Skills and values for a social worker to become a competent and reflective practitioner - Essay Example

What knowledge, skills and values should a social worker have in order to become a competent and reflective practitioner Social workers operate froma medical perspective though the social work concept has undergone radical changes due to political influences of each country over time. Currently, most of the social workers adopt a generalistic perspective while assisting individuals to solve social and medical problems. Social workers are trained to work in group, individual and at community levels with knowledge for problem solving according to the definition and requirements of the problem and the capacity of the client.1 Social work is carried out by professionals with a strong penchant to assist people to improve their daily lives by solving issues like personal and family problems. They also assist individuals to deal with relationships, disability, life threatening disease, inadequate housing, substance abuse, domestic conflicts or unemployment. The responsibility of the social worker thus includes research, involvement in planning or the development of policies to advocate better services to the client. This requires a social worker to possess adequate knowledge, skills and values to deal with specific situations. Generally, social workers with state mandated license are called licensed clinical social workers.2 ----------------------- 1. N.S.Mayadas, T. D. Watts, D. Elliott International handbook on social work theory and practice  Greenwood Publishing Group, California 1997 p.87 2. Social Workers 2009 URL: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm Viewed on January 5, 2010 Social workers are required to have relevant theory based knowledge to improve their competence while working with clients. In various instances, the lack of professional knowledge has lead to incompetence and even to the loss of lives. Social work practitioners should be aware of the six factors that show theory is important for practice. The six factors are models, perspectives or approaches, prescriptions, explanation, accountability and justification. A social worker can be efficient if there is a proper understanding about their responsibilities, roles and tasks as laid out in various legislations like the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Children Act 1989, the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. Further, a social worker must have the ability to answer questions like, what are they going to do, why are they going to do it and how they can complete the task. 3 Social worker must have knowledge about anti-discriminatory practice, social sciences and psychology. There are several overlapping themes and ideas especially between anti-discriminatory practice and sociology that give significant thought about social work practice.4 ---------------- 3. A. A. Vass Social work competences: core knowledge, values and skills SAGE, London 1996 p.9 4. A. A. Vass Social work competences: core knowledge, values and skills SAGE, London 1996 p.13 A knowledge based social work is more efficient because it is based on evidence and empirical study. The knowledge of methods and work modes based on knowledge trains the social workers to foresee possible outcomes from a client for certain interventions. The knowledge based method is partially derived from a normative intra-professional standpoint of social workers. This kind of knowledge is essential when there is a glaring lack of knowledge about working process and probable outcomes of interventions in specific or extreme settings. The orientation of social workers with systematic reviews about what method works for intervention makes them more effective. Social workers can carry out their intervention according to a standard rationale by reviewing and utilizing evidence based methods and knowledge. 5 On acquiring knowledge a social worker masters an integrated perspective to practice according to the needs of the clients not considering the limitations or preference of the practitioner in choosing the methods to assist a client. But the modality for intervention usually requires an individualistic, family or group approach and therefore it has to be exclusively tailored to suit specific needs. An effective method is to mix various modalities of intervention and deliver it appropriately for each client. Generic preparation is also essential to carefully judge the combination of modalities and sequence the strategies of intervention. In reality, a social work practitioner cannot stick to one modality because the demand for narrow specializing is decreasing. A social worker can respond appropriately and sensitively with a service user by adapting and providing services in response to the changing and diverse requirements of individuals, groups and families.6 ----------------- 5. B. Blom Social Work Students’ Use of Knowledge in Direct Practice – Reasons, Strategies and Effects Social Work & Society. Volume 5 (2007) Issue 1 URL: http://www.socwork.net/2007/1/articles/blometal Viewed on January 5, 2010. 6. H. Northen and M. Weil. Instructors Manuel For Clinical Social Work: Knowledge and Skills Columbia University Press New York1995 p.7 The ability to use cognitive approach in a time limited and structured manner during intervention to assist the client is a good skill of the social worker. A social worker can use skills by taking an active and involved position and by guiding and directing the effort to assist the service user. Cognitive assistance clearly has an educational emphasis and the worker functions like a teacher or coach and the client can be suggested to take home work or practice between meetings so as to check the practicability of a solution offered to the client. This will help the client to examine the effectiveness of cognitive function and participate in a series of functions to modify, change or restructure current ways of living or thinking and learn new skills or information for the betterment of life. The social worker must maximize conditions that enable change in the client through clear specification of the attempts and steps to be taken, selecting behaviors and tasks that offer chances for feedback to the service user and by identifying the user’s perception of consequences and risks that may arise from the targeted change and by identifying the restrictions or obstacles that include incomplete information or inadequate resources or knowledge for the change.7 The social worker must have high levels of skills to engage the service user in conversation by drawing the attention of the client for communication as well as for listening. The worker must also evolve a positive and mutually agreeable alternative that provides solution and helps in the deconstruction of the original story. 8 ------------- 7. R.R.. Greene Human behavior theory and social work practice Aldine Transaction, New Jersey1999 p.196 8. L. Miller Counselling skills for social work SAGE, London 2005 p.113 Social workers aspiring to effect large scale change must develop skills and work toward self empowerment to draw out strategies and techniques for change.9 Social workers can adopt role plays to develop interpersonal skills that is not offending and that does not have a negative impact on the user. The worker must demonstrate the use of theoretical knowledge while practicing and develop skills to introduce complicated scenarios gradually and incrementally and use multiple approaches while working with users. Skills also include the ability to impose that the worker is transparent to the user and thereby evolve better response and cooperation from the user.10 Social work becomes effective and smooth if values like confidentiality and the fundamental principles of interviewing are followed.11 Social worker must possess and imbibe values by considering it as a mode of conduct whereby preference is given to the best modes that would make the service user comfortable by filtering unwanted or offending conversations and content that would result in emotional mobilization during the social work.12 It may be concluded that a social worker with theory based knowledge, practical skills and values can carry out the solution providing process with ease and effectiveness. --------------------- 9. T. Mizrahi and J.D. Morrison Community organization and social administration: advances, trends, and emerging principles London: Routledge, 1993 p.143 10. J. Maidment and R.Egan Practice skills in social work and welfare: more than just common sense  New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2004 p.24 11. C. Zastrow The Practice of Social Work: A Comprehensive Worktext London: Cengage Learning, 2009 p.xiii 12. C. Beckett, Andrew Maynard Values & ethics in social work: an introduction London: SAGE, 2005 p.8 Bibliography Beckett, C and Maynard, A. Values & ethics in social work: an introduction London: SAGE, 2005 p.8 Blom, B. Social Work Students’ Use of Knowledge in Direct Practice – Reasons, Strategies and Effects Social Work & Society. Volume 5 (2007) Issue 1 URL: http://www.socwork.net/2007/1/articles/blometal Viewed on January 5, 2010. Greene, R.R. Human behavior theory and social work practice Aldine Transaction, New Jersey1999 p.196 Maidment, J. & Egan, R. Practice skills in social work and welfare: more than just common sense  New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2004 p.24 Mayadas, N.S.. Watts, T.D. and Elliott, D. International handbook on social work theory and practice  Greenwood Publishing Group, California 1997 p.87 Miller, L. Counselling skills for social work SAGE, London 2005 p.113 Social Workers 2009 URL: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos060.htm Viewed on January 5, 2010 Mizrahi, T. and Morrison, T.D. Community organization and social administration: advances, trends, and emerging principles London: Routledge, 1993 p.143 Northen,H. and Weil, M. Instructors Manuel For Clinical Social Work: Knowledge and Skills Columbia University Press New York1995 p.7 Vass.A.A Social work competences: core knowledge, values and skills SAGE, London 1996 p.9, 13 Zastrow, C. The Practice of Social Work: A Comprehensive Worktext London: Cengage Learning, 2009 p.xiii Read More