3. Social work with individuals and families

Much professional social work practice is carried out with individuals and their families. Social workers aim to attend to the person’s social context rather than only the specific problem being presented, and they work in a manner that is relationship-based. It is also generally accepted that using a strengths-based model approach produces a more productive working relationship. ‘Social work with individuals and families’ considers the origins of social work; the different ways of directly providing practical help or therapeutic intervention to individuals and families; how the social worker as case manager will be responsible for overall planning, co-ordination, and reviewing service provision; and how social work has become more client-centred and citizen-directed.

6. Does it work and how do we know?

‘Does it work and how do we know?’ addresses some key questions: should social work be thought of as science or art? What kind of knowledge do social workers need? What should their professional training cover? Should the outcomes of social work help be tested using experimental methods and if so, how much weight should we put on that testing, compared with other kinds of evidence? And what do we know about effective helping? Do some approaches work better than others? Social work may have a relatively small evidence base for its effectiveness and it may not always work. It is, however, undoubtedly a humane response to the problems of modern living.

5. Community social work

‘Community social work’ shows that social work in communities has played an important role throughout the history of social work and is still relevant and widespread today as, despite the case work model being dominant in the Global North, it is central to the delivery of social welfare in the Global South. It explains how social work addresses societal inequalities and improves distribution of resources and attempts to work nearer the ‘macro’ rather than ‘micro’ level of human society. The different forms of community are considered before looking at contemporary community social work and the future of community social work.

4. Social work with groups

‘Social work with groups’ discusses two types of social work with groups. First, group work when unrelated people are brought together to receive some form of social work help or intervention in a group. This is a method of intervention aimed at promoting individual behavioural, cognitive, or attitudinal change, or to improve self-esteem and knowledge through meeting with others facing similar social circumstances in support groups. The ethical issues of group work are considered. Second, group care when care is provided to groups of people in residential of day care. This may be undertaken for reasons of economy or efficiency.

2. The politics of social work

Social work is inherently political because its parameters are set by the government of the day and many social workers are employed by the state and have important legal powers through that employment. ‘The politics of social work’ focuses on some of the main fault-lines of debate about social work’s purpose and methods, including assumptions, principles, and values. The four big debates considered are individual problems vs social conditions; understanding the past vs practical help with present functioning; intervention vs non-intervention; and the medical model vs the social model. It also looks at the relationship between social work and government.

1. What is social work?

What is social work, what makes it distinctive, and where do its boundaries lie? ‘What is social work’ provides a short definition: it is a community-based response to social need. Social workers spend their time trying to ease social suffering. They encounter the extreme casualties of social inequality—the victims of poverty, illness, addiction, and abuse—and they operate in the space between the state and the poor or marginalized. A broad definition is necessary when looking at any social phenomenon internationally, because of political and cultural variations. Important themes in social work’s history are also considered along with the boundaries with other professions such as public health, counselling, psychotherapy, and community development.