SWP 103

Social Work Communication and

Documentation
Developing and Maintaining Communication with People
 Social Work Communication
• Social work deals with both simp-le and complex problems
troubling the welfare and wellbeing of people;
understanding these problems takes a good deal of
communication; that is why communication in social work is
central to effective practice. Such communication includes
oral or verbal, non-verbal or paralanguage and virtual (ICT –
based) communication. All of these measures apply to social
work intervention.
 Social Work Communication
• Communication is as old as man; people communicated using
various measures such as wooden drums, slit drum, metallic
gongs wooden flutes smokes and more generally the town
criers; each measure has had messages being passed with the
people having full understanding of them; this goes to show
that in human interaction, communication is aimed at
studying humans and their interactive processes, then such a
profession must pay attention to the fundamentals of
communication; Engelbrecht argue that the driving engine of
social work proession is communication; Nelson asserted that
SW was one of the first profewssions to recognize the
importance of communication skills and its link to effective
practice
 Communication in SW
• It is expected that every social worker should have the
dexterity in utilizing communication to the tasks of problem
identification, assessment, intervention, planning, evaluation
and termination, taki8ng into consideration the uniqueness
and peculiarities of groups and individuals.
• Communication is defined as the process by which thoughts
or feelings are conveyed, either verbally, non-verbally or
virtually across different persons, groups or systems;
Communication in SW
• Ellis and McClintock: communication is de3scribbed as a
linear, one-way process in which a sender intentionally
transmits a message to a receiver, which should be guided
by the intent to ensure comprehension;
• Trevithick adde3d that communication could be tied to all
waysa through which knowledge is transmitted and
received; ; Koprowska averred that communication is
contextual and should align with the gender, cultural, social
knowledge base, occupational and age peculiarities of
people.
Communication with people
• When two or more people interact, communication takes place; it
would be impossible to avoid unless all of our senses were destroyed;
usually we communicate what we are;
• Webster: Communication is sharing that which is common, or
participation; the concept is a dynamic one; implying activity on the
part of all persons involved; there is no communication without a
receiver, as well as a sender.
• One could, as poets do, communicate with the wind and the waves,
but it would be a one-way street with lone person sending and
receiving;
 Initial task of the human service worker
• Is to develop and maintain communication with clients, their colleagues and
other significant people in the community; to do this, they express
themselves through verbal, non-verbal, virtual channels and symbols, as the
sharing of food and drink, which has a commonly understood meaning;
• They must be receptive to the expression from others; inability to establish
communication and breakdown of an ongoing communication are major
problems in our complex. variegated society-a source of difficulty in families,
groups and institutions and in society as a whole; the basic difficulty seems to
lie in the fact that we communicate ourselves and ourselves differ markedly;
we communicate meanings and meanings not only vary as to implications but
how they are phrased may distort the intended message as well
 How meanings are transferred
• And how do we arrive at the commonness of understanding and
participation; the process is clear and simple: A sender who wishes to
establish communication, evaluates the potential receiver, and being unable
to transfer ideas, attitudes and feeli8ngs per se, encodes them inn a manner
that allows for transmission; the receiver perceives the coded message and
translates or decodes it into an understandable and usable form; the
receiver then encode3s a response and sends it back to the original sender.
• This back and forth channels may become clogged by interference or
“noise” which so disturbs the intended message so that it does not convey
what the sender intended; ths interference3 may trange widely from
attitude3s and feelings, to group prewwsures, to reality situqations.
 Basics for clear communication
• 1. attitudes and feelings of bothe receiver and sender are vitally important; they
affect all communications and can so distort sending and receiving that breakdown
occurs.
• 2. an understanding of the similarities and differences between the people involved
will determine the extent to which common understanding and acceptance of modes
of communication can be relied on; difference in age, sex, cultural identification, social
position and ethnic background all affect the ability co communicate with each other;
awareness and sensitivity to the meaning of these differences is the first essential for
opening communication channels;
• 3. the capacities of the client to use both verbal and non-verbal communicqation
media and interpret the symbols should be understood; cleints may be illiterate, semi-
illiterate, hearing impaired, have speech problems, have different educational levels,
and lack the ability to verbalize.
 basics for clear communication
• 4. workers should be able to use a variety of means communication to meet the needs and
capacities of their clients; these can be verbal and non-verbal.
• 5. workers should be able to evaluate the need for repetition and emphasis, and then ensure
feedback to test comprehension; one of the best ways to do this is to repeat the clients
statement as a question:’ you understand, the center is open….”
• 6. Workers should use “loade4d words” gestures and symbols only as their meaning is
commonly understood and accepted; humour is a particularly risky tool, only as workers know
this fact well can they use humour differentially.
• 7. the tempo of the communication should be geared to the client’s level; too much
information, too many and too complex ideas given too quickly or too much elaboration can be
bewildering, causing lack of comprehension, withdrawal and even anger. Equally, too, simplistic
communication can cause a resentment in those capable of quicker and more comprehensive
understanding; intense emotion can affect the ability to “hear” communication
 Basics for clear communication
• 8. Workers should be aware of ways to eliminate interference both in their own communications
and in those of their clients; interference can be anything from the noise of a TV program, to the
presence of another person in the room, to strong feelings (anger ,sadness, resentment,
disappointment etc); sometimes it requires all the worker’s dexterity to remove interference.
• Non-verbal communications
• Communications without the use of words; it is the basic, primitive form of conveying information
from one person to another; it has been estimated that in a normal communication between 2
persons, only 1/3 of the meaning is transmitted verbally, and nearly 2/3 is transmitted non-
verbally.
• It is used when individuals do not posses command of a language; the channels through which it
operates is fundamentally affective, rather than cognitive, although a cognitive element is
involved; it takes place universally when 2 individuals meet for the first time, size each other up
and developmideas about the kind of person with whom they are dealing’ whether the other is
hostile, or friendly, weak or strong, concerned or indifferent.
 Non-verbal communications
• Infants cry wordlessly, wave their arms and pucker up their faces to communicate feelings
of discomfort; the response of parents to these early attempts of their infants to say how
he or she feels is usually in relation to how the parents feel; the parent’s response will also
determine the infant’s development of ways to communicate feelings of hunger, happiness,
anger, etc; only later will come the words that will embody these feelings.
• Non-verbal communication is continuous with or without verbal accompaniment; it is the
principal way by which attitudes and feelings are conveyed, particularly in the initial stage
of relationships, but it goes on throughout any continuing contact between people; because
it never ceases, there is a greater danger that a worker may be communicating
contradictory messages;: one may say “I’m so glad you dropped by”, but non-verbally you
are conveying “ I’ll be glad to see the last of you”..
• such kind of communication is confusing esp for children where there is basic rejection of
their needs and demands, while their parents verbally profess lo9ve and concern.
 Non-verbal messages conveyed thru the
person and the setting
• Thru the Person: age, gender, race, speech, personal appearance, (physique, posture, body
odor, dress, tension, facial expression, behavior, silence or speech, tone of voice, gestures,
movements, eye contact, touch, body sounds, all convey messages to the receiver
• Thru the physical setting: appearance, aesthetic quality, comfort, privacy or lack of them,
and general climate.
• Once worker know where to look and what to listen for and to sense in both self and client,
their sensitivity and ability to understand will increase.
• TONE OF VOICE- a frequent form of nonverbal communication; carefully noncommittal tone
designed to conceal the uncensored exclamation of pain, joy, anger, fear or grief; it is a
revealing part of the whole process of conveying messages; the meaning varies according
to the tone in which they are spoken “I understand..” you sound like you’re really angry”
that sounds like it’s pretty painful for you”, which will open the way to verbal expression.
Non-verbal communication
• FACIAL EXPRESSION: to an extent, faces tend to become “set” by the life
patterns of the individual in expressions of apprehension, happiness, anger,
passivity, friendliness and aggressiveness; upon the lifetime, foundation,
response to the immediate situation will be superimposed; ex: the poker face,
a person who traditionally plays it cool, is much less likely to express through
his or her countenance the transitory feelings that are affecting her or him;
the mask face that strives for bland concealment or negation of feeling,
conveys a meaning to the knowledgeable observer that it is as significant as
free change of expression;
• SILENCE: a potent form of non-verbal communication that can express many
different things: may be a companionable sharing, an expression of anger or
despair, or recognition of an impasse (stand-off, stalemate)
 non-verbal communication
• Gestures and movements: time honored methods of conveying attitudes and ideas;
relaxation and tension of the body, restless movements, biting nails, shifting the feet,
clenching or wringing of hands, drumming on the table;
• USE OF THE EYES: one of the most frequently stressed indices of communication in this
mode; eye contact can be a significant factor in assessing the state of mind or feeling of
a person; consider culture and individual pattern of behavior; old beliefs about the :evil
eye” are still prevalent among many people; looking directly at a person or not meeting
the gaze directly may be considered rude or taboo in a particular group of culture; the
eyes, the “windows of the soul” have special significance in relationship among people
• Physical Appearance: communicates de3finite messages about one’s state of mind and
feeling as well as about one’s idea s and general personality; conformity and
nonconformity with generally accepted patterns of appearance carries a message;
cleanliness or lack of it can be significant.
 Body sounds
• Such as belching, sighing, cracking the knuckles, whistling, humming, eating noisily
or quietly.. all are ways individual convey messages about themselves;
• DEMEANOR OR BEARING: the way one sits, stands, or lies down says many things
to the observer; individuals who are stooped and tired, slumping in pain or defeat,
or carrying the shoulders straight and head high reveal message about themselves.
• TOUCH:from earliest childhood, presence or absence and the kinds of physical
contact are important factors in the emotional life of the individual; constructively
used, it has a tremendous potential for strength and support; for infants, touch is
a well demonstrated necessity; it can also be destructive as in cases of the
battered child; among workers, touch needs to be given careful consideration in
the light of modern conditions: increasing concern about child abuse and
harassment in all forms.
 Environment
• Be aware of cultural differences; are workers prompt, considerate of
client’s sched, careful to explain changes and reliable; the workers
who keeps TV on while talking with the worker the worker who
allows frequent telephone interruptions and the last minute call or no
call at all about previous arrangements all communicate messges as if
they were words; nonverbal communications tend to be culture
bound.
communication
• Summarily, it is the process of sharing information, thoughts and feelings
between people through speaking, writing or paralanguage; in social work,
effective communication follows through facilitating a common
understanding, changing behaviors and acquiring information; good
communication as a social worker requires the expertise to be both sensitive
and understanding of client’s situation in order to build rapport with the client
with the purpose of charting treatment pathways and eventually fostering
desired change
• Communication is vital to engaging clients ( individuals, groups, and
commu7nities), himself/herself (intrapersonal communication) colleagues
and other professionals in the context of interventions and helping
relationships.
Types of communication
• Verbal , non-verbal or paralanguage, written and virtual communication that occurs
across the internet and wireless space
• VERBAL COMMUNICATION- also considered as oral communication comes first from word
o mouth; words are used in expression; used in telling stories, and cases, investigations,
interviewing, counselling, talking therapies, informing clients, conducting case assessment
with colleagues and other professionals, reporting cases, among others.
• It happens directly and physically with a client; it is important that SW pay close attention
to the words used by the client when communicating; listening skill is central . To verbal
communication; it takes so much attentive and coordinated listening ability to
comprehensively grasp words used by clients
• Word used in SW communication are expected to convey genuine warmth, respect and
non-judgmental attitude towards service users, except in very rare occasions; words are
not enough in communication as they could be framed.
 Non-verbal communication or paralanguage
• Denotes the process of conveying messages using gesticulations,
facial cues, emotional cues, voice tones and pitch, clinched fist,
among other communicative expressions not tied to words.