Generalist Social Work - Essay Example

What does generalist social work mean for me? Introduction Social work profession encompasses many areas, these include medical social work, school social work, mental health, youth services, urban development and child welfare, to name but just a few. Regardless of specific area of specialization, all social workers share common professional identity and work towards achieving same goal or objective. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) code ethics define this common mission or purpose as, to improve human welfare and help in meeting fundamental human needs of everyone with more emphasis on providing and empowering the vulnerable, those living in poverty, oppressed or other societal injustices (Reamer, 1998). Reamer (1998) argues that social justice is one core value expressed by the NASW policy of morals. Social work professionals strive to attain societal justice by pushing for attainment of strong human functioning and enhancement of societal structures. These activities incorporate the basic core values of social work career. It is worth noting that neither NASW nor Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) have developed a clear structure for achieving a just society. Possession of the ability to realize the forms and means of oppression and unfairness is vital. Championing for human rights, societal and financial rights and also taking part in practices that drive forward communal and economical justice need to be part and parcel of a social worker. As a social worker, understanding clearly of my responsibilities and factors surrounding them are very significant. The knowledge that redistribution of resources and ensuring that the less privileged do not live below a certain standard if it was to be considered a just society (Chapin, 2011). Adherence to NASW code of ethics which charges social workers with the obligation to handle everyone in a caring and respectful manner bearing in mind personal variations and cultural ethnic variety, encourage client’s capability and chance to change and address individual needs amongst others. Upholding and defending emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual integrity of everyone through respecting the right to self-determination. This is done through encouraging individuals to make their own choices and resolutions provided they do not intimidate the rights of others (Reamer, 1998). According to DuBois and Miley (2011) becoming a mature professional social worker in not an easy task and requires dedication for one to attain. On the road to attaining maturity in social work, useful mechanisms such as use of research and evaluation to observe clients’ improvement toward objectives and evaluating ones’ effectiveness in the practice comes in handy. Social justice is said to be achieved when all members of the society have equal share of the available resources and opportunities. This comes through various means that may include the ability of a social worker to challenge pessimistic bias. Biasness might be influenced by skin color, marital status, political or religious affiliation and socio-economic status, just a few to mention. Being able to identify cultural and ethnic diversity of individuals in the society and putting into consideration family, group and community variations. Being able to demystify unjust rules and practice that encourages unfair and/or oppressive distribution of resources. As a social worker, being able to work together with others in the profession with view of challenging set rules that encourage the existence of injustice in the society will be a sign of growth into a mature professional. As a developing social worker, getting the clear picture of consequences that come with injustice and intervening to attain individual and collective communal and financial justice is crucial in evaluating ones’ growth towards maturity in the social work profession. Generalist social work practice strives to provide an incorporated and multi leveled mechanism for achieving the purpose of social work. Generalist social worker have tried to identify the existing interplay of individual and combined ideas, enabling them to work with different human systems such as individuals, communities, societies, families, organizations with complex structures and formal groups with the main goal of creating changes that make best use of human system performance. This infers that generalist social workers deal with client system at every level, linking them with the available resources and incorporating other organization to ensure receptiveness of reserve systems. They also work towards realization of just rules that will result in evenhanded allocation of resources and doing research on all areas of social work (DuBois and Miley, 2011). Generalist social work practice The generalist view of social work is based on four main premises. These are that, human is inextricably linked to their physical and social surroundings. Secondly, relative to the association among persons and their surrounding, chances for encouraging the functioning of human system entails altering its relations with the surrounding, changing systems in the surrounding and altering the system itself. (Birkenmaier, Weger and Dewees, 2011). Because of these, generalist social worker employ several leveled assessments and several methods to achieve any possible change. Third, generalist social worker are capable of working with all human systems starting from individual to community as a whole using same social work procedure. Lastly, generalist social workers have the obligations passed direct practice to working towards achieving just social rules and at the same time, applying and conducting research (Birkenmaier, Weger and Dewees, 2011). According to Scales and Wolfer (2006) generalist social workers are able to perceive issues at hand and come up with solutions after considering the interaction of people and their surrounding. The generalists look beyond individual level of practice to the unrestrained sphere of intervention at compound system levels. For instance, when there is a problem at hand, generalists view the problem first and then bring together their practice mechanisms to fit the scenario and thereafter apply skills to mediate at numerous system levels. The levels of intervention might be administered at various stages which include; working with micro level system- here, the area of focus is working with individuals, families or small groups to impart changes in individual performance, social relations and in the manner in which people relate with resources social and institutional stages. There is also working with mezzo level -here, generalists aim at creating changes to teams, organizations and task groups. Workings in collaboration with social service delivery networks are significant in creating resources and services. Working with macro level systems- here, problems that are coming up at community, institutional and societal levels are addressed. The generalists work through community planning, neighborhood organizing, public awareness, community planning amongst others. Instances of macro level interventions that have been employed and proven to be effective include, use of neighborhood organization lobbying for repairs of street lights and roads, increased city spending on police hiring for security purposes. Finally, working with the social work profession- here, social workers address problems that they encounter while undertaking their roles and responsibilities (Sheafor and Horejsi, 2005). Table 1.1 System levels for social work intervention. Level of intervention Focus Micro level Individuals, families, and small groups Mezzo level Organizations and formal groups Macro level Communities and societies Social work profession Social work profession Research equips a generalist social worker with lots effectiveness for instance when it comes to working and attending to clients on various problems that they encounter. Research is a source of information to social work profession in that it is the theoretical base onto which understanding of human behavior, and change originates. The need for evidence based some what social work calls for research-practice relationship (Scales and Wolfer, 2006). Course work such as empowerment-based practice, family related theories and dynamics about child abuse and neglect are a source of significant information is of great help when it comes to client interaction. Theories, concepts and methods from journal such as the journal of evidence based practice, journal of ethnic and cultural diversity in social work have proven to be useful for a generalist social worker to uphold the most excellent practices in the area of child welfare (Sheafor and Horejsi, 2005). Sheafor and Horejsi (2005) assert that experiences from generalist practice present an opportunity for one to add to their knowledge on the profession. This can be done through effort by a generalist and other stakeholders in the family preservation sector trying to document the outcome of a new intervention program started by their organization. According to Birkenmaier, Weger and Dewees (2011) development of professionalism ought not to be the sole purpose of social work learning but it should also be used as a transformative experience associated with a larger objective of equipping students and practitioners with the attribute of being leaders when it comes to matters that promote change in the society. As a generalist social work, being part of to day to day life experiences and challenges that individual in the society experience broadens one’s mind and alters their perception on societal issues. This is of importance as it will help them spearhead changes and be witnesses of their own changes (Scales and Wolfer, 2006). Consultancy I would like to be a consultant in social work in future. By practicing this, I will be able to seek resolution for challenges in social functioning at individual, family, team, groups, community and organizational level. Within the mandates of the consultancy bestowed on a generalist social worker, I will uphold sharing of ideas with fellow workers in the profession and clients with the view of developing tactics for change. Sharing ideas with other practitioners in social work eases resolving individual, family, group, organizational and communal problems (Birkenmaier, Weger and Dewees, 2011). As a consultant I will be able to empower my clients through respecting their competence, tapping on their strengths and working with them to come up with solutions. Consultation activities divide generalist social workers into roles of enabler, facilitators, planner and colleague. Enabler, Facilitators, Planners and Colleague engage their clients into counseling processes. Enabler, Facilitators, Planners and Colleagues work under micro, mezzo, macro and social work profession practice under micro, mezzo, macro and social work profession intervention levels respectively (Scales and Wolfer, 2006). Table 1.2 Consultancy duties/Roles. Level Role/ duty Tactics Micro- Enabler Give power to clients in seeking solutions Mezzo- Facilitator Promote organizational development Macro- Planner Organize program and rule development through research and scheduling. Social work profession Colleague/ Monitor Mentor, steer and support professional acculturation Generalist social work is complex approaches to helping people come out of problems they are facing in life. Generalists are obligated to performing many roles as they practice. These include but not limited to, contributing to research work of the profession and fostering social policies as they try to promote human dignity and make certain societal justice. Attainment expertise as a social worker calls for a consistent practice framework, resourceful perception of human and communal system performance and dynamic procedure of change (Birkenmaier, Weger and Dewees, 2011). References Birkenmaier, J., Weger, M., & Dewees, M. P. (2011). The Practice of Generalist Social Work (2nd ed.). Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. Chapin, R. K. (2011). Social policy for effective practice: a strengths approach (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. DuBois, B., & Miley, K. K. (2011). Social work: an empowering profession (7th ed.). Boston, Mass.: Allyn & Bacon. Reamer, F. G. (1998). Ethical standards in social work: a review of the NASW code of ethics. Washington, DC: NASW Press. Scales, T. L., & Wolfer, T. A. (2006). Decision cases for generalist social work practice: thinking like a social worker. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Sheafor, B. W., & Horejsi, C. R. (2005). Techniques and guidelines for social work practice (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. 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