SW-315

SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH

INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
 Learning Objective
• Define Casework and its relevance to Social
Work Profession
• Identify the components of Casework as to
further understand the SW method of
helping individual
CASEWORK
According to Philippine encyclopedia of
Social Work….

- “It is an individualized form of

helping people cope with
personal problems usually
involving an impairment or
breakdown of adequate social
functioning.”
 According to Kazuko Kay……
- ““It is a method of social work which
intervenes in the psycho-social aspects
of a person’s life to restore, improve, and
develop his social functioning or prevent
its malfunctioning by enhancing his role
performance as a constructive and
productive individual. It is a problem-
solving as well as a helping process”.
 According to Esther Viloria……
-“It is a helping process which consists of a variety of activities
that may include the giving of material assistance, referrals to
other community facilities, rendering emotional and
psychological support through sensitive listening, expressions
of acceptance and reassurances, making suggestions,
appropriately advising and setting limits encouraging the
individual to express his feelings, likewise encouraging him to
effect his plans, assisting the individual to narrate and examine
his situation and/or working out within a consideration and
better understanding of the causal connections between his
present attitudes and mode of adjustment with past
experiences. All these may be used in combination to respond
to the person under stress, so as to enable him to meet his
needs more fully and to function more adequately in his social
relationships”.
According to Helen Harris Perlman……

• It is a process used by human welfare

agencies to help individuals to cope
more effectively with their problems of
social functioning.
CASEWORK has a GOAL, it is a PROCESS,
and a METHOD
Goal- to achieve improvement in the person’s
socio functioning by bringing about change in his
economic , social living or environment.

Process – is set in notion when and individual with

a problem comes to a place where a professional
representative , the social worker , engages him in
working relationships and together they embark
on a scientific or problem solving process
Method- a method of helping a person
through a relationship that taps personal
and other resources for coping with
problems, change in attitudes and feelings
affected by the dynamics of the client-
worker relationship
 DESCRIPTION OF CASEWORK
• Casework was the first SW intervention
• Focus on individual’s ability to deal
adequately with his situation
• Focus on the improvement of the way the
environment and emotional forces and
conflicts are interacting to awaken or impair
the individual’s functioning
• Focus is on person-in-situation configuration
 DESCRIPTION OF CASEWORK
• Essentially a generic process featuring certain
elements applicable in group work and
community
• Knowledge and skills in casework served as
foundation in group work and community
work.
• Seeks to improve client’s capability to help
improve his living and rise above the difficult
circumstances
COMPONENTS OF CASEWORK

1. The Person
2. The Problem
3. The Place
4. The Process
Within the concept of man and his social
environment, social casework is concerned
with the interaction of the first three
components:

• a person in his social problem situation which affects

the person’s social functioning to cope with his tasks,
and the person who needs helping resources;

• the helping process is to facilitate linkages between

the person with problem and the social systems
where the resources, services, and opportunities.
 W
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 The Person is dynamic
Bio-Psychosocial-Spiritual Being
In order to understand the dynamics of the
person, the worker must have knowledge of
the structure and function of personality,
personality development, mechanisms of
defense, concept of stress and conscious and
unconscious behavior. It is recognized that
the client brings with him not only his external
facts but also his internal unseen facts and
circumstances.
Basically, Casework is use to help
individuals to cope more effectively with
their problems of social functioning.
Social Functioning
 Social well-being: ability to meet role
expectations associated with particular
statuses or roles.
 Ability to accomplish activities
necessary for daily living, fulfill major
roles required by community or
demanded by environment.
 Social Role
• A social role is the sum total of the cultural
patterns associated with specific behavior and
attitudes which a person assumes in a specific
situation in his relationship with others.

• Prescribed role – it is a role which is expected by

the norms and expectations of society.
• Subjective role – it is a role performed by a person
based on what he thinks the role entails.
• Enacted role - it is what a person ascribes to
himself in a specific role.
Problems and difficulties in Social
functioning can be caused by the:
• person’s lack of motivation and emotional
capacity to cope with his environmental
demands;

• person’s inability to link himself with

resources; and

• combination of both personal and

environmental factors
 Person’s perception to Social Reality
There are four levels of perception of reality, namely:
• NO RECOGNITION of reality = a person who does not see
nor recognize that he has a problem, inspite of the
presence of a serious problem, has the “ I don’t care” and “
it is not my problem” attitudes which are negative. He is
not motivated and has lack of inner strength. Negative
attitudes are most often a problem area which is an initial
priority for helping.
• SOME RECOGNITION of reality but not quite ready to
cope with it; a person who knows he has a problem, yet
does not know what to do, is overwhelmed by a problem
situation and, thus, rather confused. This type of person
needs encouragement and support from the worker in
order to be motivated, particularly at the beginning phase
of the helping process.
• ACCEPTANCE of the reality as it is; a person
who has motivation and willingness to cope
with his problem situation. The person has
inner strength but needs external resources
(worker/agency) for his situation.
• COPING CAPACITIES to deal with the
reality; a person who has both internal and
external capacities to cope with the
situation. This type of person does not need
any help from the worker. He has both
effective and satisfying social functioning.
Once a person with a problem
seeks for help and start to use
your help/service, he is now
called a “Client”
 Different type of Clienteles:
 Financially problematic  Child with special needs
family  Person with mental
 Child in conflict with the disability
law  Older person
 Person deprived of  Solo parent
liberty  Problematic employee
 Domestic violence  Indigent patient
survivor
 And many more…………..
 Calamity victim
 Abandoned child
 Drug dependents
 Person with disability
THE PROBLEM
 Problem is…….
 It is a matter or situation regarded as
unwelcome or harmful and need to
be dealt with and overcome.

 These are difficulties of social

functioning for which a person
experiences discomfort and needs
professional help in order for him to
cope.
 Three types of Problem
• Presenting or Immediate Problem - a type of
problem where the client initially disclosed
/presented to the worker during the very first
meeting. This is the main reason why the client
came or referred to your office.
• Underlying Problem - a type of problem wherein
the overall situation is created and tends to
perpetuate the immediate problem.
• Working Problem - this refers to those
contributory factors that stand in the way of
remedy and prevention which must be dealt where
change also takes place.
 Example from the case of Myra;
• Presenting or Immediate Problem
- Financial problem of Myra or Financially problematic
mother
• Underlying Problem
- Estrangement with her husband
- Custody of her children
- Irregular employment and income
- Unresolved conflict from Myra’s past
• Working Problem
- Myra’s pride and resistance
- Myra’s erratic behavior
 Typical Problems
1. Problems of livelihood
2. Difficulty of role performance
3. Difficulty in interpersonal relationship
4. Problem of social transition
5. Dissatisfaction in social relations
6. Problem with formal organization
7. Impact of natural calamity and social unrest
8. Reactive emotional distress
9. Problem of borderline pathology
10.Problems of being a Client
THE PLACE
 The Place
• Preventing and remedying the problems
of social functioning require resources
other than those of the client’s, his
family and significant others. These
refer to the physical set up, finances,
policies, services and manpower of the
social casework agency which could
have either a primary or secondary
purpose.
 Types of Agency
• PRIMARY AGENCY
– DSWD
• CSWD
• MSWD

• SECONDARY AGENCY
– Hospital
– School
– Court
– Housing
– Industry/Firm
 Material Resources
• The tangible resources which
commonly includes;
– Clothes
– Shelter
– Food
– Money
– Education
 Agency’s Services
• It is a composite of strategies
or approaches, activities and
procedures offered by
agencies which aim at the
prevention or solution of a
social dysfunctioning.
 CSWD’s services offered;
• Securing SCSR (Social Case Study Report)
• Issuance of indigency certificate
• Crisis intervention services
• Person with disability assistance
• Older Person services
• Psychosocial intervention to Children in need of special protection
• Psychosocial intervention to CICL (Child in conflict with the law)
and CAR (Child at risk)
• Social Services to Solo Parent
• Assistance to Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances
(WEDC)
• Pre-marriage Counseling
• Emergency shelter assistance
• Relief assistance
• Day Care services program
 THE PROCESS
(The Helping Process)
 Helping Process…….
• It is the progressive transaction between the
worker and the client consisting of a series
of problem-solving operations so as to
achieve a defined goal.
 HELPING PROCESS

COS of US De Guzman Book NASWEI Curriculum Richmond’s Trilogy

Registration Identification of the Engagement Gathering of Social

Problem   Evidence

  Data Gathering    
Investigation   Assessment Social Diagnosis
  Diagnostic  
Assessment

Cooperation Planning the Solution Goal Setting and  

  Intervention
Planning
Friendly Visiting Implementation    
  Evaluation and Treatment
Monitoring
  Evaluation
 

  Termination or Continuation and  

Continuation Termination