1.

Helping Process in Case work follows scientific (PROBLEM SOLVING

METHOD)

1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM

2. DATA-GATHERING
3. DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
4. PLANNING SOLUTION
5. IMPLEMENTATION
6. EVALUATION
7. TERMINATION OR CONTINUATION
2. Case Study Format (Lourdes College)
I. PERSONAL DATA
a. Identifying data
b. Family Data
II. PRESENTING PROBLEM
a. Immediate problem
b. Underlying problem
c. Working Problem
III. BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
a. History of the Case
b. Background of the Client
IV. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
a. Theory/Perspective
b. Why is it relevant?
c. How is it utilized
V. ASSESSMENT
VI. INTERVENTION PLAN
a. GOAL
i. Objectives
ii. Activities
iii. Time frame
iv. Person responsible
v. Expected output
VII. EVALUATION
VIII. TERMINATION
IX. RECOMMENDATION
 3. COMMON SKILLS USED IN HANDLING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES
Active Listening
Active listening shows that you are engaged in the conversation and genuinely care
about hearing what the other person has to say. For social workers, active listening is a
vehicle for establishing trust and respect with clients. Building trust makes it easier for
social workers to discover details about their clients and makes them more receptive to
solutions or referrals made by the social worker.
Critical Thinking
Part of what makes social work so challenging—and rewarding—is the fact that each
individual or group is dealing with a unique set of circumstances and requires a unique
solution. That’s why critical thinking skills are very important in social work. After
identifying the nature of the problems experienced by their clients, social workers use
critical and creative thinking to develop practical solutions. Social workers use logic,
analysis, and creativity to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches
and find a solution for each case.
Information Gathering
Clients are not always forthcoming with their personal history, current circumstances, or
many of the details social workers need to make informed decisions. Being able to
effectively gather and interpret social, personal, environmental, and health information is
an important part of social work. That’s why the best social workers are the ones who
know how to find and identify essential information.
Organization
Social workers typically manage multiple clients at a time. Providing case management
and psychosocial support to multiple clients requires a great deal of organization.
Casework is multifaceted, involving documentation, networking, billing, etc. Good
organization skills allow social workers to stay on top of their clients’ needs and ensure
that nothing “falls through the cracks.” Oversight resulting from disorganization can lead
to oversights and negative outcomes for the individuals, groups, and families involved,
which means this is a top skill for social workers to develop.
Time Management
Related to organizational skills, social workers must also have strong time-management
practices. Because social workers juggle multiple cases and administrative
responsibilities at once, they must effectively manage their time to ensure all clients
receive the care, attention, and service they need. Time management also plays a role
in preventing “burnout” from being overworked.
Boundary Setting
Social workers must establish and maintain professional relationships with their clients
to avoid taking the emotional stress of the job home — intentionally or unintentionally.
Establishing boundaries early between yourself and your clients will help create a
healthier work-life balance, which in turn makes you a more effective professional.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s situation, and then be able
to understand what that person may be experiencing. This ability is very important in the
field of social work. Having empathy helps social workers develop strong relationships
with their clients and determine exactly what they need based on their unique
experiences and circumstances. Although social workers are empathetic by nature, this
skill requires practice, and should be continually sharpened through empathy training
and development exercises.
Communication
Social workers communicate in different ways and with different people every day. They
talk with clients and their families, but also with insurance companies, health care
providers, co-workers, and others involved in their clients’ lives. Good communication
skills help social workers have difficult conversations with people in the midst of
challenging life circumstances. The ability to speak and write clearly and concisely is a
great benefit to social workers, especially those dealing with individuals or groups that
struggle to understand things due to emotional stress or learning disabilities.
Persuasion
Social workers must establish achievable treatment goals with their clients, but getting
them to take action can be another challenge altogether. The ability to inspire,
invite/encourage, or even excite others to act is invaluable to any social worker since it
can mean the difference between a positive outcome and inaction/stagnation/delay.
Social workers must learn different methods of motivation so they can affect clients with
different personalities, experiences, and objections.
Cooperation
Social workers are often part of a much larger team of service providers. For example,
medical social workers are part of a team comprised of care providers and
administrators attached to a specific client. For this reason, the ability to work with
others is essential. Social workers must be able to negotiate, compromise, and
coordinate with others to ensure that a client’s needs are addressed.
Advocacy
As the voice of their clients, social workers routinely advocate on behalf of the
individuals, groups, and families they serve. Advocacy involves speaking out and acting
in the best interest of others. Social workers may advocate to create new programs,
revise outdated policies, or expand existing programs to ensure that their clients obtain
the treatment and services they need. Advocacy is a powerful means of bringing about
positive change and empowering people to take agency in their lives.

4. Roles of Social Workers in working with Individual and Families

1. ADVOCATE
In the advocate role, the social worker fights for the rights of those disempowered by
society with the goal of empowering the client. The social worker speaks on behalf of
clients when others will not listen or when clients are unable to do so.
2. COUNSELOR
In the role of counselor, the social worker helps clients express their needs, clarify their
problems, explore resolution strategies, and applies intervention strategies to develop
and expand the capacities of clients to deal with their problems more effectively. A key
function of this role is to empower people by affirming their personal strengths and their
capacities to deal with their problems more effectively.
3. MEDIATOR
In the mediator role, the social worker intervenes in disputes between parties to help
them find compromises, reconcile differences, and reach mutually satisfying
agreements. The mediator takes a neutral stance among the involved parties.
4. RESEARCHER
In the researcher role, a social worker evaluates practice interventions and with others
evaluates program outcomes. The researcher critically analyze the literature on relevant
topics of interest and uses this information to inform practice. A researcher extends and
disseminates knowledge, and seeks to enhance the effectiveness of social work
practice.
5. EDUCATOR
In the Educator role, social workers are involved in teaching people about resources
and how to develop particular skills such as budgeting, the caring discipline of children,
effective communication, the meaning of a medical diagnosis, and the prevention of
violence.
6. CASE MANAGER
In the role of a Case manager, the social worker locates services and assists their
clients to access those services. Case management is especially important for complex
situations and for those who are homeless or elderly, have chronic physical or mental
health issues, are disabled, victims of domestic or other violent crimes, or are
vulnerable children.
7.  BROKER
In the role of a broker, a social worker is responsible for identifying, locating, and linking
clients to needed resources in a timely manner. Once the client’s needs are assessed
and potential services identified, the broker assists the client in choosing the most
appropriate service option and assists in negotiating the terms of service delivery. In this
role the social worker is also concerned with the quality, quantity, and accessibility of
services.
8. MANAGER
As managers, social workers are better able to influence policy change and/or
development, and to advocate, on a larger scale, for all underprivileged people.