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Specific role of social worker
Specific role of social worker
Understanding the social work role
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Social Workers are very important to everyday life. They are the ones that help people in need when they have nobody else to turn too. Also, they provide resources and better understanding of predicaments that you could be experiencing. I will reflect on how the class has affected me, my own experiences and how some theories have connected to my life experiences, and lastly, if the class helped toward my major. This class is important for someone that wants to become a social worker and wants to learn about the different theories used. Also, learning about me during this process of completing this class is fun and a way to see if the social work profession is right for me. There was many theories explained throughout this class but many will not be said because it wasn’t the main points that I was trying to get across. There are two tools that are used that can help a social worker organize a client’s life: Bubble map and Briefcase exercise. There are so many different ways a social worker can help a client deal with their problems and come up with a solution. It is up to that social worker to identify the client’s problem and see what theory fits. Keywords: Social Worker, Theory, Practice, Briefcase, Attachment theory, Psychoanalytic Theory, ID This class, Social Work Theory & Practice was made to be able to introduce me to social work theories, ideas, and skills needed to work in the social work profession. This class main tool used was a book called A Brief Introduction of Social Work Theory by David Howe which discusses social work theories in a compressive and explainable way. This class is important to my higher learning because it break down the theories that I will need to use during my practice and a... ... middle of paper ... ... Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.esourceresearch.org/tabid/724/default.aspx#. Floersch, J. (2008, June 2). Social Work Practice: Theoretical Base Encyclopedia of Social Work. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://socialwork.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-621?rskey=cE8vvG&result=45. Howe, D. (2009). A brief introduction to social work theory. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. O'Neil, L. (2012, August 3). Using theory in social work practice | Social Care Network | Guardian Professional. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/social-life-blog/2012/aug/03/using-theory-social-work-practice. Rengas, S. (2010, August 13). Theories of Social Work. Retrieved November 10, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/srengasamy/theories-of-social-work
Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen S. M. (Eds.). (2014). Social work case studies: Foundation year. Retrieved from http://class.waldenu.edu.
Social Work is the study of people and how they interact with the systems in their environment and other people. Social Workers use theories, sets of ideas or concepts, of human behavior and apply them within their professional social work ethics to the problems facing clients in order to help them gain balance in the systems in their lives. Theories help to organize knowledge enabling social workers to help make sense of problems. There are many different theories. They have been grouped into broad categories called theoretical lenses (Rogers, A. 2013).
Glicken, Morley D.. Social work in the 21st century: an introduction to social welfare, social issues, and the profession. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE, 2011. Print.
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
Sheafor, B. W., & Horejsi, C. R. (2012). Techniques and guidelines for social work practice (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Allyn & Bacon. (Sheafor & Horejsi, 2011)
Theory has been defined as, “an organized set of assumptions, beliefs, or ideas about particular phenomena in the world (Teater, 2015).” Theory is used to understand and explain possible and perceived instances, behaviors and outcomes (Teater, 2015). Social workers use theory in order to understand, as well as, introduce interventions and solutions to their client’s individual situation. It is important for students entering into the social work profession to have a base knowledge of theories, with basic understanding of their similarities and differences to appropriately apply theory in practice. The theories which will be focused on in this paper include Systems Theory and Cognitive Behavioral Theory.
There are many theories and perspectives that go into the social work practice, many of which are used depending on the situation at hand. These theories along with views of systems help social workers better understand and work with their clients, as well as, work at an ecological approach to use interchangeably between different types of practice.
Walsh, J. (2010). Behavior theory. In J. Walsh (2nd), Theories for direct social work practice (123-146). Belmont, California: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Krysik, J. L. & Finn, J. (2013). Research for effective social work practice. New York, NY:
Miley, K, O'Melia, M, DuBois, B 2013, Generalist social work practice: an empowering approach, 7th edn, Pearson, USA.
Wilson, K. et al. al., 2011 - p. 78. Social Work: 'Introduction to Contemporary Practice'. 2nd ed.
Belmont, California: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Walsh, J. (2010). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Cognitive theory. In J. Walsh (2nd), Theories of direct social work practice (147-176).
Mullaly, B. (1997). Structural Social Work: Ideology, Theory and Practice. 2nd Ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
I would to begin this paper with an authentic definition of the Social Work field. Social work practices involves facilitating change—in other words, working with others, not doing something to them or for them(Dubois). Most people and social workers would always use the world ‘help’ in some way or form when defining social workers. Which is true but the confusion come in when asked where they work, who they assist and how they differ from other helping professions. Social workers can be sustain abuse therapists, child welfare specialists, and school social workers. We are not limited to just the department of social services. They can work in nursing homes, hospitals, and even in legislation.
Adams, R. 2010. The short guide to social work. University of Bristol, UK: Brooks/ Cole