Английский язык. Сборник текстов. Учебно-методическое пособие

Social work as an activity

Social work is a profession concerned with the relationships between people and their social environment. The function of the social worker is to help the clients in solving their problems, to protect them and to improve their life. The clients of the social workers are: individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

The social worker must gather all necessary information about the client from different sources, such as: physicians, teachers, related services (e.g.: local police station) etc. And then to think it over carefully and to advise with the specialists and to make the plan of action, which can help the client. SW works together with the services that can help: the county hospital, the State or County Department of Social Services, the district attorney etc.

The SW must be very responsible, kind and compassionate to all who needs his help.

It’s a very generous and responsible profession.

Social work and social worker. Basic skills of the generalist social worker

The definition of the social work profession says: “Social work is a profession concerned with the relationships between people and their environment, that affect the ability of people to accomplish their life tasks, realize aspirations and values and alleviate distress”. It is clear that to fulfil his mission, the generalist social worker should have the following skills and qualities:

1. Skill of interviewing the client, that includes: listening, talking, questioning, making the client to trust him etc.).

2. SW-er should be accustomed to intervening with systems of various sizes — individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities.

3.SW-er is engaged with problem-solving process, that means:

a)gathering information about client;

b)analyzing this information;

c)making plans, how to help the client;

d)carrying out this plan;

e)assessing the results.

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4.SW-er involves agencies that can provide needed resources, such as:

——the county hospital;

——the State or county Department of Social Services;

——local family service agency;

——district attorney’s office;

——local police station etc.

5.One-to-one counseling with the client.

6.SW-er should have holistic perception — the process emphasizing the interactions and interrelationships among parts and wholes.

7.SW-er should have:

——creativity;

——flexibility;

——perseverance;

——sharp analytical skills.

8.The SW-er should uphold and advance the values, ethics, knowledge and mission of the profession.

Responsibilities and roles of the generalist social worker. Phases of problem-solving process

The definition of the social work profession says: “Social work is a profession concerned with the relationships between people and their environment, that affect the ability of people to accomplish their life tasks, realize aspirations and values and alleviate distress”. It is clear that to fulfil his mission, the generalist social worker should be a professional who engages in problem-solving. The process includes several basic steps:

1.Gathering information from all relevant sources: people who bring problems, their families, physicians, teachers, the related agency records etc.)

2.Assessing the information.

3.Defining the problem — SW-er attempts to define the problem more precisely.

4.Planning for action. The action plan is determined by the generalist depends on the nature of particular problem.

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5.Developing an explicit contract for action — in details.

6.Carrying out the action plan (involving agencies that can provide needed resources, such as:

—— the county hospital;

—— the State or county Department of Social Services; —— local family service agency;

—— district attorney’s office; —— local police station etc.

7.Evaluating results (If the results are not satisfactory, the SW-er should begin from the very first step. It means, that maybe the information is not sufficient, or he defines the problem of the client in a wrong way).

8.Terminating when appropriate.

The problem-solving process alerts responsible social worker to think carefully before acting and to act with wisdom and in acceptable manner appropriate for working with people. SW-er should make every effort to encourage self-determination of clients.

We should always remember that the social worker’s primary concern is to client.

Social work and related fields

The definition of the social work profession says: “Social work is a profession concerned with the relationships between people and their environment, that affect the ability of people to accomplish their life tasks, realize aspirations and values and alleviate distress”. This definition makes it clear that the social worker must be a professional that cares out his mission. In order to be such a professional, social workers must utilize and unify knowledge of different sciences for solving problems of people. SW–er should take responsibility for identifying, developing, and fully utilizing knowledge for professional practice.

Sociology is an academic discipline, that is related to social work, because it examines society and opinions of different groups in the society.

Psychology studies the inner world of the individual, and the factors that influence a person’s mind and behavior.

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Biology provides understanding of how human body functions and how genetics influence person’s behavior.

Economics and political sciences help the students to gain the basic understanding of economic and political factors shaping the environment.

History is a science of man, his development, customs and beliefs of mankind.

Urban affairs studies the functioning of the city and wilder urban environment.

The social worker should uphold and advance the values, ethics, knowledge, and mission of the profession.

Major values of the social work profession

The definition of the social work profession says: “Social work is a profession concerned with the relationships between people and their environment, that affect the ability of people to accomplish their life tasks, realize aspirations and values and alleviate distress”. Social work as a profession is based upon certain fundamental values, that are crucial in shaping the profession of social work. They are the following:

1.The individual is the primary concern of this society.

2.There is interdependence between individuals in this society.

3.They have social responsibility for one another.

4.There are human needs common to each person, yet each person is essentially unique.

5.An essential attribute of a democratic society is the realization of the full potential of each individual and the assumption of his social responsibility through active participation in society.

6.Society has a responsibility to provide ways in which obstacles to this self-realization can be overcome or prevented.

These values strongly influence our behavior. They needn’t be proven, they are simply a preferred way of believing. It is important that that each prospective socialist worker considers them carefully. Not every social worker will agree with them completely but in order to be effective social worker one must believe they make sense overall.

The social worker should uphold and advance the values, ethics, knowledge, and mission of the profession.

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