Engagement Techniques In Social Work

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Developing engagement techniques is a crucial part of becoming a social worker. Engagement with your client can often determine the impact the sessions will have on a client/ Developing a strong rapport with clients increase their comfort and help them be more willing to open up to the social worker. There are several different engagement styles used by social workers. As emerging social workers, we can develop our techniques by learning from the experience from current social workers as well as examining research on effectiveness of different engagement techniques.
In an effort to learn about engaging with clients, I interviewed Tracie Pape, a licensed clinical social worker who has been working at the Loyola Wellness Center at the Lakeshore Campus …show more content…

At the Wellness Center, she engages with clients in an individual setting as well as in group setting. Tracie has experience working clients who have experienced trauma, particularly those who are survivors of sexual assault, and leads the support group for sexual assault and abuse survivors on campus. When I asked Tracie about engaging with clients she stated that at wellness center, where the sessions are limited, is it important for her to make sure that she creates an environment where clients feel comfortable opening up about their experience. She creates an open environment by using humor, keeping a relaxed and calm demeanor, and focusing strongly on normalizing the client’s feelings. Tracie emphasized the importance of normalizing the feelings of the client; she told me that clients often feel as if they are “crazy” for having certain emotions or reactions to a life event. Normalizing their feelings can make the clients more comfortable expressing their emotions to her as well as establish trust in their

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