Introduction to Social Work

What is Social Work?

Week 02
Introduction
SW and social welfare are based on 3 premises:
o That the person is important
o That he or she has personal, family, and community problems resulting from interacting
with others
o That something can be done to alleviate these problems and enrich the indiv life
Social Welfare
Social welfare has a broader meaning and encompasses SW, public welfare, and other related
programs and activities
Social welfare according to Friedlander:
o is the organized system of social services and institutions, designed to aid individuals
and groups attain satisfying standards of life and health, and personal and social r/s that
permit them to develop their full capacities and to promote their wellbeing in harmony
with the needs of their families and the community
Social welfare is a necessary thread in the fabric of social structure, and society has a
responsibility for the plight of its members
Social welfare, in the broad sense, encompasses the well-being of large numbers of people,
including their physical, educational, mental, emotional, spiritual and economic needs
Many professionals deliver social welfare services, but social workers have always been
prominent welfare services providers
Social welfare includes the basic institutions and processes related to facing and solving social
problems-problems that affect large numbers of people and that require some kind of concerted
group effort to resolve,
o In this sense, social welfare includes only qualified social workers, but also untrained
personnel employed in public welfare, probation and other areas where social problems
are being faced and resolved
Action by NASW, CSWE (council on SW education) and schools of SW has provided for
recognition of undergrad programs in social work
o Students who have completed these programs satisfactorily are recognized as the first
level of professional SW
o Their training includes supervised field exp as well as classes in methodology and basic
knowledge
Services have been provided across centuries for disadvantaged persons and groups
o Ex. The care of the sick and the poor by the Early Christian Church
Social services came first, and methods of SW developed out of social welfare

At the turn of the 20th century, SW was becoming more formalized, and within the next
several decades emerged into a profession- specialized, modern segment of the totality of
social welfare

Social work
It now is a discipline, scientific in method and artful in manner, that takes remedial notion on
problems in several areas of society
o It ministers to families in economic or emotional difficulty
o It helps communities to bring their welfare and related services into good balance
o It works in medical, group and school situations
o It seeks to correct the underlying causes of delinquency and adult criminality
A much used historical definition of SW appeared in the 1959 study sponsored by CSWE:
o SW seeks to enhance the social functioning of indiv, singly and in groups, by activities
focused upon their social r/s which constitute the interaction between man and his
environ
o These activities can be grouped into 3 functions: restoration of impaired
capacity/provision of individual and social resources/ prevention of social dysfunction

The basic functions of social work: restoration/ provision of resources/ prevention

o Restoration of impaired social functioning can be subdivided into:
Curative aspect= eliminate factors that have caused breakdown of functioning
Rehabilitative aspect= to reorganize and rebuild interactional patterns
o Provision of resources may be subdivided into:
Developmental aspect= designed to further the effectiveness of existing social
resources to bring to full flower personal capacity for more effective social
interaction
Education aspect= designed to acquaint the public with specific conditions and
needs for new or changing resources
o Prevention of social dysfunction:
Involves early discovery, control, elimination of conditions and situations that
potentially could hamper effective social functioning
Prevention of problems in the area of interaction between individuals and groups
Prevention of social ills
the focus on social r/s is suggested as the distinguishing characteristic of SW profession
1992 CWSE curriculum policy statement: the profession of SW is committed to the
enhancement of human well being and to the alleviation of poverty and oppression. The SW
profession receives its sanction from public and private auspices and is the primary profession in
the provision of social services
SW as the applied science of helping people achieve an effective level of psychosocial
functioning and effecting societal changes to enhance the well being of all people

A current definition
SW may be defined as an:
o Art/science/ a profession that helps people solve personal, group (esp family), and
community problems and attain satisfying personal group, and community r/s through
SW practice
The major focus is on reducing problems in human r/s and on enriching living through improved
human interaction
SW is an art
o Requires great skills to utd people and to help them to help themselves
SW is a beginning science
o Bc of its problem solving method and its attempt to be objective in ascertaining facts and
in developing principles and operational concepts
It is a profession because it encompasses the attributes of a profession

Distinguishing characteristics of SW

Sociology and SW
The social worker is interested in understanding people and how they behave in association with
others, but he or she is particularly concerned about helping these same people solve the
problems they have and improve their social functioning
The sociologist generally spends most of the time in study and in ferreting out the facts, the social
worker tries to understand the client or the community, to make appropriate diagnosis, and to
proceed with treatment, helping solve the problems and change situation to bring about better
adjustment

Psychiatry and SW
Major difference:
o The psychiatrist deals with the treatment of illness and the medical model/ places stress
on intrapersonal dynamics, often delving into and handling the unconscious motivation
and related factors
o The social worker focuses on problems and strengths in human r/s/ utilizes environ and
community resources, usu operating within the conscious level of behavior
Both professions involve work with people who possess personal and social problems
o Both help people improve their r/s with people
o Both have considerable interest and sensitivity in the ability to understand and direct
feelings and emotions
Social worker tends to utilize the total community resources sometimes tapping many material
resources, economic and otherwise in improving social r/s
Psychiatrist deals with patients on a medical basis, prescribes medication and hospitalization if
needed, and tends to focus on unconscious, working particularly with indiv reorganizations
o With new drugs, drug therapy has become common to the psychiatrist in the treatment of
people with emotional illness
Social worker often works with the marriage or family as a whole rather than just the indiv
o Psychiatry tends to focus on pathology and healing of illnesses
SW concentrates on strengths and dev of potential
o Psychiatrist particularly interested in the internal dynamics of individual and group
behavior
SW esp concerned about social functioning involving social and community factors

Psychology and SW
Psych is the science of the mind
o Seeks to study, explain, and change behavior of people
o Psychologist is particularly interested in understanding the individual and his or her
behavior
Both are interested in behavior of people, in their interactional patterns in particular, although
psychologist focuses mainly on indiv behavior and the social worker on social functioning
Psychologist interested in indiv attributes of people, aims to utd their characteristics and behavior
o Some like clinical psychologists go beyond the study phase and work directly with
people in the helping process
o These activities overlap some with SW
Psychologist works with indiv on a rather intensive basis
SW interested in the social functioning and r/s of clients and in utilizing community resources to
meet clients personal and social problems

SW today is utilized in a variety of settings and agencies

o Some impt ones are: psychiatric, medical, marriage, family etc.
Schools of SW train a student to work in any agency, giving him or her the generic
understandings, skills and attitudes that make it possible to function adequately
One area in which SW services is expanding is international SW
o Ex. American Red Cross, International Red Cross
o International SW service have been impt part of the UN effort to rehabilitate war torn
Kosovo and to bring aid and comfort to sub Saharan Africa and their fight against aids

Summary
SW is a profession that focuses particularly on helping people solve their personal, family, and
community problems through enhancing social functioning
The 3 basic functions:
o Restoration of social functioning
o Provision of social services
o Prevention