1.Social work

Social work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and subjective well-being of individuals, groups, and communities through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, crisis intervention, and teaching for the benefit of those affected by social disadvantages such as poverty, mental and physical illness or disability, and social injustice, including violations of their civil liberties and human rights.

A person who practices social work is called a social worker. In England, the title Social Worker is protected by law and only those who have undergone approved training at university either through a Bachelor or Masters degree in Social Work and are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council may practice social work and be called a social worker. Social workers typically undergo a systematic set of training and qualifications that are distinct from those of social care workers, care assistants or social care workers, who may undertake a social work role but not necessarily have the qualifications or professional skills of a qualified social worker. Currently, there is no formal qualifications or training to practice as a social care assistant, care worker, social care assistant or carer, but mostly ancillary staff are accountable to a qualified member of staff, such as a social worker.

Research and the practice of social worker focused on ares such as: human development, sociolegal, psychosocial, psychotherapy, counselling, social policy, public administration, social program evaluation, and community development. Social workers are organized into local, national, continental, and international professional bodies. It is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates theoretical bases from economics, education, sociology, law, medicine, philosophy, politics, anthropology, and psychology.

2.Social Work History

Since the first social work class was offered in the summer of 1898 at Columbia University, social workers have led the way developing private and charitable organizations to serve people in need. Social workers continue to address the needs of society and bring our nation’s social problems to the public’s attention.

Today, Americans enjoy many privileges because early social workers saw miseries and injustices and took action, inspiring others along the way. Many of the benefits we take for granted came about because social workers- working with families and institutions - spoke out against abuse and neglect.

• The civil rights of all people regardless of gender, race, faith, or sexual orientation are protected.

• Workers enjoy unemployment insurance, disability pay, worker’s compensation and Social Security.

• People with mental illness and developmental disabilities are now afforded humane treatment.

• Medicaid and Medicare give poor, disabled and elderly people access to health care.

• Society seeks to prevent child abuse and neglect.

• Treatment for mental illness and substance abuse is gradually losing its stigma.

3.Psychiatry Social Work

Clinical social workers are vital members of the treatment teams in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. They are masters-level, licensed mental health professionals trained to help people find solutions to a range of social problems that often accompany illness. Psychiatric illness, in particular, often reverberates through a patient’s life, complicating and straining one’s relationships, job situation, and quality of life. Our social workers strive to help patients cope with these overlapping aspects of their lives while they heal, using a combination of individual counseling, group and family therapy, and connection to hospital and community resources.

Social workers are involved with patients in inpatient, day hospital and outpatient settings across the spectrum of specialty programs within the department. They conduct assessments of patients’ social, emotional, interpersonal and socioeconomic issues. They work to enhance patient and family communications with the medical team members to enable patients to be active partners in their own care. Depending upon the specialty unit, social workers are often involved in illness education and counseling. In all areas, they are pivotal to the aftercare planning process to facilitate a careful transition back to family and community.

Please read more about our mission, the history of psychiatry social work, the history of social work at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, more about our social workers’ role in psychiatric services ,and where to find more information about mental illness, support and advocacy organizations, and community resources .

4.Theories of Social Work

Social Work is a practical job. It is about protecting people and changing their lives, not about giving theoretical explanations of why they got into difficulties … Social work is about social change at the individual as well as at community level. Change is complex, diversified and risk prone. To understand it, social worker need knowledge. imagination, comprehension & creativity….in short, a radical shift in understanding “Knowledge as process” as opposed to “Knowledge as product” is needed. But our understanding of social work is frozen with the simple definition of social work ...it is the art and science of helping the people to help themselves. Compilation and interpretation of social work definition accessible to the students conveys a meaning that social work is a “helping” “assisting” „enabling” activity, which in turn suggests social work is seen as a benign and uncontentious activity, willingly accepted. This understanding fails to reflect the major transformations social work discipline has undergone as well as its global outlook. There is nothing wrong in simplifying a concept, but if it ignores the complexities associated with the concept, that will end our further seeking. Whatever may be a definition of social work, it is normally based on certain perspectives and understanding of that perspective / theory will help us to appreciate that definition. It is this clarity that normally make one to commit in his/ her professional responsibilities.