Essay about Task Centered Approach in Social Work

In this paper, the role of a social worker will be addressed. A Human Service professional has, in its hands, the responsibilities in the life of the clients and families they meet. The tremendous and arduous responsibilities they take on include, but are not limited to, the well-being and care of people and their communities. Such roles can be helping others manage the care of a family member, assisting individuals experiencing problems with family relations and conflicts, dealing with changes that come with growing old, aiding those suffering mental illness and or those individuals struggling with addictions. Briefly

When working in a field of expertise the experts in that area need to know what defines that field. Social work, with its roots over a hundred years old, started out simply offering assistance to others, has grown and changed, and is currently reconnecting with its roots (Bisman, 2004). Bisman (2004) emphasizes the importance of being an advocate of justice and keeping the field focused on the “social” part of social work. This push to keep social work focused on the needs of others defines social work today. Social work focuses on providing aide to the needy and increasing awareness of those that are oppressed.

This essay will focus on how contemporary social workers work to balance the competing demand of care and control. It will start by outlining the nature of the contemporary social work and what it is like and how it works within society. The discussion will then move on to look at and discuss the key professional values of social work practitioners and analyse its relationship to their own personal values, this will also bring into account how these values and views influenced the relationship a social worker can have with both service users and other agencies. Lastly it will explore the range of challenges and dilemmas that are faced by social work practitioners in everyday practice when it comes to trying to balance the demand of care and control and how they work to overcome these problems in order to ensure an effective and fair service to all who avail of it.

Anaylse the role of the social worker and the differences between different professionals and non-professionals involved (multi-disciplinary team)

This section of the paper will discuss the definition of social work, values associated with social work and arguments for and against the use of systems theory in social work practice. Social work can be described as a field of study that encompasses individuals and their environment. Social work can be defined as work trained professionals do to elevate stressors of individuals so they may become more self-sufficient and empowered to live to their fullest potential.

Social Work practitioners every day interact with individuals who are challenged by personal, societal, environmental barriers to life, and in amidst this face inequities and injustice as part of life (Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers, 2011). It is the role of the social worker to use their therapeutic and facilitation skills to assess the clients risk and then work with the appropriate interventions in order to help promote social change for the individual and their family.

The journey towards the attainment of the Bachelor of the social work degree has been an enlightening and educational experience, as the individual is exposed to the realities of many social and political issues in the society. As a student, I ventured into the degree, with minimal insight as to how the degree can influence and shape the way I perceive the social world, and the way I relate these matters to myself. However, throughout my endeavour, which encompasses years of theoretical studies, and two intensive placements at two drastically different organisations, I believe I have accumulated the bare minimal knowledge to possess a solid foundation about the unfairness and inequality that people in disadvantaged conditions face. Social workers are predominantly found in welfare organisations which Howe (as cited in Limber, 2015) suggested largely influences the practice, direction and values of the social worker, and impacts on their ability to act autonomously (Lymbery, 2015). During my placements, there was a dominant theme that frequently stood out and enticed my attention. This was the accepted practice of focusing on the individual’s problem, as opposed to the social problems that existed and the lack of acknowledgement about the social restrictions of the human agency that limited self-determination. The realization that organisations were managed this way was important in ensuring that I made a proactive effort to understand and untangle the reasons behind such

My understanding of the social work profession and its core values is that social workers are caregivers, they provide assistance to people in need, and they address social problems. The social worker goal is the improvement of society to ameliorate the lives of individuals in need. The social work profession mission is to enhance the well-being of people and to assist them in meeting their basic needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the poor, and the vulnerable individual. The Social Work profession has six core values. These core values are the foundation of the social work profession. The social worker incorporates these core values into his daily practices. Service to others is one of the fundamental values of social work. Social workers goal is serving others and putting the needs of their clients ahead of their own. Social justice is another core value of social work. Social workers aim at improving the lives of the disadvantaged, vulnerable people who are less fortunate or unable to advocate for themselves. Social workers understand the essential value of every human life, regardless of ethnic background, cultural differences or religious beliefs. Their goal is to respect the dignity and worth of every person. Another key value of social work is integrity. The social workers conduct themselves in a trustworthy, honest, and responsible manner at all times. Competence is another important core value of the social work profession. The

The final step in the structure of the Solution Focused Brief Therapy is to apply the intervention. The Intervention consists of three tasks. The therapist will firstly, provide validation of the client's main problem. The therapist will then compliment the client, this is done to remind the client they have the strength to face there problem and the last step of the intervention is to provide homework, reinforcing the good behaviour. (Quick, 2008).

In 1960s in North America Reid and Shyne (1969) undertook an extensive four year study to explore an alternative approach to traditional casework and the result was the adoption of a new model named Task centred approach that was also the proposal of a solution to tackle the weaknesses of the short-term psychodynamic model of the early 1960s. The research was an answer to certain problems like the fact that clients were abandoning psychodynamic therapy or receiving the maximum benefit within a few months, with relatively slow improvement.

Solution Focused Therapy is an essential aspect of action counseling. This brief therapy has become popular and well known treatment system in recent years. Steve De Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg have great contribution to Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Their legacy continues to evolve and gain in importance. All in a bit to help people find solutions to their problems. Both clinician and client are aware from the outset that treatment is likely to be short. (Seligman & Reichenberg, 2014). In this assignment,

The two key elements in successful practice are the social workers ability to guide clients through the phases of the change process and assist clients in making decisions that will result in enhancement of their social functioning or the improvement of a social condition (Bradford W. Sheafor, 2008, p. 52). Social workers select and use specific techniques that have been individualized to the needs and situation of the client or client group being served, and the resources that are applied to help resolve the client’s problem or concern (Bradford W. Sheafor, 2008, p. 51).

School social workers work within schools to provide a variety of social, emotional, and mental health services to students to support overall success. The intent of this research is to evaluate the significance of having a school social worker available to general education students within the Owatonna High School setting and to examine the gaps in services that may have appeared since removal of this position in 2009. Various related studies were examined to outline a range of ways in which school social workers are used to support student success. During this study, a total of seven employees of the Owatonna School District were interviewed regarding school social work. As a whole the participants identified a large number of gaps

I heard about SURJ for the first time when Mrs. Matera told my table about it. We were trying to find groups of people who were allies and she told us about SURJ. SURJ is a group of all white people trying to fight racial inequalities. My partner Maddy and I first went on their website and found some information on them and followed by going to their Facebook page. On their Facebook page we saw that they had a meeting very soon on the 5th of November. We decided to contact them through their email. After a few days and no response we decided to Facebook message them. I began to get anxious because we got no response and I didn’t know if it was appropriate to go and try to observe their meeting without previously being in contact. We had to observe the group at least three times. So we made the decision to go a little early to the meeting and ask one of the leaders if it was ok to observe.

Problem solving is the art of finding novel ideas to solve new or preexisting problems. According to Kolb’s problem solving model, there are four analytical stages: situation analysis, problem analysis, solution analysis and implementation analysis. When solving problems, you can inadvertently develop counterproductive steps in problem solving, if you do not maintain the correct focus. Based on my workplace, the counterproductive steps I identified include: not asking for participation in difficult decisions, continuing along an unsuccessful path, ignoring the downfalls of problems, defensiveness to information gathering and expecting others to accept an unsolved problem that has an unexplored viable solution (288).