SOCIAL WORK - Assignment Example

Social work Social work A definition of generalist practice in own words Generalist practice can be referred to as a discipline, which seeks to engage in diverse issues affecting the society. It tackles problems of any kind, regardless of the nature of the problem. Such problems can be social, psychological, emotional, legal, or even economic. This means that the generalist practice does not specialize in dealing with defined problems, but any sort of issue that arises in the society. More to these, this practice seeks to find solutions to the existing problems, by identifying the merits of the people concerned.

It emphasizes such merits, and takes advantage of the merit’s ability to help the people develop mechanisms of solving their problems. Therefore, the practice gets to improve the general life of the people involved, as opposed to solving a single problem in their lives.Specific examples of generalist practice portrayed in case studyPlacing Carol’s child in a kinship care arrangement with the maternal grandmother, indicate generalist practice. This was done after Carol and her husband were arrested and charged with a drug deal.

Arranging to place Carol in an intensive inpatient substance abuse treatment, also serves as generalist practice. This followed Carol’s involvement in a car accident with her daughter, given that she was driving under the influence of alcohol. Providing person-centred therapy for Carol, further illustrates the generalist perspective. This was meant to help her deal with the many unresolved issues in her life, though she was angry and hostile at the inception of the therapy.The characteristics that make each an example of generalist practiceThe generalist practice gets guidance from a number of approaches.

The first approach seeks to consider the person-in-environment. Placing Carol’s child in the hands of the maternal grandmother indicates this aspect. The practitioners realized that allowing the baby to stay with the parents was putting her life at risk, following the assessments that showed the presence of drugs in the home. Therefore, they preferred to intervene in the situation, by placing her in the best care, which could be given by the grandmother. Planning and intervention serves as a characteristic of the generalist perspective.

This was exhibited when the practitioners realized that Carol had a serious drug abuse problem. Consequent to this, they arranged a treatment program for her, thus intervened in helping her to solve her problems.The generalist perspective focuses on the individual, instead of the practitioner. This happens when Carol gets person-centred therapy, thus highlighting the membership of the individual. The therapy seeks to empower Carol, hence strengthen her to deal with her problems in life (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2009).

More to these, the therapy led to the establishment of goals that Carol approved of, which means her dignity was upheld.The effectiveness or ineffectiveness of each example in terms of benefits to clientsPlacing the child under the care of the maternal grandmother provided the child with a suitable environment for growth. Consequent to this, the life of the child was protected, thus safeguarding the child’s interest. Giving Carol the opportunity to access intensive inpatient substance abuse treatment played an effective role.

This follows her engagement in the program, thus helping her deal with the problem of drug abuse. She was able to realize her problem, and she knew she could not continue doing drugs. This played an effective role as it made her change her life for better. The person-centred therapy also played a crucial role. It helped her take corrective action in various aspects of her life, thus making her a better person in society (Schieltz, 2014).ReferencesKirst-Ashman, K. & Hull, G. (2009). Understanding Generalist Practice.

Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning Publishers.Schieltz, M. (2014). What is the Strengths Approach in Generalist Practice? Ehow. Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com/info_10006078_strengths-approach-generalist-practice.html.