The Social Work

Helping Process
 THE SOCIAL WORK HELPING PROCESS
Purpose of Social Work – enhance social functioning of a person

Goals of Helping process

1. Help individuals, families, groups and communities to cope with
problems
2. Engage the client in ways of coping
 Thus it can be said that social work helping process
aims to achieve two things: to help the client so that he may
meet his need or solve a problem, and in the process, to
provide him with fruitful coping experiences which he may
use later in meeting other needs and solving difficulties as
he goes through life.
 Three major phases of the helping
process

Phase I – Exploration, Assessment, and Planning

Phase II – Implementation and Goals Attainment
Phase III – Termination and Evaluation
 In presenting these variations the aim is to show that although
the steps are expressed in different ways they more or less follow the
same pattern. They either start with data-gathering or problem
identification, followed by assessment, planning, implementation,
evaluation and termination.
 Simplified steps in the helping process

1. Identification of the presenting problem

2. Data Gathering
3. Diagnostic Assessment
4. Planning the intervention
5. Implementation
6. Evaluation
7.Continuation or termination
A. Identification of the Presenting Problem

- The presenting problem is elicited at the very start

because this is where data-gathering begins. The worker
uses the problem as the starting point of his search for vital
information to guide the subsequent steps he will take.
Intake - signals the start of the helping process
The Major Purposes of the intake are to:
1. Record identifying data about the client such as name, age, address,
etc., and the nature of his request. Every agency has intake sheet or
prescribed forms.
2. Identifying the presenting problem
3. Determine the client’s presumptive eligibility and motivation to use a
service If his need can’t be met, then he is referred to another agency,
which can help him
B. Data Gathering
- is a crucial process because it entails the gathering of comprehensive
information about all the dimensions of a problem so that the interaction of its
components can be understood.
Purpose
• Understand and determine the nature of the problem and what resources will be
required of it
• Data could be secured from the client himself, other people or available records
• Data gathering is also an occasion for beginning exploration by attending to the
emotional state and immediate concern of the client; encompassing relevant
system; exploring in depth aspects of the problem; highlighting client’s strengths.
C. Diagnostic Assessment
- is the worker’s professional opinion as to the nature of the need
or problem which the client presents.
Purpose
• to evaluate the individual’s capacity and motivation to use help and his
relationship to his family and its environment
• assessment starts at intake; based on the case study which starts with
the presenting problem
• assessment takes into account the nature of the problems, the factors
that precipitated it, the client’s capacities and the extent of his
motivation and his strengths to work on his problem
• assessment should show the immediate problem, underlying problem
and the working problem
D. Planning the Intervention

- Planning the intervention involves goals and specific objectives

setting and the determination of strategies to be used. Plan may be
immediate, near future, or long range.
Goal setting – the first step in the planning of the problem resolution is
to set up the end goal. A goal is needed to provide direction to the efforts
of both the worker and the client.
Specific Objectives – can also be used as indicators of success or
failure to reach the goal.
E. Plan Implementation

- The kind of action that may be needed to reach the goal will be
determined by the specific ways of accomplishing the roles and tasks
that have been defined. The emphasis is on working with rather than for
people and the test of the effectiveness of the ongoing work between the
worker and the client is on the actions the latter is able to take in relation
to his problem.
Types of Assistance
1. Material and other tangible materials
2. Therapeutic-Educative experience

Specifically, during this period besides helping the clients to meet

their basis needs and cope with their problems the worker, in order to
provide the client with the therapeutic-educative experience:
• Engage the client in the process of reflective thinking and makes
contributions to the client’s standards of his current situation, the patterns
and dynamics of his behavior, and aspects of the past experiences that are
relevant to the present
• Assist the client to make, implement and evaluate individual, group or
family decisions that will be satisfactory to him, to other people who will be
affected by the decision
• Uses activities that develop social competence so that changes in
understanding of self and others and decision-making are translated into
more effective behavior and enable the client to reduce or eliminated
obstacles in the environment, or he acts is behalf of clients to change
environmental situations or interventions.
• The worker monitors progress by:

1. Evaluating the effectiveness of change strategies and interventions

2. Guiding clients efforts toward goal attainment
3. Keeping abreast of client’s reaction to progress of lack of it
4. Evaluating client’s motivation and confidence in the helping process
• Case management
- Implementation also requires the worker’s skill in
case management
- Delivery of social services. To manage a case is to
see to it that what needs to be done.
- requires knowledge of the available resources, skill
in utilizing these resources
F. Evaluation

- To evaluate is to measure the impact od the social

worker’s intervention.
- should be based on the objectives to be achieved
which have been set up jointly by the worker and the client.
Evaluation encompasses these sets of activities:

1. The identification and specification of objectives for the

interventive actions in terms of desired effects
2. Obtaining information as to what effects or changes were
achieved; and
3. Comparing the achieved with the desired effects so as to
determine how far or sufficiently the objectives were
achieved
 Evaluation usually takes place after every major step in the
treatment or intervention phase. It enables the worker to determine the
progress and readiness of the client, the quality of the service and the
client’s view of it. The result may require a modification or revision of
plans or a change of strategy or approach.
G. Termination or continuation
The case may be terminated when;
1. The service has been completed and goal achieved
2. Nothing further is to be gained by continuing
3. The client requests termination
4. Referral has been made to another service for help
5. The change has been stabilized and maintained and from here on the
client can manage by himself
The case may be continued when the results of the
action indicate that some progress or movement
has been made but not enough to satisfy either the
worker or the client.
 THE HELPING RELATIONSHIP
THE HELPING RELATIONSHIP is an integral part of the helping process. It
is the bridge, the channel through which help is extended to the client; it
Is the anchor which holds the helping process in place.
Nature of Relationship

Perlman defines a relationship as a condition in which group two

persons with some common interest between them; long term or
temporary, interact with feeling.
Purpose

In social work there is a need for such a relationship because it is

a means of communication between the client and the worker albeit it is
a professional one. It is the channel for the delivery of services.
Rapport
a person asking for help is a client when rapport is established.
Characteristic of a good relations hip
1. accepting
2. dynamic
3. emotional
4. purposeful, time limited, unequal
5. honest, realistic, and responsible
6. exercising judgment
1. Accepting – A relationship is accepting when the worker accepts the
individual or client by recognizing his right to existence, importance
and value.
2. Dynamic – A relationship is said to be dynamic when it is forceful
and energetic, in constant motion, advancing the movement to
change.
3. Emotional – The essence of this relationship is more emotional than
intellectual. It is the give and take of attitudes and feelings that build
a relationship which may meet the emotional needs of the client and
serve as the channel through which the ideas are imparted and
reached for rational consideration.
4. Purposeful, Time Limited, Unequal
- The helping relationship is purposeful because it has a purpose;
it is directed towards achieving a goal, which is, to help the client
achieve an improved degree in his psychosocial.
5. Honest, Realistic, And Responsible
- This means that the worker must have honor, integrity, sincerity
and probity (uprightness).
6. Exercising Judgment
- Any professional judgment that the worker makes should be
based on reality.
 3 Phases of the Helping Process

1. The beginning
2. The middle
3. The ending
1. The beginning – In terms of relationship this is the
period when the client and worker start to know, to “size
up” each other.
2. The Middle – This is the working period when the worker
and the client play their respective roles and perform
their tasks to solve or alleviate the problem.
3. The ending – This is the termination phase of the
relationship. If the goal has been achieved both worker
and client may be feeling a degree of satisfaction.
 Social Work Roles
A. General Roles
1. catalyst/catalyzer
2. Enabler
3. Change agent
4.activist
B. Specific roles
1. Direct provider of resources
2. Case manager
3. Mediator/broker
4. Facilitator
5. Clinician
6. mobilizer
7. advocate
8. Role model
A. General roles

1. catalyst/catalyzer – was one of the earliest terms used to describe

the social worker’s role. A s such he was expected to enhance the
client’s psychosocial functioning by inducing or facilitating some
change in his attitudes and behavior, or in his environment, or both.

2. Enabler – He supplies, provides or links the client with the means,

the knowledge or the opportunity to be or to do something.
3. Change agent – In this instance the worker becomes the instrument
of some transformation that has been planned at a higher or national
level.
4. Activist – to refer to those opting or working for change.
B. Specific Roles

1. Direct provider of resources – As direct provider of resources the

worker provides the tangible aid that may be needed by the client to
eliminate or reduce situational deficiencies.
2. Case manager - is responsible for overseeing the delivery of social
services such a linking the client with the provider of the resources that
he needs.
3. Mediator/broker – acts in behalf of the client scouting for the resources
that he needs, procuring this for him, and interceding for him if need be.
4. Advocate - the worker as advocate seeks some change in a policy or
program for the benefit of his clients.

5. Role Model – the worker as role model for the client is often
overlooked, perhaps not recognized, or taken for granted.