MSW-014

Relevance of Social
Indira Gandhi
National Open University
Case Work in Counselling
School of Social Work

Block

2
SOCIAL CASE WORK AS A PROCESS
UNIT 1
Skills and Techniques of Case Work 5
UNIT 2
Scope of Social Case Work : Nature of Problem
to be Addressed 22
UNIT 3
Social Case Work Practice in Indian Context 30
EXPERT COMMITTEE
Prof. Surender Singh Prof. Sanjai Bhatt Prof. Anjali Gandhi
Former Vice Chancellor University of Delhi Jamia Milia Islamia
Kanshi Vidhyapeeth New Delhi New Delhi
Varanasi

Prof. Thomas Kalam Dr. Joseph Xavier Dr. Leena Mehta

St. John’s Medical College Indian Social Institute M.S. University
Bangalore Bangalore Vadodara

Dr. Mukul Srivastava Dr. Usha John Dr. Archana Dassi

Dr. B. R. Ambedkhar Loyala College Jamia Milia Islamia
University, Agra Trivandrum New Delhi

Dr. Jyoti Kakkar Dr. Ranjana Sehgal Dr. Beena Antony

Jamia Milia Islamia Indore School of Social Work Delhi University
New Delhi Indore New Delhi

Prof. Gracious Thomas Prof. Neil Abell Prof. Patricia Lager

IGNOU Florida State University Florida State University
New Delhi USA USA

BLOCK PREPARATION TEAM

Unit 1 Dr. Asiya Nasreen, Jamia Millia Islamia
Unit 2&3 Dr. Archana Dassi, Jamia Millia Islamia

COURSE EDITOR PROGRAMME COORDINATOR

Prof. Gracious Thomas Dr. N. Ranga
Director, SOSW, IGNOU Assistant Professor, SOSW, IGNOU

PRINT PRODUCTION
Mr. Kulwant Singh
Section Officer (P)
SOSW, IGNOU

April, 2015
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2015
ISBN : 978-81-266-6884-7
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or
any other means, without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open
University.
Further information on the Indira Gandhi National Open University Courses may be obtained
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Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi by
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Printed by :
BLOCK INTRODUCTION
In the previous block we studied the basics of Social casework. In this block let us
discuss in detail some of the skills and techniques frequently used by the case worker.
This block throws light on the scope of casework and provides you basic
understanding of social casework. It highlights on the scope of case work and practice
in Indian context. This Volume “Social Case work as a process” is the second block
of the course MSW-014: “Relevance of Social Case work in Counselling” which
has three units.
The first unit on “Skills and Techniques of Case Work” describes the concept of
skills and techniques used during case work process. It also discusses the purpose,
process and skills necessary for each techniques of Case work to help the client and
finally conclude explaining the use of counselling as a technique during case work
process.
The second unit on “Scope of Social Case work : Nature of Problem to be
Addressed” will enable you to know the usual coping patterns that are ineffective in
the face of some problems. This unit discusses on the fields of Case work practice
namely family welfare agency, medical social work in hospitals and clinics, outpatient
department, special clinics, child guidance clinics, mental hospitals, psychiatric clinics
and crisis intervention centres. The unit also highlights the practice of case work with
chronically and terminally ill patients. It further discusses case work practice in other
settings such as in residential institutions, school setting, child welfare agencies, with
differently-abled, women, victims of disaster and in the field of labour welfare.
The third unit on “Social Case Work Proactice in Indian Context” will help you to
understand human being in the context of modern society and individual behaviour.
This unit makes you aware about the trends in social casework practice in India and
the extent of indigenization of casework practice.
Blank Page
UNIT 1 SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES OF
CASE WORK
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Skills and Techniques of Helping
1.3 Social History
1.4 Social Diagnosis
1.5 Social Treatment
1.6 Listening
1.7 Observation
1.8 Interviewing
1.9 Home Visit
1.10 Recording
1.11 Counselling as a Technique of Case Work
1.12 Let Us Sum Up
1.13 Key Words
1.14 Further Readings and References

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to understand:
 the concept of skills and techniques of helping
 the different skills and techniques used during case work process
 the purpose, process and skills for each of the technique of case work
 the use of counselling as a technique during case work process

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Among the different methods of social work, case work is the oldest method of working
with people. Social Case Work has been designed and developed for solving individual’s
problems and improving his/her social relations. The basis of case work is the natural
response of one individual to another in some need that cannot be met alone.
The purpose of case work is to help people to handle their problems of social functioning
effectively. The helping process is carried out in such a way that the philosophical values
of social work as well as the principles are adhered to. It means that professional
activity is performed in such a way that it is different from indiscriminate and unplanned
5
Social Case Work helping and thoughtfully planned helping. The social work helps the client through
as a Process
procedures that draw upon the client’s abilities and resources.
The two major goals of case work are: 1) rendering help to cope with the problem
which client cannot handle unaided and 2) enhancing the operation of client’s ego functions
whereby it moves towards greater ability in handling life and problems. The two goals
are interlinked or to be precise, the second goal stipulates the social manner in which
the first goal–help for problem solving–should be achieved. The social worker while
making the social assessment of the client’s problems weighs the impact of all the
contributing factors, helps the client to grasp the significance of the various elements of
the situation and then assists in dealing with these elements. Therefore, social workers
engage in helpful relationship, need guidance, acquire skills and techniques that equip
them with professional knowledge and expertise of helping their client.

1.2 SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES OF HELPING

Case Work involves meaningful contact between the case worker and individual and
latter’s family in most of the cases. The contact with the family members is essential if
the individual’s problem is linked with blocks and defects in relationships and attitudes.
Case Work service is directed towards activating all the persons involved to set right
their relationships, interactions and attitudes. The help offered by case worker involves
provision of material and non-material help. The former refers to client’s need for financial
and non-financial services and the latter refers to the help provided to meet the client’s
lack of specific information and knowledge and also to engender changes in client’s
thinking processes.
During the process of case work, case worker use different skills and techniques to
help the client. According to Timms (1964), techniques can be referred to a body of
numerous and complicated operations or to a more or less standardized procedures to
attain a particular and limited objectives. Case Work techniques are the procedures of
helping the client. Mathew (1992) described them as wherewithal through which the
client gets the experience of being helped. The techniques like listening, observation,
interviewing, home-visit etc are included within the framework of relationship. They
allow the worker to have ideas and facts about client, his situation, feelings and emotions
as well. During the process, case worker applies techniques in skillful manner to fulfill
the purpose of helping relationship. Skills refer to the proficiency in procedures of
helping that have been developed through the years and which can be used deliberately
aiming at specific goals. Upadhay (2003), described skill as the capacity to perform a
task or act in such a way that the objectives are realized effectively and within the
shortest possible time.
In case work, skills and techniques are interrelated to and complement one another.
Some of the skills and techniques frequently used by the case workers are described in
the succeeding section

1.3 SOCIAL HISTORY

Knowledge of a person’s early experience, family and group associations, and general
mode of life is generally conceded to be important in order to understand him.
Nevertheless the objective of history taking is to get clear picture of the external, real
social situation as far as possible, and also the client’s personal view of it.

6 Social history is important for case worker because if it is carefully prepared then
treatment relationship would not be adversely affected. Careful social history taking is Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
essential for a diagnostic conclusion and may keep one from getting involved in premature
or wrong treatment.
In taking history we should always move from top to bottom or from now to what
happened to bring “now” about. It should not begin with the style of “once upon a
time”. Though facts and history are important in themselves, the method of taking the
history, recognize the value of the individual in assuming the responsibility of giving
information. The way, too, that the client manages his end of the history taking experience
may be a clue to how far he accepts the agency’s services and what he is going to do
with them. One of the greatest skills lies in knowing when and how to stop in history
taking, as in other things. The skills of observation, listening facilitate the case worker in
this direction.
There is all the difference between getting history in a logical way and getting in a
responsive way. For instance,
A woman talking about her domestic situation, referred to herself and her husband
as being quite happy and having made a good many plans when they were married.
Worker A, following the logical track, might ask about her marriage and
acquaintance with each other almost seven year before their marriage in 1976,
that they had met when working together in a restaurant, and so on. Worker B,
however, following the emotional tone, might say, “What sort of plans?” and
thereby bring out her frustration in not having been able to have a baby or again
a man is saying irritably that his wife is constantly attempting to pick fights and
to hurt or annoy him. “Why do you think she does that?” asks the interviewer,
and gets a vital bit of history.
This is a very simple example, which looks so easy to follow. However, when they are
followed closely to understand what client is telling us, it shows that technique is almost
as difficult as listening to the beat of a heart. Nevertheless, the art of taking history is
bound up in the ability to relate the question to the significant theme in what the client
has been telling us. The points that need to be remembered cautiously are:
 It is always useful in an early interview to introduce yourself and agency so as to
establish our position. This helps the client to see what and why we need to know
the things that are being asked from them.
 Next, relevant and “responsive” questions, should be asked as it enable the client
to understand why we are asking. People rarely mind pertinent and do mind
impertinent questions. That is to say, the questions should be related to the problem.
Check Your Progress I
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1. Explain the term technique as referred to in Social Case Work.
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7
Social Case Work
as a Process
2. Explain the importance of preparing social history.
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1.4 SOCIAL DIAGNOSIS

Mary Richmond initially used the expression ‘social diagnosis’ in the early years of the
nineteenth century. She emphasized the concept of ‘evidence’ and its judicial appraisal
as she expanded and systematized the range of sources from which social workers
could collect the facts.
The term has a medical origin and direct analogies between medicine and social work
has been drawn since the late nineteenth century. The Principles of Decision published
by the Charity Organization Society in 1801, for example, stated that ‘Each case of
distress is to be considered as that of a sufferer from some malady of one afflicted in
mind, body, or estate …’ The object of social case work inquiry is not simply the things
that happen to people, the organisms that invade their social being, but also the things
people make happen.
Diagnosis refers to process and product, of the path of discovery as well as a description
of the arrival point (Timms, 1964). The process of diagnosis is neither the inexhaustible
accumulation of facts, though facts must be collected and ordered; nor is it one of the
labeling of certain behaviour by an expert, though the significance of behaviour must be
recognized. It is a process whereby the client and worker help each other to ‘see’ and
grasp relationships. The case worker takes readings of the client and his situation until
the pattern of the case becomes clear. It is not simply observation rather continuous
observation of the self and the others in interaction. Aptekar (1955) described diagnosis
as concerned with understanding both the psychological or personality factors, which
bear a causal relation to the client’s difficulty and social and environmental factors which
sustain it.
The key themes in social work diagnosis or appraisal include understanding of:
 The nature of the problem
 The nature of the person who bears the problem
 The nature and purpose of the agency and the kind of help it can offer or provide.
An example of a beginning diagnosis may clarify what has been suggested as the content
of diagnosis.
Ronald D. (aged 16 years) was placed on probation in 1990 for committing willful
damage at his old school. His previous offences of shop-breaking were recorded
against him in 1988 and 1999. The officer’s pre-trial enquiry revealed that Ronald
lived with his mother and father and sister in the respectable’ part of a small
industrial town. His father had been a non commissioned officer in the army and
was now doing highly skilled work in a light engineering firm, where he had
obtained a job for his son. He worked long hours and described his job in great

8
detail to the officer. He said that had Ronald been in the army he would have Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
known how to deal with him, and he seemed to resent the possibility that ‘his boy’
might be placed under the supervision of another man. He compared Ronald
unfavorably with his sister and was inclined to blame his delinquency on his
mother’s favoritism. Ronald’s mother complained of father’s bullying, and felt
extremely ashamed of Ronald’s persistent anti-social behaviour. Ronald had been
academically successful though he had never taken much part in extra-curricular
activities. His ambition was to join the police force. He was worried about the
situation at home and particularly concerned with his father’s bullying of his
mother. He explained that he wanted to keep the peace. Recently his father had
started to quarrel with him and they had almost come to blows. Mother spoke
very well of Ronald and the officer was impressed by his frank and open manner
and his good disposition towards home.
What kind of tentative diagnosis could be offered to account for this situation and to
guide the case worker’s choice of ‘treatment’? There is no information about Ronald’s
early history. But at the time of the offences he seems to be reacting to changes within
the family and within himself. In many ways the problem in the case revolves around
control and Ronald should be helped to see the feelings over which he might learn to
establish more reasonable control as he is hoped to assume the role of an adult male by
a probation officer. At the same the family situation is clearly both cause and effect of
his problem and it would certainly be necessary to help the parents to overcome their
marriage problems, which have become displaced on to the children.
Social diagnosis is conducted in series of orderly stages that are as follows:
1) Gathering data
Case Worker gathers data or information of the interview of the clients and agency’s
record. Home visits are also important source gathering information about the
client and its problem.
2) Diagnostic study
In the study phase, social case worker attempt to identify the problem areas that
are important for their involvement for resolution of problem.
3) Diagnosis or Evaluation
This refers to understanding the nature of the problem, its organization and extent
and who is going to be affected. There can be range of physical, psychological
and social factors, which may be responsible for the emergence of problem that
needs to be properly understood by the case worker for establishing objectives of
treatment.
4) Diagnostic product
After identification of the problem areas and the factors in relation to them, the
attempts are made towards possible solution. Concentration on one problem at a
time makes treatment process manageable. It also allows the client, others, the
agency and the worker to think about the potential contribution of each of them
towards solution of the problem. The client’s ability to work is the base for
determining further treatment.

9
Social Case Work
as a Process 1.5 SOCIAL TREATMENT
In case work ‘treatment’ begins as soon as client and case worker meet. The case
worker gain certain impressions of his client and the advice of the case worker should,
ideally, be given within the context of a relationship. It should stem from the awareness
of the worker and be given in a way that allows the client to express his own feelings
about it. Moreover, the purpose of advice giving is not simply a change in behaviour,
but a means of learning and of increasing the client’s self-estimation. According to
Hamilton (1950), treatment is the sum total of all activities and services directed towards
helping an individual with a problem. The focus is on relieving the immediate problem
and if feasible, modifies any basic difficulties, which precipitate it. On the whole, treatment
in social case work aims to restore the individual to social functioning or to help him
develop this capacity in order that he may achieve at one and at the same time his own
society’s betterment (Mishra, 1994).
Treatment must contemplate all the social, economic, environmental factors. The
situations are considered as wholes, as living human events in which emotional, mental,
physical, economic and social factors interacts in varying proportions, For example a
medical worker does not deal with a physical problem or a relief worker with an economic
problem only. Every case worker treats organic situations in which numerous factors
operate.
The objectives of social treatment are preventing social breakdown for conserving
strengths, restoring social functioning, making life more comfortable or create
opportunities for growth and development and to increase the capacity for self-direction
and social contribution. All treatment could be helpful, if they are individualized. Blanket
and form prescriptions without knowledge of person, behaviour reaction and situation
have little value.
A large part of social treatment is concerned with the provision of activities and services.
Giving relief or offering shelter or procuring legal aid and medical care etc are within this
tangible practical activity. It is known as indirect treatment where the thrust is on
environmental manipulation. It is a means of working through the situation and other
people with whom the client may interact. The reverse of this is to help to remove
obstacles or irritants from the client’s environment. It is known as direct treatment that
involves working with the individual through client-worker relationship. Direct treatment
is also referred to as Counselling and therapy. Direct treatment techniques are used
where client needs direction because of ignorance, anxiety, and weaknesses of ego
strengths
Social treatment is coextensive with history taking, diagnosis and involves Counselling,
interviewing, clarification and interpretation leading to insight. Guidance, reassurance,
suggestion, persuasion and advice are built in aspects of treatment. The process of
social treatment progress with the following steps:
1. Social case worker develops a preliminary understanding of the client with the
help of social history.
2. He also provides psychological support and help to the client and engages him in
a therapeutic relationship.
3. Social case worker provides interpretation to the client of the agency’s policies
and procedures, respect for the client’s integrity as a worker and understanding of
10 him as a person can help him use the resources in skillful and constructive manner.
There are number of feasible objectives for such interpretations. Sometimes it is necessary Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
to call the client’s attention to the way in which he is distorting his relationship with the
worker. It is required because the distortions hamper the client’s use of the service. An
appropriate interpretation probably bring a measure of relief to the client as his hostility
or love is seen as arising from fears of his own weakness and the real concern of the
worker is experienced. The client may also benefit from increased sensitivity to himself
and the relationships he forms. This is often termed ‘insight’. Problem-solving insight
refers to what a person needs to know in order to solve a problem or reach a goal; and
practical understanding is what a person actually knows, though he may not be consciously
aware of doing so.
Check Your Progress II
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1. What is social diagnosis? Describe the steps followed in it.
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2. Differentiate between direct and indirect treatment?
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1.6 LISTENING
Listening is a basic skill and technique of case work. The purpose is to understand the
speaker’s words and feelings as accurately as possible, for which mental concentration
is pre-requisite. Listener has to pay attention to what is said, what is not said and what
is suggested and is known as active listening. Listening therefore is a consciously
performed activity for the social worker.
There are some obstacles to active listening, knowledge of which is necessary in order
to be an active listener and these includes:
1. Distraction of various kinds like noises in environment and other people and internal
distractions like one’s own thoughts, connected or unconnected with the speaker
or the subject matter.
2. The listener’s anxiety or fear concerning the speaker can be a block to good
listening. If the listener is unduly anxious that his response to the speaker should be
appropriate, and then the mind gets pre-occupied with the formulation of a response.
This obstacle could occur frequently in worker-client contact where the social
worker is anxious that they should win the confidence of the client and use the
“correct” words for the client.
3. Selective listening refers to the mental tendency of hearing only what one likes to
hear prevents effective listening. In routine conversation, considerable amount of
spoken matter gets tuned out of hearing because of selective listening. 11
Social Case Work Some of the guidelines that assist in developing the habit of effective listening are:
as a Process
1. Maintain eye contact with the clients during conversations as it helps in directing
physical and mental attention towards the client.
2. Use body language to show interest and understanding. It will include nodding
the head and turning the body to face the person speaking.
3. Listen to how things are said by paying attention to a speakers body language
and tone of voice
4. To show a desire to understand case worker could ask questions from the client
5. The external distraction during interview with the client should be minimum
though it may not always be possible.
6. Before initiating dialogue with the client, the worker should clear his mind ofinternal
pre-occupations and preconceived ideas or opinions of the clients. Anxieties and
apprehensions about the interview must be brought to the level of awareness and
should be resolved.
7. The worker should be capable of disciplined thinking that helps him to understand
what the client says, to make a mental note of it and to ask appropriate questions.
The workers should possibly note even the smallest detail during the conversation.
8. Summarize and rephrase the discussions to check understanding of what has
been said and ask for feedback

1.7 OBSERVATION
Observation is a skill of noticing features about people, things or situation. In the context
of case work the purpose is to use the observed data for understanding the client and
his situation. The case worker has to take note of the following for the clients:
1. The general outward appearance
2. Facial expression, posture, gestures etc
3. The characteristics particularly the emotional nuances of interactions that take
place between clients and others including their family members.
Observation helps in understanding the body-mind relationship of the client. The body
and mind relationship manifest in the body movements, which give expression to feelings.
This phenomenon is called body language or organ language and may or may not be
accompanied by verbal expression. Body language is the non-verbal communication
and is also known as involuntary communication or transmission of messages without
any volition on the part of the communicator. The message of information is mostly
about feelings. The speaker may want to conceal information about the feelings that he
experiences but it may get noticed through observation.
To illustrate it, a case has been described. Mona, (15 years) was a resident in an
institution for blind girls. Her parents used to bring things during the visits to the
institution. The blank expressions on the girl’s face were noted by the social worker
while meeting the relatives. She expressed gratefulness towards the family for its
support but that appeared to be superficial. Subsequently, she was able to talk to
the social worker about his feeling of rejection. Her perception was that the family
12
did not want her at home and bringing in things was a substitute for being cared Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
at the institution.

1.8 INTERVIEWING
The interview is the most important, most frequently employed, social work skill. It is
the structure for operationalizing the interaction between a worker and a client. The
interview in case work refers to the meeting of the social worker and the client in a
face-to-face conversation. It is a purposeful conversation and a professional activity on
the part of the social worker. The general purposes of interviews could be described as
informational (to make a social study), diagnostic (to arrive at an appraisal), and
therapeutic (to effect change).
Interview process: Each interview is different. The worker needs to be flexible in
structuring and guiding the interview, depending on the purpose and the needs of the
client. It should be carried out in a manner that encourages interaction and relationship
building. In order to conduct an interview, the worker must ensure that the environment
should be comfortable with least distracting features and interruptions. The interview
should be in sync with the goal and the purpose of the case work service and the
worker should be aware of his own feelings and attitudes that might interfere with
effective communication.
All interviews in case work proceed through three stages:
1. The beginning phase: During this stage, the worker tries to make the client
comfortable. The purpose of the interview is defined or plans made in a pervious
session are recalled.
2. The middle phase: In this stage, the worker and the client reaches on the agreement
about the work to be done. The worker needs to maintain a sense of timing attuned
to the client’s pace of work and refocus if the content strays from the task, or to
renegotiate the purpose if that is indicated.
3. The ending stage: It is reached when the purpose of the interview gets fulfilled.
The worker bringing the interview to an end by summarizing what happened during
the interview and how it fits into the service being offered.
Skills used during interview: During an interview five groups of skills are used which
include observation skills; listening skills; questioning skills focusing, guiding and
interpreting skills; and climate-setting skills.
i) Observation Skill includes worker’s ability to understand nonverbal behavior. It
is useful for understanding the validity of the client’s verbal expression, and for
feedback purposes. The case worker should make efforts to know the meaning of
client’s body language, opening and closing sentences, shifts in conversation,
recurrent references, inconsistencies or gaps in information shared and points of
stress and conflict indicated by the client.
ii) Listening Skill involves understanding what the client is attempting to
communicate. Listening reflects an attitude of openness and acceptance. It allows
the worker to focus on what is being said by the client including his feelings and
emotions.
iii) Questioning Skill refers to knowing the various types of questions to be asked
and the usefulness of each type of question. Generally during interview, open- 13
Social Case Work ended questions should be used as they allow expression of feelings and gives the
as a Process
worker the opportunity to understand client’s perception of the situation. As far as
possible, closed-ended questions should be avoided. While preparing a social
history both open and closed-ended questions are advisable as they allow
discussion between the worker and the client about the facts as well about the
client’s life experiences.
iv) Focusing Guiding and Interpreting Skill enables the worker to accomplish the
tasks necessary as per the objectives. It includes capacity to paraphrase and
summarize, confront and to be silent. Paraphrasing and summarizing clarify what
has been said and enhance understanding towards progress as a truly joint
effort. Confrontation is bringing out into the open, feelings, issues, and
disagreements. It involves looking at these and finding ways to deal with them.
v) Climate Setting Skill refers to enabling or facilitating work. These include
empathy, genuineness, and non-possessive warmth. Empathy transmit acceptance
and care for the client, genuineness is the capacity of the worker to communicate
to the client that the worker is trustworthy and non-possessive warmth is the
ability to convey concern and a desire for intimacy with the client. These skills
affect the nature of the case worker’s relationship with client and the quality of the
communication.
The citation of Case could be helpful in understanding how an interview should be
conducted by a case worker.
Sameer, a twelve years old boy has been in Children Home for last one year.
Sameer’s father is a widower who has three other children ranging in the age six
to eighteen; he is the second from the oldest and oldest boy. Sameer was non-
obedient and irresponsible child. He showed least interest in attending school and
often bunked it. So it was decided to keep him in Children Home with the goal to
give a period of time in which he can grow without excessive demands. Sameer
has now decided to return back home. The worker and Sameer are now discussing
how he can respond to his father after returning back home.
The interview was held in the library of Children Home on a scheduled time. The
worker greeted Sameer and reminded him that they are going to discuss two
things—his behaviour with father and studying at home. To know whether he
could comply with his father’s demand and enjoy the siblings company, it was
suggested to spend a weekend with his family. Sameer was cheerful on returning
from home and after meeting the father and younger brothers and sisters. He told
the worker that things had gone well and he also enjoyed completing his homework.
Worker asked the child how did he feel when he told his father that he did not
want to do homework. He replied, “afraid”. But have to do it otherwise things
would have become same all over again. The worker said, you have become
mature and also asked him how would he handle frustrations when he will go
back home. He replied that he could talk with father and siblings about what he
doesnot like. Gradually interview came to an end and worker informed him that
next week a date of returning home in consultation with father would be worked
out for him.
This example exemplify that social work interview is flexible and structured. It is a
purposeful interaction that should be conducted in least distracting environment. The
skills of observation, listening, questioning, focusing and climate setting helps in yielding
14 wealth of information about client and problem under consideration.
 Skills and Techniques
Check Your Progress III
of Case Work
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1. Describe the requisites of Listening technique.
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2. What is the importance of Observation in case work?
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3. Identify the skills that facilitate the process of interview in case work?
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1.9 HOME VISIT

Home visit is another facilitative technique used by the case worker for gathering
information about client. It is an important part of the process of fact finding at the
commencement of the case work. The home visit is based on two fundamental beliefs
namely that delivering services in the home can ameliorate existing difficulties or can
prevent problems from developing later. Moral, social and political forces have prompted
such services over time.
Five principles that should be kept in mind while conducting home-visit:
1. Family support should enhance the ability of families to work toward their own
goals and deal effectively with their own problems.
2. Home-based intervention should be individualized, based upon an assessment of
the social, psychological, cultural, educational, economic and physical or health
characteristics of the family.
3. A home visitor must be responsive to the immediate needs of the families as well
as to their long-term goals.
4. A helping relation should be collaboration between the home visitor and the family
members.
5. The family should be recognized as a social system and intervention efforts directed
at one individual within the family can influence other family members and can
influence the overall functioning of the family.
15
Social Case Work Skills in Home Visit: At the heart of home visit is the relationship between the home
as a Process
visitor and the client for establishing good rapport. To be effective helper, a number of
skills are essential and some of them are as follows:
 The home visitor must be a patient listener.
 The home visitor must be sensitive to verbal and non-verbal communication from
the family about its desires and goals.
 The home visitor must be able to assess difficulties being encountered by the
family.
 The home visitor must be able to promote those skills, knowledge, attitudes and
environmental conditions that contribute to effective coping.
 The home visitor should have the capacity to respond to the client’s feeling and
experiences as if they were his own
 The home visitor must be able to see a person with worth and dignity, commitment,
understanding, non-judgmental attitude and warmth.
 The home visitor must be able to present itself genuinely without presenting a
facade.
Home Visits is advantageous as it enables the social worker to observe the home
environment of the client. The interactions which take place among the family members
lend to the social worker’s observation from which social worker is able to make useful
inferences about the attitudes and relationships within the family. A description of a case
is used to explain it.
There was the case of 16 years old boy, named Bhanu who was referred to the
social worker for poor academic performance and aggressive behaviour. Bhanu
lived in a one-room tenement with his parents who asserted that they loved him
very much. They gave him everything he wanted and expect him to do well in
school. Even, they bought the TV set for him. During the visit, the social worker
found the whole family in front of the TV including Bhanu who had his school
books open in front of him but his eyes on the programme. On one visit, the social
worker was talking to Bhanu about his school report and suddenly, unexpectedly
father started beating him for his failure in the examination. The contradictions
in parental handling could be easily seen by the social worker during his home
visits.

1.10 RECORDING
Recording is highly important technique in social work. Since, the case worker has to
know many clients intimately it is essential that interviews and details should be recorded
for all clients with their individual differences. The records serve various purposes but
for the social case work process some of the utilitarian aspects are as follows:
1. Case records provide an ongoing picture of the nature of social work involvement
with the client, progress in achieving social work goals and outcome.
2. When a client contacts the social work agency, the entire setting provides the
service. In case an individual staff member is unavailable the agency is able to pick
up where he or she left with the help of some kind of record only.
16
3. The quality and quantity of services being provided could be known by reviewing Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
written records that present picture of social work activity as well as assessing the
kind and quality of services being provided by the case worker.
4. Records identify the areas of strength and weakness where staff needs in-service
training to upgrade their skills.
5. Recording can be used as a therapeutic tool with the client to help him to respond
to treatment.
The records are written in many forms. For instance, Process recording is a specialized
and highly detailed form of recording. Everything that takes place during a client contact,
including the worker’s feelings and thinking is noted down. Process recording is time
consuming so, should be carefully used in selected cases. A process record usually
contains the following:
1. Identifying information: The name of the social worker, the date, name of the
client. In case of an interview or group session it is desirable to mention the number
of session.
2. A detailed description of what happened.
3. A description of any action or non-verbal activity that occurred.
4. The worker’s feelings and reaction to the client, situation including workers
unspoken thoughts and reactions.
5. The worker’s observations and analytical thoughts regarding what has been
happening
6. A “Diagnostic Summary”: This includes worker’s impressions in a summarized
form about the interview or session. It also includes an analysis of the problem or
issue involved.
7. Intervention plan: What is to be done next in the light of the process used and the
stage of the work, is usually written towards the end of the record.
Case Illustration: Discussion on the issue of sanitation and hygiene: The earlier
interactions with the community had brought forth the fact that they were really
concerned about increasing health problems like diarrhea, cholera etc. The worker
wanted to explore into the efforts made to curtail the problem.
In the discussion held, many women held the civic authorities responsible for
dirty, unhygienic conditions like water stagnation, lack of garbage disposal. Some
others told that although sweeper has been appointed but he comes rarely for the
duty. They seemed somewhat unhappy with the situation.
Another type of recording is the summary record. The focus is on what happened
with the client and is applied more in situations where long term, ongoing contact with
the client and a series of workers may be involved. It provides a picture of what happened
with the client but not all the steps the worker went through to accomplish the results. It
includes the following information:
1. Basic information or entry data
2. Summary of plan of action, periodic summaries of significant information, action
taken by the worker 17
Social Case Work 3. Statement of what was accomplished as the case gets closed or evaluation
as a Process
4. Future plan
Different forms of recording are used depending upon the situation of the client and
requirement of the agency.

1.11 COUNSELLING AS A TECHNIQUE OF CASE

WORK
Counselling is personal help directed towards the solution of a problem, which a person
is unable to solve himself and therefore seeks the help of a skilled person whose
knowledge, experience are then used in an attempt to solve the problem. As stated
earlier case work treatment is not only concerned with the provision of activities and
services to the client but involves helping them to remove obstacles or irritants from the
environment. The latter could be done with the help of counselling.
Case Work is primary method of social work whose purpose is to help people to
handle their problems of social functioning effectively. Counselling is indeed a ‘helping
relationship’ through which changes are brought or suitable choices are made that
otherwise are difficult to be handled by the person concerned. It is to remember that
both case work and counselling seeks to help people to solve their psychosocial problems
and resume back social functioning. The relationship is the medium in case work as well
as in counselling through which help is provided to the client. It is the channel, which
starts getting built from the time of preparing social history of the client and continues
throughout in interviewing, study, diagnosis and treatment. Case Work as well as
counselling believes in worth and dignity of the individual and have common principles
of working with people.
Despite these connections, it could be understood that case work implies activity and
counselling is discussion that is performed within it. The problems that are experienced
by the client are not only those that require provision of resources but can be personal
and interpersonal problems as well. The worker when recognize and deal with them,
the work along these lines is called “counselling” within case work. So, the technique of
counselling is used during case work when the focus is on bringing out changes in the
internal processes of the client. Internal processes are the mental processes, which
constitute the hidden, unobservable part of human behaviour. The social worker enables
and prepares the ground for change. The supportive techniques are necessary as they
prevent the use of defenses by the client.
Social history, social diagnosis, social treatment, listening, observation, interview,
recording and home visit, are techniques that provide for the material and non-material
needs of the client and remove some of the obstacle for change. The other obstacles
can be removed by means of counselling. Counselling facilitates in bringing about changes
in the client’s feelings, ideas, and patterns of thinking, perception and attitudes and
encourage emotional discharge, reassurance, support, suggestion, guidance and direction,
provision of new experiences, clarification, interpretation etc for the client. Effective
communication skills and emotional support is the basis for the practice of counselling.
When the case work service goes beyond providing and enhancing resources, then
counselling technique is applied. Counselling being a part of helping process could be
used by the case worker in the following manner:
 Counselling aim to bring about understanding of one’s own self, and that of a
18 particular difficult situation.
 Case Workers use counselling skills of clarification to clarify with client what he is Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
coming for, when he is in doubt and permit him to decide whether he will seek one
type of help in contrast with another.
 It helps in building confidence of the client for taking decisions through motivation,
reassurance, support, suggestion, guidance and direction.
In so far as counselling is practiced, the social aspect is kept into consideration. It
supports the beginning phase of the worker-client transactions and are used to initiate a
positive relationship on which process of case work is based.
These techniques are an aid to the case workers however, any of these techniques may
be damaging if it is applied in the wrong situation or if it is ineptly applied. Each can be
tremendously helpful when skillfully used in the situation where it is needed. Each may
be used singly or in a combination of two or more. Any of them is good in the right place
but not all of them are equally suitable in every situation and use of any of the technique
can be damaging if the worker has not done proper diagnosis of the problem or of the
personality of his client. The success of any helping technique depends on the accuracy
and sensitivity with which the case worker would evaluate his client and his circumstances.
The treatment objectives determine the skillful application of techniques
Check Your Progress IV
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1. What skills are required while conducting home visit?
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2. Explain the utility of recording for case worker.
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3. How counselling can be a helping technique during case work?
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1.12 LET US SUM UP

Social case work is a method of helping people individually through a one-to-one
relationship. The concern is adjustment and development of the individual towards
more satisfying human relations. The goal is to help individuals to solve their problems
and enhance social functioning by developing intimate yet purposeful relationship with
the client.
19
Social Case Work Case Worker uses different skills and techniques to help the client. Social history is the
as a Process
stepping-stone of relationship with client by case worker. It provides information about
person’s life experiences that help to get clear picture of the external, real social situation
as far as possible, and also the client’s personal view of it. The process of diagnosis is
exhaustible accumulation of facts in orderly manner. It is a process whereby the client
and worker help each other to ‘see’ and grasp relationships. Treatment in social case
work restores the individual to social functioning or seeks to help him develop this
capacity for his own society’s betterment.
The other basic skill and technique include listening and observation. Listening is
purposeful whose purpose is to understand the speaker’s words and feelings correctly.
Observation is noticing features about people, things or situation. In case work the
purpose is to use the observed data for understanding the client and his situation.
The interview is structured but flexible and purposeful interaction that should be
conducted in least distracting environment. With the help of home-visit case worker
gathers information about client and is an important part of the process of fact finding at
the commencement of the case work. Recording is done to record the details for all
clients with their individual differences. Different forms of recording are used depending
upon the situation of the client and requirement of the agency.
Counselling is personal help directed towards the solution of a problem that remains
unsolved without the help of a skilled person. The technique of counselling is used in
case work during when the focus is on bringing out changes in the internal processes of
the client.

1.13 KEY WORDS

Social history : Gaining knowledge of a person’s early
experience, family and group associations, and
general mode of life.
Social diagnosis : The process of accumulation of facts about client
in systematic manner
Interview : Face-to-face conversation of social case
worker with the client
Recording : documentation of interview and other details of
client by the social case worker
Treatment : All activities and services directed towards
helping an individual with a problem.
Relationship : A purposeful rapport building with the client by
social case worker to help the client

1.14 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

Cherry, Morris (1955), Social Case Work in Great Britain, New York: William
Morrow and Company.
Mathew, Grace (1992): An Introduction to Social Case Work, New York, Columbia
University Press.
20
Timms, Noel (1964), Social Case Work, London and Boston, New York: The Skills and Techniques
of Case Work
humanities Press.
Singh, R. R (1985): Field Work in Social Work, New Delhi, Concept
Kadushin, A. (1983): The Social Work Interview, New York, Columbia University
Press
Wilson, S. J. (1976): Recording Guidelines for Social Workers, London, The Free
Press. Mishra, P.D (1994): Social Work-Philosophy And Methods, Inter-India
Publication
Aptekar, Herbert, H. (1955): The Dynamics of Case Work and counselling, The
Riberside Press, U. S. A
Nicholds, Elizebeth (1960): A Primer of Social Case Work, Columbia University
Press, New York
Perlman, H. (1957): Social Case Work-A problem solving process, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago
Upadhay, R. K (2003): Social Case Work-A therapeutic approach, Rawat
Publications, Dew Delhi

21
 UNIT 2 SCOPE OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:
NATURE OF PROBLEMS TO BE
ADDRESSED
Structure
2.0 Objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Failure in Coping
2.3 Fields of Case Work Practice
2.4 Let Us Sum Up
2.5 Further Readings and References

2.0 OBJECTIVES
Social case work is one of the methods of social work which is being practiced by
social workers across the globe. It is one of the primary methods that enable the social
functioning of individual, and based on one to one relationship. After reading this unit,
you should be able to know:
 the usual coping patterns that are ineffective in the face of some problems; and
 the fields of social case work practice.

2.1 INTRODUCTION
All the human beings face difficulties in their day-today living, and majority of them are
handled effectively with the help of various resources in hand. These are the difficulties
of living which fall within ones coping abilities and strategies. When difficulties assume
dimensions that strain one’s coping capacity and go beyond his/her competence in
handling, they become problems. Problems are those situations which are beyond the
reach of the person to be solved on his/her own and s/he needs an outside help. People
who seek case work services are those who encounter problems.
Social case work situation comes into existence when a person comes to a professional
seeking help in connection with some problem which s/he is not able to deal with himself
/ herself. The professional social case worker, views these concerns in the light of the
person’s total environment.
According to Grace Mathew (1992) problems of case work may be caused by unmet
physical or psychosocial needs or by the inability to perform one’s social roles owing to
various reasons. Physical needs refer to the basic survival needs of food, water, shelter
and clothing whereas psychosocial needs refer to love, recognition, security, opportunities
for intellectual and emotional growth. Problems which result because of the unmet
needs cause social dysfunction.
Problems of social functioning cause distress to the individuals who come voluntarily or
involuntarily to a social work agency for help. These individuals who come to seek
help are not considered as one of the masses but they are given special importance as
worthy human beings who have come with their unique problem. Case Work method
places high value on the individuals who come to seek help. Those people who seek
help from case workers are those whose usual coping mechanisms have been ineffective
22 in the face of some problems.
 Scope of Social Case
2.2 FAILURE IN COPING Work: Nature of
Problems to be
There are reasons why individuals find their usual coping patterns ineffective in Addressed
the face of some problem. These reasons may be divided into five categories:
1. Lack of material resources: It is easily conceivable how problems of living
originate from poverty, destitution, unemployment, housing problems and related
factors. Lack of money makes it difficult for an individual to deal with situations
effectively. For instance, a patient who is well disposed to the treatment procedure
may, however, be unable to comply with the physician’s instructions because s/he
does not have sufficient money to purchase drugs, appliances or special/dietary
food prescribed for him / her. There are cases of disabled persons who could not
find jobs inspite of their having been trained in vocational training centers.
2. Misconceptions about situations and relationships and lack of appropriate
information: Wrong notions about things prevent people from handling difficult
situations effectively. Many people have superstitious beliefs about diseases which
prevent them from taking prompt medical treatment which can cure the disease.
For example, epileptic fits is caused by devils is a myth but if that is the belief held
by the client it is going to worsen his /her condition. Sometimes it is ignorance of
existing services and resources which delays the action.
3. Illness or health related handicaps: Physical and mental illness and health
related handicaps of various types make people helpless or irrational in the face of
difficulties. For example, when the bread earner of the family is ill, all the other
members of the family have to face the problem and make realistic plan for the
present and the future.
4. Emotional distress resulting from stressful situations: In certain situations
strong feelings are aroused which make a person incapable of acting sensibly. For
example, when a father knows that his son has been involved in antisocial activities,
he may feel so upset and ashamed that he may want to throw the boy out of the
house and to sever all connections with him. In such situations the emotionally
upset person needs someone to whom he can verbalize his feelings freely. This
helps him to reduce his anxiety and set the mind clear for objective thinking.
5. Personality features or deficiencies: Defective features of one’s personality
not only create problematic situations for one but also make one capable of solving
problems of life. For example, if a little girl is brought up by her mother in the
strong belief that her father who deserted the family was a bad person and that all
men are similarly bad, it is probable that the girl might have a difficult relationship
with her husband when she later marries. The generalized wrong idea may get
deeply implanted in the daughter’s personality during childhood and she may not
be even aware of it as she grows into an adult. There are numerous problems of
this type affecting the human relationships caused by unhealthy attitudes and reactions
which are deeply embedded in the personality.
Check Your Progress I
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) Why do individuals find their usual coping patterns ineffective in the face of some
problems?
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................... 23
Social Case Work Scope of social case work practice can be determined on the basis of the following
as a Process
components:
1. Person-in-context – the context here includes the total social environment of the
client – a male adult with visual impairment, a middle-aged women abandoned by
her family, an orphaned child in an orphanage.
2. The concern or the problem requiring help – Destitution, chronic illness, drug
dependence, trauma caused by riots or serious accident, bereavement, role conflict
and displacement.
3. The human service organisations that provide the location for providing help, like
schools, hospitals, childcare institutions, short stay homes, institutions for the elderly
and juvenile homes.

2.3 FIELDS OF CASE WORK PRACTICE

Fields of case work practice needs to look at the settings where the client gets help for
his/her concerns. Case Work is practiced in a variety of agencies or human service
organizations. Various human service agencies which offer case work services to help
people in distress are social service departments of hospitals and clinics, family
counselling centres, residential institutions for children and adults, social service
departments in schools, child guidance clinics, correctional institutions and mental health
settings.
 Case work practiced in primary settings like a family welfare agency, has
the primary function to help people with social problems. In secondary settings
like hospitals, schools, courts, etc. the case work function is to facilitate people to
make optimum use of the services and promotion of human welfare. Though case
work is a generic method, when it is combined with activities of other field or
profession (other than social work), differences arise from the special contribution
of that field be it medicine, psychiatry or criminology. The practice of case work
is conditioned by the primary or major functions of a secondary setting for case
work. For instance, one of the principles of the case work is that client should be
helped to verbalize his difficulties.
In a medical setting, which is a secondary setting for case work, this principle has
to be modified in certain cases e.g. the patient’s condition may not be such that
medically it would be advisable to make the client talk. Under such circumstances
the case worker has to modify his / her approach and find out how best he/she
could be of service without coming into clash with the practice of another profession.
A case worker has also to see how the practice of case work in collaboration with
other professions can make both the professions more effective so far as human
welfare is concerned.
 In India, case work is practiced in some places in connection with medicine,
e.g., medical social work in hospitals and clinics run by government and other
private bodies. Doctors are the main professional groups, responsible for the
medical care of the patients. The recognition of the psychosocial and cultural
dimensions of the illness and hospitalization has enabled employment of trained
social workers in the hospitals.
Social case work is utilized in the Out Patient Department, the Wards and the
Special clinics. The heavy work load of doctors in large government hospitals
24 generally leads to lack of clear communication between the medical staff and the
 patients and their families. In such a situation, the main role expected of social Scope of Social Case
Work: Nature of
workers are those of mediator, enabler, coordinator of services, case manager, Problems to be
mobilizer of the resources in terms of material and manpower and a member of the Addressed
team of professionals. The major task of the social case worker is to work with
the patient and his family.
 Case Work is practiced in the institutions providing mental health services
for e.g. child guidance clinics, mental hospitals, psychiatric clinics, psychiatry
departments in general hospitals and crisis intervention centers as a part of
psychiatric case work. In this setting, psychiatrists and psychologists are the main
professional group in charge of care and treatment of the mentally ill or emotionally
disturbed persons. The patients may be attending OPDs, day care or may be
hospitalized. The main task of the case worker are to maintain constant contact
with the family of the patient, mediate between the doctors and the patient and his
family, provide counselling to the patient, assist in discharge and aftercare of the
patient in order to rehabilitate him / her back into the society to which he/she
belongs. The worker also provides necessary support to the family and helps the
family members to understand the needs of the mentally ill person.
 Social case work with chronically and terminally ill patients: the patients
who are suffering form chronic illnesses like diabetes, asthma and heart disease
need help in understanding their illness and the demands of the treatment, and
adjusting their lifestyles to the limitations imposed by the condition. The families of
the patients also need support and guidance in dealing with the patient’s condition
that may have long term implications for the entire family. In some cases, especially
among those belonging to lower income groups, the financial burden may need to
be eased out by identifying and mobilizing resources in the kinship network or the
community at large.
While working with the terminally ill patients, the first dilemma the worker faces is
to inform the patient and his family about his / her illness. The patients suffering
from a terminal illness like cancer, HIV / AIDS have additional stress factor. The
stress is caused by the thought of death and the anxiety about the family after the
death of the patient. The tasks of the case worker include:
 Ensuring palliative care to reduce the pain and discomfort.
 Talking about death and releasing the stress.
 Preparing and involving the patient in his future planning about the family after
death and various unmet tasks.
 Providing opportunity and support to the family to accept the illness and talk
about the consequences in the long run.
 Providing emotional and material support to the family.
 In case of HIV / AIDS the case worker needs to handle the issues related to
stigma and discrimination faced by the patient and the family at various levels.
 In family case work, efforts are concentrated upon family as a social unit and the
individuals as members thereof. The problems centre on family relationships or
adjustment and / or any aspect of a family life. Family case work can be said to be
the basic to all case work. For instance, in the practice of case work in any setting
like medical case work or psychiatric case work, family case work is included. 25
Social Case Work However in family service agencies where case work should be practiced today
as a Process
an effort to limit the scope of work to certain family problems such as child
placement, marriage counseling, problems of unmarried mothers is apparent, instead
of dealing with all problems relating to the family indebtedness, involving financial
relief, parent-child relationship and marital disharmony.
 Case work in residential institutions
 Case Work has also entered the field of criminology and in some places
is practiced in connection with juvenile welfare board, adult courts, probation,
parole and aftercare work. Case Work treatment in institutional settings
relies as heavily upon efforts toward role-adaptation in the client as upon
role-adjustment in the primary groups, of which both the client and the persons
who referred him are his members. In the correctional field, the probation
officer interprets the delinquent’s behaviour to the judge and to the police
officers. The delinquent mode of adaptation to the combination of internal
and external forces that directed him into the role of delinquent requires the
same kind of study and assessment as pursued with case work’s other clients.
In work with institutionalized delinquents and criminals, the case worker has
ready access to those who define the social role of inmate and who observe
the client’s daily role-performance. In such institutional settings, the case
worker is part of the world to which he is trying to help the client adapt more
satisfactorily.
 Case Work in children’s homes: Children who are destitute, orphans
runaways, vulnerable to violence, abuse or moral danger are generally placed
in children’s homes. Most of these Homes operate under the provisions of
Juvenile Justice Act and therefore provide custodial care to children for specific
time period. Social case worker is expected to help each inmate adjust to
the life within the home and achieve psychosocial development. As the children
have often gone through traumatic experiences before they are placed in
homes, it is very important for them to come to terms with their life, talk
about it and get over the pain and the sense of betrayal. The worker is
expected to provide pastoral care, liaison with schools where children go for
education help, children develop positive relationships within the institution
and prepare for life after their stay in the home is over.
 Case Work in Homes for the aged: The stresses of modernization and
breakdown of joint family structures has led to adult children sending their
aged parents to residential institutions. The residents in these homes need
nursing care, understanding and emotional support. The case workers in
these institutions help the residents to cope up with loss of the loved ones,
illness, lack of energy, loneliness, loss of economic independence and the
thought of approaching death. The case worker enables the client maintain
his /her self esteem, mobilize community resources like children and youth to
spend time with the residents of the old age home, talk to them and attend to
their simple errands.
 Case Work practice is very popular in the school setting. The school case
worker, working with the pupil in trouble in a school setting, goes through a similar
course of study and assessments, usually knowing through a referral statement
from a classroom teacher or principal what social expectations the child is failing
26 to meet. Case Work in such situations may involve direct work not only with the
 child but also with his parents. The child’s performance of roles in extra familial Scope of Social Case
Work: Nature of
settings is related theoretically to current experience and probably the past Problems to be
experience in the central role relationships between parents and children. The Addressed
goal of the school social work is to reinforce the child’s potential strengths and
capacities for satisfying, effective, and acceptable performance in the role of pupil.
To achieve this goal in an institutional setting like the school, the case worker
directly works with the teacher and also with the other school personnel, in an
effort to help them understand some of what underlies the child’s behaviour, and
to adjust their expectations of the pupil, so that a given child’s capacities for role-
adaptation to these standards may be understood and seen as falling within a
somewhat broadened definition of acceptable behaviour for the pupil. Besides,
working at remedial level, school also provides an opportunity to the case worker
to work at the preventive and promotive level. Transition of child from the entry
point to passing out from the school coincides with the child’s own maturation
process. By anticipating the demands and the stresses of the particular age group,
appropriate interventions can be planned so as to avoid unnecessary emotional
turmoil. By helping in the development of personality and the life and social skills,
the social case worker can achieve the status of a partner in the educational process.
The social case worker works as a liaison between the family and the teacher. s/he
acts as a mediator, enabler, teacher (giving necessary information), advocate (to
highlight the negative impact of school norms and practices on the child), change-
agent for the school’s systems and procedures, and as a consultant for the staff of
the school in matters regarding children’s needs and well-being.
 Case worker has an important role to play in child welfare: One of the
important roles that child welfare agencies are supposed to play is foster care and
adoption services. The case worker has a good idea about the behaviour that
child is going to manifest in foster home and hence the case worker tires to match
the attributes of the child with that of the family environment. Similar is the role of
case worker in the adoption services. The case worker sees to it that role demands
of a family do not exceed the child’s capacities for role-adaptation. In the child
welfare, the primary concern of the case worker is to keep the child in his home
with his/her parents as far as possible. Otherwise the next possible thing that a
case worker tries is to provide an environment where the child’s growth and
development will occur in the desired direction.
 Case Work in the organisations working with differently-abled: The main
tasks of the case worker is to fulfill the objectives of the organisations such as:
 Care;
 Rehabilitation-vocational training, education (depending upon their capacity);
 Offering services according to governmental provisions and special
concessions;
 Advocacy to reduce or remove social discrimination against differently abled;
 Facilitating the client’s acceptance and understanding of his / her situation
and also recognition of his / her potential.
Giving support to the client (both emotional and action oriented) is an important
intervention offered by the case worker. The case worker also works with the family to
help them cope with the situation, to understand the needs of the client, and to learn the
home management of the client. 27
Social Case Work  Case Work in organisations working with women: Social case workers are
as a Process
employed in family counselling centres, crime against women cells, legal aid cells,
family courts and rape and crisis intervention centres. The role of the case worker
is to help the victim to come out of the trauma and deal with the self confidence
and self esteem of the client. They also work with the family so as to mobilize their
support for the client so that the client can deal in a better manner with his/her
problem.
 Case Work in organisations working with victims of disaster: There is an
increasing need for the individualized help for the victims of disasters – whether
natural or manmade. Some of the common experiences of most of the victims of
the disaster are trauma, loss of loved ones, loss of livelihood or assets, homelessness,
feeling of helplessness, anguish, hostility, lack of community feeling, sense of fatality
and unrealistic expectations from the worker. In this situation, the client needs
individualized care to overcome debilitating impact of the crisis. The first step of
the case work intervention is to bring them out of the trauma, then provide emotional
support and build in them hope for a secure future. Once the client has emerged
from the trauma, the case worker engages the client in the planning and
implementation of the action plan to facilitate the rehabilitation process.
 In the field of labour welfare there is a great need for introducing case work to
deal with varied social problems of workers in industries. Individual problems of
absenteeism, alcoholism, depression, stress related disorders, drug addiction etc
among the factory workers are the concerns for the case workers.
Check Your Progress II
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) Mention the various health settings in which case work is practiced in India.
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2) Mention various residential institutional settings in which case work is practiced.
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2.4 LET US SUM UP

In the end, it may be stated that a human being, be s/he a patient, factory worker, a
student, a probationer or a prisoner, if his problem is of social adjustment (either because
his personality, adversely affects the environment and / or because his/her environment
creates problems of adjustment for him/her deserves help through the case work method
and novel skills to be of service to the suffering.
28
In order to help the case work clients, it is important to understand the factors underlying Scope of Social Case
Work: Nature of
their problems. This method in turn, with its ever widening horizon, needs to be in Problems to be
search of numerous situations which limit their ability to solve the problems. It is generally Addressed
seen that majority of case work clients seeking help belong to lower socio-economic
levels. They bring problems which are generally caused as a result of multiple factors
such as lack of material resources coupled with other predicaments. Hence, the role of
social case worker is not only to provide intangible services but also take responsibility
for providing material help. Therefore, the social case workers advocate on behalf of
the client to get him / her necessary material help for the fulfillment of his / her basic
needs. Case workers have developed strategies of intervention suited to the Indian
clientele. A case worker now has to see how the practice of case work in collaboration
with other professions can make both the professions more effective so far as human
welfare is concerned.

2.5 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

Hamilton, Gordon (1956), Theory and Practice of Social Case Work; Columbia
University Press, New York.
Perlman, H.H (1957), Social Case Work: A Problem Solving Process, Chicago.
Matthew, Grace (1991), Theory and Practice of Social Case Work; Columbia
University Press, New York.
Aptekar, Herbert H. (1955), The Dynamics of Case Work and Counseling; the
Riverside Press, Cambridge.
Timms Noel (1964), Social Case Work Principles and Practice; Routledge & Kegan
Paul, New York.
Tilbury D.E.F (1977), Case Work in Context-A Basis for Practice, Pergamon Press,
United Kingdom.

29
 UNIT 3 SOCIAL CASE WORK PRACTICE IN
INDIAN CONTEXT
Structure
3.0 Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Understanding Human Being
3.3 Modern Society and Social Work
3.4 Social Case Work and Individual Behaviour
3.5 Social Case Work Practice in India
3.6 Indigenization of Case Work Practice
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Further Readings and References

3.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit is designed to provide you basic understanding of social case work practice in
Indian context. After studying this unit you would be able to:
 understand human being in the context of modern society;
 understand social case work and individual behaviour;
 know the trends in social case work practice in India; and
 understand the extent of indigenization of case work practice.

3.1 INTRODUCTION
Social case work, a primary method of social work, is concerned with the adjustment
and development of the individual towards more satisfying human relations. Better family
life, improved schools, better housing, more hospitals and medical care facilities, protected
economic conditions and better relations between religious groups help the individual in
his adjustment and development. But his/her adjustment and development depend on
the use of these resources by him/her. Sometimes due to certain factors, internal or
external, he/she fails to avail existing facilities. In such situation, social case work helps
the individual.
Social case work as a method of social work has emerged from the time of
industrialization and its concomitant urbanization. It is the offspring of charity organization
societies movement which was introduced in late 1870s. In this unit you should be able
to understand the social and psychological explanation of human behaviour, role of
case work in managing problems of persons in modern society and how case work is
perceived by practitioners in India.

3.2 UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEING

Human life is a bio-psycho-social phenomenon and derives meaning only in the context
30 of social living. A person is to be understood as a member of the society sharing commonly
with other fellow members the life experiences. His/her behaviour is dynamic and has Social Case Work
a tendency to act and react with equally dynamic socio-cultural situation. The Practive in Indian
Context
development of his/her personality, therefore, is closely linked with his/her total
environment, his/her past experiences and future expectations.
Socially, Persons are essentially individuals who are physically, intellectually and
emotionally unequal and have different capacities, motives, responses and tastes. They
have the most dissimilar habits of mind and they nourish their own aspirations. Born
and brought up in varied social conditions, they have in them distinct political affinities
and religious and cultural backgrounds. One can reasonably guess the outer and inner
forces which influence the spectrum of human and social relationships, but one can not
possibly standardize persons and control the social situation in which he/she lives. Though
social controls are manifested in his/her life through codes and sanctions such as
associational, communal, moral and legal he/she is not entirely a slave to them. He/she
has some initiative, some determination, some independence of judgment and some
strength of character.
Psychologically, human relationship are intangible, invisible and complex, and many a
mode of mind or feeling of love, affection, anxiety, distress, frustration, incapacity and
the like are very much personal in nature. On the other hand, a person’s relationship
with his/her environment is extremely intimate. In a sense, the socio-cultural traditions
have an all-pervading impact on a person’s behaviour; it is more than a “conditioning
factor” of life.
It is well known that industrial civilization created a new environment which was hitherto
unknown to human history. It modified the political structure, economic organisation,
social institutions and cultural traditions and added to the complexities of human and
social problems. Besides, the increased mobility of modern life and its inherent instability
of the social structure has created conditions of anxiety and strain. The personality of
an individual depends upon the pulls of the internal and the environmental factors. The
adjustment may generally be achieved by a series of adaptations between the individual
and his/her social surroundings. The difficulty however arises when he/she lacks the
ability to change himself/herself to meet the conditions, or when the situations are too
unyielding or too demanding.
Many a time client’s lack of resources, ignorance of facts, emotional difficulties and
lack of proper thinking create difficulties for a person to help him/her to solve the
problems or meet the situation effectively.

3.3 MODERN SOCIETY AND SOCIAL WORK

In the modern society, all men and women, young and old, adolescent and matured,
sick and handicapped, are facing challenges in their lives and are struggling hard with
them to adjust. Some are poorly fed, others are badly housed, living in dilapidated
conditions, many are without needed education, health care and basic amenities. The
situation has become more complicated, with industrialization and urbanization. Urban
family has tended to be part of an extended family group rather than what may be called
a nuclear family. Mental illness and emotionally imbalances have also raised their ugly
heads. In family relations, whether marital, parental, domestic or social, the economic,
psychological and moral factors have influenced the total situation in varying degrees.
The social institutions, cultural traditions and religious ideas in their entire kaleidoscopic
panorama are also seen at play, influencing the individual and contributing to the
maladjustment. In such a situation, the symptoms are: the person is permeated by a 31
Social Case Work sense of inadequacy, of confusion and self doubt, of worthlessness, of aimlessness, of
as a Process
having no place in this society, no direction in which to go, no goal. He is pervaded by
a melancholic sense of futility, inability to ‘take hold’, or by a restless, directionless
pursuit of questions for which he can find no answers like who am I? Why am I doing
things this way? And what is the purpose of my life?
Social work stands among several helping professions that affirms the importance of
the individual human being and the importance of the inner space – whether that inner
space is within one person or within the family cluster or within the community. Social
workers attend to the business of trying to free man’s energies with the determination
so that they can lead their life with a sense of worth and dignity and purpose. This is
why social workers remain intent upon helping people whose life-circumstances affect
their lives. All social work interventions are socially and culturally determined. Similarly,
social work can be practiced successfully in a democratic society. Case Work in the
West, especially in U.S.A emphasizes on the individual’s right to assistance, right to
self-determination and the right to self-fulfillment. It offers greater opportunities of
fulfillment and self-expression that is possible in a society which encourages conformity
to group norms. It is believed that the latter type of society especially in India, the
individual does not have full right to express himself/herself, to decide upon an action
he/she would like to undertake or which is capable of being undertaken. Social case
work practice, the goal of which is to enable the individual to lead a personally satisfying
life, is not very much possible in the same manner (as in the west) in the Indian society.
In India where group is given primary importance over the individuals, the client will not
have the right to individualism.
Check Your Progress I
Note: Use the space provided for your answers.
1) What is the social and psychological explanation of human behaviour?
......................................................................................................................
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......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) What is role of case work in managing problems of persons in modern society?
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3.4 SOCIAL CASE WORK AND INDIVIDUAL

BEHAVIOUR
Social work especially social case work has its roots in charity and derives its inspiration
out of the human sentiment of duty towards one’s fellow beings. An attitude to help
others is a commendable attribute of human character. But across time and space, it
has been seen that some sections of the society have provided assistance to the needy
32
in terms of material goods without recognizing the worth of the individual. In such a Social Case Work
situation it was felt that the individual who was in need is solely responsible for his own Practive in Indian
Context
conditions through his /her negligence, ignorance or incapacity. The basic premise was
to meet the need as sparingly as possible, relief was not to be attractive enough to
tempt people to try to take undue advantage of it.
Gradual insight into the nature of social problems made people realize that in all the
cases it is not the individual who is entirely responsible for his/her condition. There
were factors that were beyond an individual’s control. This led to the whole thinking of
social justice that seeks to give each individual his/her due in terms of opportunity and
growth. The client has an un-obligated right to these services because he/she needs
them. S/he has a freedom to accept or reject services as per her / his discretion. This
is regarded too be consistent with the dignity of human personality and the highest
democratic ideals.

3.5 SOCIAL CASE WORK PRACTICE IN INDIA

Social case work practitioners in India view the concepts of case work differently.
According to them, social case work can be practiced successfully in a democratic
society only. In the context of social case work practice, democracy implies freedom
and self-fulfillment. In the Indian context the concept of self fulfillment and self expression
go hand in hand with the concept of conformity to the group norm. It is believed that an
individual does not have a right to express himself/herself, to decide upon an action he/
she will like to undertake or which he/she is capable of undertaking. In Indian society
the individual remains, more or less, a participating member bound to his/her original
group. His/her group teaches him/her how he/she should restrain himself/herself and
what characteristics he/she should suppress in order to be acceptable to other members.
He/she can be rejected or ridiculed by his/her group if he/she does not conform to the
social norms. In other words, in Indian context, the client will not have the right to
individualism or the right to self determination.
Indian tradition does not primarily seem to subscribe to the concept of right. The
concept of duty to one’s fellow beings has run through ages. In his/her relation to the
rest of the society, the Indian scheme lays stress upon his/her duties – dharma by which
he/she is to secure his/her own advancement and thus he/she may be distinguished from
his/her western counterpart who emphasizes his/her rights. Although, one implies the
other, right emphasizes power and comforts for the physical self, and duty emphasizes
debts which a person owes to all conscious beings.
As mentioned above, the emphasis on right is limited to the comforts of the physical
self. In the practice of social case work, time and again, one sees that the needs of the
clients are not limited to their material wants only. If that were the case, perhaps, this
emphasis on rights would have served the purpose. But it has been observed in the
case work practice that material benefits alone can not ensure human happiness. It can
only create conditions for man’s happiness; but it can not ensure that man shall be
happy or the person’s wishes will be really fulfilled. It is observed that happiness is
ensured when the material comforts are accompanied by fulfillment of emotional needs.
But rights can not ensure the emotional needs of a client. The emotional needs can be
met only if one focuses on the concept of duty. For instance, in the case of a cancer
patient, one can provide him/her all rights to good medical facility but one can not
ensure him/her the affection of his/her family as a matter of right. Similar is the case of
the elderly persons. One can ensure them good and safe shelter, adequate medical aid
33
Social Case Work and some economic assistance, as a matter of right. Can one say that an elderly has a
as a Process
right to have his/her children’s affection? Can affection, love, care, acceptance be solicited
as a matter of right? Focus on the concept of duty becomes imperative when as case
workers one tries to bring about, an understanding between a mentally ill person and
his/her family. It is expected and encouraged that the family regards it as its duty to
look after the welfare of its sick member and that it takes genuine interest in what the
member does or feels. But if extreme individualism is encouraged (as in the west) on
the part of the members of the family then the need of the patient will not be looked into
by them. At the same time the social case worker, who has to respect the individualism
of the members of the family, will have to go beyond the limits of case work practice in
order to discuss with them their areas of duty towards their relatives. The case worker
in that case will be interfering with their self determination. In a culture where
individualism is the cherished value the case worker will have difficulty, too, in emphasizing
that the individual should resort to self-denial to some extent and take care of others
too. So an important issue arises here. One realizes that a human being has his/her
emotional needs which are as important as physical needs. As a matter of right the
patient in the West is entitled to sound medical care. But as a matter of right the patient
cannot have relatives motivated to look after him/her when he/she feels lonely in the
hospital. On the contrary, in India the emotional needs of the patient are taken care of
by the family, friends and relatives as a matter of duty towards the patient. In the Indian
context, it becomes a little easier for the case worker to mobilize family support because
culturally Indians are socialized to perform their duties towards their near and dears in
the hour of need.
Hence, the case work practice would be seen in a comprehensive manner when it is
able to assist clients to acquire material comforts and also enables them to meet their
emotional needs which may or may not have much to do with such comforts. To
illustrate, the goal of case work is fulfilled and the concept of duty becomes crucial
when a case worker mobilizes the family support for the care of a disabled person.
Society always encourages individuals, families, communities to take genuine interest in
the life of people who are old, sick, infirm, disadvantaged and vulnerable. But if extreme
individualism is encouraged then the sense of responsibility towards oneself and others
will disappear. It has been observed that extreme individualization has ruined the family
as a social unit in the West. The desire of personal fulfillment without a sense of duty
towards others can lead to social destruction.
Hence, in Indian culture where family is considered as a basic social unit and is ready to
support the individual in every kind of situation, it becomes vital that case work is
geared towards the concept of duty. This does not mean that authoritarianism should
prevail and people who regard themselves as powerless or insignificant should resort to
abject surrender to a human being or to a group or to a power transcending man. What
is expected is a strong search for a person and his/her strength. A person must develop
his/her power of reason to understand himself/herself, his/her relationship to his/her
fellowmen and his/her position in the larger society.
In this competitive society where survival of the fittest applies very strongly, there are
situations when a person fails to control his/her selfishness and does not think about the
welfare of others. His/her sense of duty remains restricted to the personal gains only.
In such a society the case worker has a very important role to play.

34
Check Your Progress II Social Case Work
Practive in Indian
Note: Use the space provided for your answers. Context

1) How is case work perceived by practitioners in India?

......................................................................................................................
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2) In Indian culture, how does one justify the concept of duty in the case work
practice?
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3.6 INDIGENIZATION OF CASE WORK PRACTICE

In Indian culture, social case worker often has to work towards enabling the client and
the members of his/her family to understand their intrinsic dignity as human beings and
act accordingly.
It needs to be highlighted that often in India, there is a general tendency towards
conformity to the group norm, on the part of the people. Hence in traditional case work
situations the individual’s adjustment to his/her reality disturbed to some extent. However,
the case worker can help the individuals to adjust his/her new reality and make an effort
to integrate new ideas and new values in his/her daily living. His/her conformity to the
group norm should be with the proper understanding of his/her role as a human being
and relationship to the group and duty towards the group. Case Worker has to enable
the individual to discharge his/her duties and help his/her family members or society to
grapple with new ideas and thinking that will ultimately benefit them.
The social worker in order to be of help to his/her client in the discharge of duty involving
unselfishness and self denial must himself/herself be a person with a high sense of duty
towards the client, profession and fellowmen. Though it is true that a client can identify
with ethical principles and thereby practice them in his/her day-to-day life, yet
identification with the concrete is more meaningful than identification with the abstract.
In India, when a client is addressed as brother, sister or mother –very subtly both
conveyed to each other that both the client and the case worker recognize each other
as fellow beings. This reflects more of an attempt made by the case worker to be with
the people. Mere terms used to address the people would not lead to the emotional
closeness with the client. In fact it leads to the acceptance of the case worker by the
client.
In the practice of case work in India, however, the importance of active approach can
not be denied. It may be a result of our Indian culture and tradition. Traditionally,
Indians have learnt to value the words of the elders, or are used to being told by our
seniors, what is right and what is wrong. So rather than asking in an indirect way what
35
Social Case Work is the best course of action, the client needs to be actively facilitated in the decision
as a Process
making process. The active method can be growth producing too, provided an approach
is made in the right spirit and atmosphere. A considerable section of population is not
used to democracy and self-reliance; hence it confuses them when a democratic
approach is followed in the problem solving process.
Particularly in India, an active approach plays an important role and the worker has to
visit the client at his/her residence whenever possible. To illustrate, the women clients
are not used to visiting agency offices all by themselves, they feel hesitant or afraid to go
there. In such situations, the case worker has to take an active approach and make a
home visit to remove these barriers in order to avail her of the help.
A social case worker in India is very much aware of the difficulties of conducting an
intervention with the client where family considers its right to take decisions for their
family members. The client may not even find privacy to talk to the case worker in front
of its family members. An active approach, if planned out properly and geared to
suitable situations, will lead to required growth in the client. An active approach does
not mean autocratic approach. During case work interviews, the worker provides
encouragement and facilitates to the client to reveal his/her repressed feelings, to clarify
his/her thinking, to give his/her opinion on the alternatives suggested by the case worker.
In the practice of the social case work, there is great need for a flexible approach on the
part of the worker. While working with a person who has come with a problem, it is
important to see which case work approach is most suitable with this particular client.
This will help to produce maximum growth in the client. The rigidity to stick to a
particular approach would lead only to the defeat of the purpose of case work.
An Indian case worker in the course of his/her service to human beings often has to
work towards enabling the client and the members of his/her family to understand their
intrinsic dignity as human beings and act accordingly. There is also a need to work with
them to enable them to see that it is against their dignity as human beings to be exploited
by others. In being exploited they are failing to live up to the human dignity. The case
worker has to work both with the exploiter and the victims of exploitation to put them
on the path of restoration of their inner dignity – a concept emphasized by Bhagwad
Gita. To work towards this, the case worker works on various dimensions of the
person especially self awareness. Religion and philosophy often provide satisfactory
explanations about the various aspects of persons. Hence, in Indian case work practice
the place of religion and philosophy can not be minimized. An interesting feature of the
Indian culture is the deep-rooted belief in karma. All the actions of a person are
karma. Technically, the word also means the effects of actions. It is in this sense that
people generally feel that whatever good or bad things that happen to them are the
result of karma. Social case workers point on that if good things should to happen,
then the person should perform such actions which bring about a positive change. This
would result in a better life for the person.
In India, the case worker has to perform a two-fold role: on one hand s/he has to
handle traditional case work situations, where the individual’s adjustment to his/her
reality is disturbed due to internal or external strains. On the other, case worker’s role
is to help an individual to reach a new level of integration by introducing new ideas and
new ways of living. Case Worker should not be confined to help the client to adjust to
the existing reality but also to become an active partner in the process of change for the
betterment of society as well.
36
Check Your Progress III Social Case Work
Practive in Indian
Note: Use the space provided for your answers. Context

1) In the practice of case work in India, the importance of active approach can not
be denied. Justify.
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
2) How does a case worker use the concepts of Bhagwad Gita in case work
intervention?
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......................................................................................................................

3.7 LET US SUM UP

A person is to be understood as a member of the society who shares the life experiences
with other persons. One can reasonably guess the outer and inner forces which influence
the spectrum of human and social relationships, but one can not possibly standardize a
person and control the social situation in which he/she lives. It modified the political
structure, economic organisation, social institutions and cultural traditions and add to
the complexities of human and social problems. In family relations, whether marital,
parental and domestic or social the economic, psychological and moral factors influenced
the total situation in varying degrees. All social work interventions are socially and
culturally determined social case work practice, the goal of which is to enable the
individual to lead a personally satisfying life, is not very much possible in the same
manner (as in the west) in the Indian society. In India where group is given primary
importance over the individuals, the client will not have the right to individualism.
In the Indian context, the concept of self fulfillment and self expression go hand in hand
with the concept of conformity to the group norm. In Indian society the individual
remains, more or less, a participating member bound to his/her original group. Indian
tradition does not primarily seem to subscribe to the concept of right. In the practice of
social case work, time and again, one sees that the needs of the clients are not limited to
their material wants only. The emotional needs can be met only if one focuses on the
concept of duty. Society always encourages individuals, families, and communities to
take genuine interest in the life of people who are old, sick, infirm, disadvantaged and
vulnerable. In the Indian culture, social case worker often has to work towards enabling
the client and the members of his/her family to understand their intrinsic dignity as human
beings and act accordingly.
Case Worker has to enable the individual to discharge his/her duties and help his/her
family members or society to grapple with new ideas and thinking that will ultimately
benefit them.
37
Social Case Work An active approach, if planned out properly and geared to suitable situations, will lead
as a Process
to required growth in the client. To work towards this, the case worker works on the
various dimensions of the human being especially self awareness

3.8 FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES

Mathew Grace, (1992), An Introduction to Social Case Work, TISS, Bombay
Perlman, H. (1957), Social Case Work: A Problem Solving Process, University of
Chicago Press, Chicago.
Friedlander, W. A. (1982), Introduction to Social Welfare, Prentice Hall of India: New
Delhi.
Younghusband, E. (1971), New Developments in Case Work, Volume II, London:
George Allan & Unwin Ltd.
Mehetras, V.G. (1979), Social Case Work in India, Ajmer: Sachin Publications
Banerjee, Gauri Rani (1972); Papers on Social Work: an Indian Perspective, Bombay:
TISS
Mathew Grace (1987): Case Work, In Encyclopeadia of Social Work in India, Ministry
of Welfare, Govt Of India.
Upadhyay, R.K. (2003), Social Case Work; A Therapeutic Approach, Jaipur: Rawat
Publications.

38