SOCIAL WORKERS RESPONSE TO NEED

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SOCIAL WORKERS RESPONSE (TO NEED) 

• Kimberly Hinds
• Department of Sociology, Psychology Social Work
• UWI Mona---October 10, 2005

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WHO DETERMINES CLIENT NEEDS?

• Read excerpts from Compton Galaway
• (pp. 69 163)

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Introduction

• One of the social workers response to need is
  to engage the client in problem solving. As
  social workers we will all engage in one or some
  of the following modalities of practice, either
  micro, mezzo or macro. However, within these
  three types of practice one can employ different
  types of intervention and the one we are going to
  focus on is PROBLEM SOLVING.

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• A social worker trained as a generalist is
  schooled in the problem-solving process i.e. to
  undertake an assessment and intervention in the
  needs/issues/problems affecting individuals,
  groups, communities etc.

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Who determines clients needs?

• In an ideal situation the social worker and the
  client should work together and synthesize their
  knowledge and ideas about how to address the
  clients needs/issues. The social worker has an
  obligation to share his expertise, knowledge,
  skills etc with the client. This facilitates the
  type of social work aimed at doing with or
  joining with rather than the old style of
  business of doing to or doing for.

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HOW DOES THE SOCIAL WORKER RESPOND?

• A/C to Johnson the worker responds by using
  his/her knowledge of human development, human
  diversity and social systems theory to think and
  plan, when identifying and intervening in the
  needs of the client.

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PHASES IN THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS

• According to Zastrow the problem solving process
  includes the following phases/steps
• Identify the problem (s) as precisely as
  possible.
• Generate alternate solutions
• Evaluate these alternate solutions
• Select the solution to be used and set the goals
• Implement
• Evaluate

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Today we are going to examine Compton and
Galaways ..

• PHASES OF THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS (PP.79)

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Compton etal identifies four primary phases in
the problem solving and response to the clients

• Engagement
• Assessment
• Intervention/Action
• Evaluation

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Skills Activities in the Engagement Phase

• Prepare for engagement
• Making contact
• Clarify purpose and expectations
• Invite the clients participation and encouraging
  development of collaborative partnerships.(buildin
  g of trust)

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..Engagement Phase

• Enquiring and trying to understand the clients
  views of the presenting problem and the
  situation.
• Enquiring and trying to understand the
  applicants wants and frames of reference.

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..Engagement Phase

• Reaching an agreement about preliminary goals.
  Early identification of preliminary goals will
  contribute to the building up of trust between
  the worker and client and enhances the client
  engagement, participation.
• Agreeing to work together through a collaborative
  problem-solving process.

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Skills Activities in the Assessment Phase

• Collecting and exploring data related to
  the problem, situation and possible
  solutions.
• Discovering strengths of the client
  (Strengths Perspective)
• Organizing, analyzing and synthesizing
  data

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.Assessment

• Prioritizing problems and goals.
• Considering various action strategies
• Collaborative decision-making
• The worker and client working together to
  develop a service agreement. This agreement
  gives a detail of problem, the goals and
  objectives to be pursued, respective roles and
  responsibilities and an action plan.

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WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

• Compton identifies goals at two phases because
  the preliminary goal might reflect what the
  client wants initially at the engagement stage
  and it could change by the time the worker and
  client gets to the assessment phase.( Even though
  the clients preliminary goals may change the
  client still has an idea of what they want to see
  happen at the first meeting).

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Skills Activities in the Intervention/Action
Phase

• Introducing optimism and enhancing hope and
  motivation within the client
• The anticipation of other obstacles than those
  first identified and planning for successful
  resolution
• Implementing action plans that were agreed to by
  the worker and the client

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Intervention/Action

• Reviewing action steps and their effects
• Monitoring the progress thus far in meeting
  previously outlined goals.
• Modifying the action plan where necessary and
  taking the necessary steps

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Skills Activities in the Evaluation Phase

• Reviewing the process and the carrying out of
  action plans
• Evaluating the progress of mutually identified
  goals and objectives
• Celebrating progress and recognising the areas
  that need additional work

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Evaluation

• In this phase the worker may decide to conclude
  the services with the client either through
  termination, transferring it to someone else or
  referral (disengagement) or renegotiating the
  service agreement and continuing to work together
  (reengagement)
• Saying goodbye or reengaging.

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Example of how this man solved his problem!!!!

• HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING
  MARRIEDOld aunts used to come up to me at
  weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling,
  telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I
  started doing the same thing to them ..at
  funerals.

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Summary

• The problem solving process is aimed at solving
  problems and the achievement of goals.
• Problem-solving is carried out with not to
  and not for the client. In other words, it is
  the client collaborating with the worker if the
  client is unable to participate in the process
  then the worker would take a more hands on
  approach.

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You need to know that

• A/c to Johnson, the worker needs to determine if
  based on their assessment whether their response
  to the clients need should be on a
  person-to-person basis or should consider the
  bigger societal problems that create the unmet
  needs, this will also help to determine the kind
  of model/intervention you are going to use.

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You also need to know that

• We have different models of intervention or
  practice in social work, such as, crisis
  intervention, behaviour therapy, strengths
  perspective and social action. However, we should
  still employ the basic premise of the problem
  solving process as this forces us to think about
  the solution or intervention in an orderly
  fashion

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Last One!!!!

• The problem solving process is a way of
  responding to concern and need of the client and
  then moving beyond that feeling to applying
  knowledge, skills and values to resolve the need
  or issue. (Johnson)

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Next Week is a Holiday!!!
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References

• Compton, Beulah R., Galaway, Burt Cournoyer,
  Barry R. (2005). Social Work Processes.
  Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning
• Johnson, Louise Yanca, Stephen (2004) Social
  Work Practice. Pearson Education
• Zastrow, Charles (1998). The Practice of Social
  Work. Brooks/Cole-Thomson Cole