Confrontations in Social Work

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People tend to think of confrontation as being an argument or verbal conflict. In essence, confrontations are perceived as negative actions, but confrontations are not meant to be negative. In the social service setting, confrontations are meant to ring something out in ht open in order to gain a better understanding. By gaining understanding the social worker can work with the client in moving forward and making meaningful changes (Summers, 2009). Confrontations are placed into three categories: 1.) confrontations of a discrepancy between the client’s expression of what he/she wishes to be and his/her perceptions of self (ideal versus real self); 2.) confrontation of a discrepancy between the client’s expression verbal expressions of self awareness (insight) and observable or reported behaviors; 3.) confrontation of a discrepancy between how the counselor experiences the client and how the client experiences self. (Biggs, 2000, p. 58) The point of confronting a client is to facilitate a client’s awareness of discrepancies and offer insight into how the social worker is viewing a certain issue. Confrontations are a form of intervention and should be used at the appropriate time. The social workers goal is to confront a client when he/she would benefit the most (Grant, 2009). At the most basic level, confrontation should be viewed as a tool used by social service professionals to explore differences and resolve possible conflicts between them and their client. The ability to confront a client is considered to be an advanced skill, but it is also an essential skill for a service worker. As stated prior, the social worker can use confrontations to establish discrepancies and promote understanding of differe... ... middle of paper ... ...ential for the worker to use confrontation at the appropriate time and to initiate a confrontation carefully. The overall goal is to have the confrontation be successful and have meaningful results. References: Biggs, D. A. (2000). Dictionary of counseling. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://books.google.com/books?id=wCGbjQ6dyl0C&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=use+of+confrontation+in+counseling&source=bl&ots=LDM8V70Sp4&sig=_a-pqm5ZE29J50AHA6s2CMa3vC4&hl=en&ei=iILCTujuOuLd0QHt7PGGDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDIQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=use%20of%20confrontation%20in%20counseling&f=false Grant, S. (2009). Confrontation. Retrieved November 17, 2011, from http://www.csun.edu/~hcpsy002/Psy460_GrpTask07_Confront.pdf Summers, N. (2009). Fundamentals of case management practice: skills for the human services, 3rd Edition. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

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