Social Work in the Context of Singapore

Methods of Social Work Practice

Week 01
Introduction
The traditional methods of SW are generally defined as: casework/groupwork/community work
o Focus on individuals, groups, communities respectively
Case management also viewed by some as a method of SW practice
In the US and UK, work with individuals was the initial focus of the pioneering social workers
o Today, the profession emphasizes the ability of the social worker to use all these skills
and methods as and when relevant to the client situation
3 other areas: research/administration/policy planning
o One way to differentiate is to view them as indirect practice while the former can be
classified as direct practice
Traditional methods of SW are defined as social interventions wherein the social worker works
directly with the individuals, families, communities
o While the latter refers to social action wherein the social worker works on social issues,
social change and the environ on behalf of the people concerned
o Direct intervention vs. indirect intervention
Chapter focuses on the 3 practice modalities- casework/ social group work/ social community
work

Social Casework
It is extensive, dynamic, intensive and it can even include a time dimension
Social casework is a process used by certain human welfare agencies to help individuals cope
more effectively with their problems in social functioning
Perhaps more appropriate to add the word social workers to the above definitiono A process used by professional social workers in certain human welfare agencies
o Later definitions have used the term face to face r/s to include the direct dimension of the
helping process
4 main aspects of social casework:
o Person to be helped
o The place (welfare agency)
o The process (of helping the person to cope)
o The problem (that creates a hurdle for the persons in their social functioning)
Casework has always been a psychosocial treatment method. It recognizes both internal
psychological and external social causes of dysfunctioning and endeavors to enable the individual
to meet his needs more fully and to function more adequately in his social r/s
Direct SW practice at the individual level taps into psychological theories in the understanding of
personality traits and dysfunctional behavior
o Thus both psychological and social theories are relevant and useful to social workers in
their direct practice
Howe contributes towards differentiating between theories that explain theories offer
explanations about people and their situations and those that expand on the nature of SW itself
o First type- theories for SW
o Second type- theories of SW
o Thin line between two groups, hence heuristic categories rather than exclusive types
3 primary values that all the codes of ethics of SW worldwide uphold in one way or another:
o The inherent worth and dignity of the individual
Implies that all human beings regardless of color, creed, religion, race, class,
gender or age have the right to be helped
o The belief in the unique but social nature of humans
Implies that the individuality of people should be appreciated and caseworkers
should bear in mind the social context and needs of their clients
o The belief in the human capacity for change:
Caseworkers should give clients a second chance and not cast judgment on their
capacity to improve or turn over a new leaf
o Closely tied to the mission of SW
Debate whether the core values of SW are middle class values and whether to a low income
family with financial and material needs these values mean much at all
o Another debate is whether people translate their beliefs into action, ie, the thing line btw
believing and doing
May also need to distinguish between ultimate and instrumental values
o Ultimate values are core values
o Instrumental value are practice-related
Ex. Trust, self-determination, non-judgmental attitude, confidentiality and
respectfulness
Main categories of skills (non-exhaustive)
o r/s building skills
o engagement/ rapport building skills

o observation and assessment skills

o communication skills etc.
When a social worker works on a one to one basis with the client= counseling
o Can be stated that social workers not only carry out counseling but also work closely with
influential people and organizations in his or her context

Social Group work

During the 1940s and 1950s, group workers began to use groups more frequently to provide
therapy and remediation in mental health settings
Mainly 2 types of groups:
o Treatment groups
o Task groups
Pappell and Rothman developed 3 models of social group work:
o Social goals model- focuses on developing social responsibility and social consciousness
among members with the use of appropriate programs, activities and community services
o Remedial model- aims to restore or rehabilitate members so they may adjust better to
their environment
o Reciprocal model- suggests the mutual r/s among members as well as between members
and society
Also referred to as the interactional model as the dynamics of interrelations
among members are the main focus
The aim is to facilitate the growth and self-development of members, their ties
with each other and their reciprocal r/s with society

Task groups have different goals and objectives

o Some are est to meet client needs, some to meet organizational needs and others to meet
community needs
In comparison with treatment groups task groups have clearly defined goals and objectives
o Focus is on the achievement of defined tasks and the breakdown of steps towards meeting
these goals

The important thing for beginners in the SW training process is that within the group context, the
problem solving work is carried out between the client and the social worker but also together
with others who are in the same boat
o Encouragement and motivation emerge not only from social worker who is also the
facilitator but also from fellow group members
o The group process and dynamics sometimes have a strong impact on the person with the
problem, as he or she may feel that the problem is well understood by others who are
undergoing a similar experience

Stages of Group Development

Stages of development of groups:
o Tuckman: described the stages as forming/storming/norming/performing
o Sarri and Galinsky: 7 stage model, which includes the Origin phase, the Formative phase,
Intermediate phase 1, the Revision phase, the Intermediate phase 2, the maturation phase
and the Termination phase
o Wheelan: Dependency and delusion/ counter dependency and flight/ trust and structure/
work and termination
o Corey and corey: forming a group/ initial stage of group/ transition stage of group/
working stage of group/ ending a group
Accommodates cultural variation wherein the storming stage may not occur
The group work process starts with the writing of a proposal for the agency or funding body
o Proposal should include the rationale, objectives, practical considerations, procedures and
evaluation strategies
In the orientation, group members need to be properly briefed as to their commitments and
permission for tape recording should be obtained if relevant
o Objectives of the groups may be briefly shared
o Orientation also an opportunity for the leaders and members to get to know one another
The initial stage is often characterized by formal behavior and a directive role being taken by the
leader
o The warming up dynamics may be observed and the length of time for this process varies
depending on traits of members, the environment, whether the members already know
each other, the leaders and the nature of the group
o Closed group or open group
The transition stage is a period when members undergo some level of anxiety, resistance or even
conflict due to the concerns raised and the need to accommodate
o Members are helped to recognize the human elements and dynamics which are a natural
part of group development
o The need for resistance should be understood and explored by all
The working stage is typically distinct due to the higher level of productivity and sharing of
feelings and ideas
o Depending on whether it id treatment or task group, the work process if focused on self
or the tasks identified
o The work stage is sometimes riddled with uneven motivational levels among members,
reluctance and issues of trust
o Earlier unresolved issues may resurface and have to be dealt with
However, conflict can be seen as an opportunity for growth and may not
necessarily be a negative experience
In a group that is successful, bonding between members can be witnessed at this
stage
Interaction between members increases rapidly and the leadership style is also
less directive and more shared

The ending stage includes the tying up of issues and concerns, mixed feelings as the group
prepares to disintegrate, evaluation of the learning process and guidance on transferring the
learning to the members daily lives and finally the ritual of saying farewell
o At this stage, the leader should adopt a more directive role in the tasks of referrals, follow
up planning and sharing of information on social supportive resources
o Members may also show their gratitude to the leaders for the group experience
These stages not linear and may take place not in the exact order described
o A group may undergo premature termination if the member decide to separate, or the
leader may resign

Ethical Issues
Group practice exposes group members and leaders to a risk of leakage of confidentiality as well
as other issues such as personal conflict, coalliances between cliques/subgroups, suppression of
weaker members by more dominant ones and lastly out of group intimate r/s between a leader and
a group member

Community, work and Organization

Perlman and Gurin defined community work as an emerging discipline
Rothman delineated 3 models of community practice:
o Locality development and organization
o Community planning
o Social action

Perlman and Gurin offer a social problem solving model for community practice which is the
most basic approach in SW
o Client unit in this case is the community instead of the individual
The paid professional community worker: usually that of enabler, guide, catalyst, facilitator
o At times, the social worker may become the advocate of the expert who may be a trouble
shooter of fixer
o The central paradox of community work arises when the goals and final outcomes that
the community worker designs for the community are not what the community desires
o The latter may have other goals or objectives that may be in contradiction with the
community workers
Under such circumstances the SW principle of self-determination kicks in and
complicates ethical issues
Twelvetreees breaking down the community development into 3 processes:
o Contact making, analysis and planning
o Working with community groups
o Wider considerations
Important to note that community social workers work closely with community leaders and
resident on an individual basis as well as with organizations and activity groups

Community practice encompasses a variety of models and methods of intervention that seek to
improve the social and economic quality of life for vulnerable populations and communities
Weil and Gamble identity 8 basic models:
o Neighborhood and community org
o Organizing functional communities
o Community social and economic dev
o Social planning
o Program development and community liason
o Political and social action
o Coalitions
o Social movements
Vasoo: He posits that community bonding through community prg such as community centres,
citizen consultative committees or community dev councils can help reduce negative effects of
the widening income gap among Singaporeans
o The Singaporean model is a tripartite partnership between the govt, community groups,
and the corporate sector
o Such a partnership can prevent the adoption of a welfarist model of community dev,
where residents expect and demand a high, subsidy based provision of social, health and
community care services in the neighborhood
The concept of community development councils in SG (CDCs)
o The SG govt backed these CDCs both in spirit and through financial support on a
matching grant basis
o Gradually, many of the direct services were divested from the Ministry of Community
Development, Youth and Sports to the CDCs such as public assistance
o The CDCs therefore community service organizations as well as community development
bodies
o Through their job matching fairs and information and referral services, the CDCs can be
seen as addressing economic woes of the locality
Importance of considering the political context of community development work
The way in which community work is carried out will also differ according to an urban or rural
context- literacy levels will differ etc.
A final comment is that the outcomes of community projects affect vast numbers of people as
compared to casework
o By comparison, the time taken may also be longer and the networking involved may
mean more travelling and attendant costs

Indirect Practice
Indirect practice refers to secondary data research, primary data research such as IT surveys over
the internet, postal surveys, evaluation studies and social admin
o These field do not require the client to come directly in contact with the social worker,
and the effects are also indirect
Can have long term and long range consequences
Social work administrators are very important to human service org as they occupy leadership
positions and make policy decisions for the org
Social work administraotrs are very important to human service org as they occupy leadership
positions and make policy decisions for the organizations
o Either directly by sitting in at the board meetings or indirectly by joining advocacy
committees
At the national level, there evolved in SG an interesting model for coordination of policy
implementation when more than one govt ministry is involved in implementing recommendations
relating to specific social issues
o The mmodel consists of Inter-Ministerial committees comprising high level policy
makers from a range of ministries as well as selected experts from the public, and they
meet on a regular basis to oversee the coordinated implementation of social policies
As social policies fall within the arena of the work of social workers, this model is relevant bc it
provides a channel for influencing the implementation of policies, thus indirectly contributing
towards improving the quality of life of Singaporeans
Research is being emphasized by both the govt and the private sector as the results of research
can help in forward planning as well as in better utd social issues and problems
o These results can form a strong basis for designing programs and services that can meet
the needs of the targeted populations
o Research methods may encompass quantitative or qualitative designs or a combination of
both
Evaluation research is becoming increasingly important
o This may be of individuals, groups, families or programs

Ethical dilemmas
Ethical dilemmas inherent in direct practice such as casework and in other areas as well,
including legal situations, the social workers own internal conflicts, judgements, work
competency and confidentiality
There is no such thing as value free social work, so ethical issues and dilemmas are bound to arise
However, it is the clear analytical ability on part of social workers to work through these
dilemmas, practice regular value clarification and be alert to their changing value systems as the
outside world and its social values undergo change
Primary and secondary settings
Social workers operate in a variety of settings
Goals which are not directly related to the psychosocial needs of the individual or family=
secondary settings
Directly related= primary settings