
Making -Value and theoretical frameworks -Congruen
ce between personal values and values
underpinning policy
31
Agency Policy

• Items that are important to know and apprise
  clients of
• Billing payment procedures
• Cancellation procedures
• Who has access to records
• Supervision consultation issues
• Release of information
• Services the agency offers
• Duration of services

32
Law and Ethics in Social Work

• A means of
• Addressing widely defined needs and risks
• Securing beneficial resources
• Challenging the erosion of rights
• Social, economic, political and cultural contexts
  
• Emphasis on the law/ethics relationship
• Set legal rules alongside moral rules
• How do we handle practice dilemmas?
• Challenge unethical legal frameworks
• Engage with international ethical codes

33

• UP TO HERE FOR TUES. OCT.23/07

34
Are You Familiar with or Know How to Become
Familiar with Canadian Law Related to

• Special Populations
• Children
• Immigrants
• Elderly
• Disabled
• Abuse and Neglect
• Social Welfare
• Family
• Sexual Offenses

35
Confidentiality

• Consider the following principles spelled out in
  the NASW Code of Ethics
• The social worker should apprise clients of the
  risks, rights, opportunities and obligations
  associated with social service to them.
• The social worker should inform clients fully
  about the limits of confidentiality in a given
  situation, the purpose for which information is
  obtained, and how it may be used.

36
Limits To Confidentiality

• Certain limits of confidentiality are inherent in
  service delivery.
• State and restate assurance of confidentiality to
  your clients, including disclaimers and
  exceptions, if any.
• Examples of exceptions include
• Federal and Provincial laws that invalidate
  blanket confidentiality under particular
  circumstances, (i.e. threats of suicide or harm
  to others.
• Court orders that an agency or independent
  practitioner release certain information about a
  client.
• Suspicion of child abuse neglect
• Harm to self
• Duty to warn
• threat to others

37
Words to the Wise on Limits To Confidentiality

• Seek consultation before disclosing any
  information not covered by the clients written
  release.
• Use discretion and only release information that
  is relevant to the problem at hand.

38
Class Exercise Discussion

• Discussing policy ethical issues.
• Divide into three groups. Each group will do one
  of the exercises found on pages 166-169 in the
  text.

39
Seeking Feedback

• Seeking feedback is active listening with a
  distinct focus.
• You encourage the client to discuss issues
  related to beginning work.
• Those issues are
• Introducing Yourself
• Seeking Introductions
• Describing Initial Purpose
• Outlining Client Roles
• Discussing Policy Ethical Factors

40
Obtaining Client Feedback

• What questions would you ask in order to obtain
  client feedback?

• What kind of feedback questions, if any, would
  you refrain from asking a client during the first
  interview?

41
Obtaining Feedback

• Is there anything you would like to comment on
  about the interview?
• Was there anything that was said during the
  interview that was unclear or confusing for you?
• Do you have any questions about anything that was
  said during the interview?
• What new insights have you gained from this
  interview?

42
Sample Client Feedback Form
43
The Goals of Receiving Feedback

• Making sure the client is understanding what you
  have said.
• Making sure you understand what the client has
  said.
• Identifying and, if possible, resolving
  disagreements.

44
Summary

• During the beginning phase you
• introduce and identify yourself
• seek an introduction from the client
• describe a tentative initial purpose
• identify professional roles you might assume
• identify the role of the client
• identify legal, policy and ethical considerations
• Throughout this process you are seeking feedback
  from the client.
• Write down each of the steps given above.

45
Final Class Exercise

• Using Exercise 6-6 on page 170 of the text write
  a script where each of those considerations is
  covered.
• You will be asked to demonstrate them in class.

46
Review

• In this class we discussed
• Introducing Yourself
• Seeking Introductions
• Describing Initial Purpose
• Outlining Client Roles
• Discussing Policy Ethical Factors
• Seeking Feedback
• These are all essential skills that you apply in
  the beginning work you do with a client.