Social Work Theories-I CDOE, RBU

Centre for Distance & Online Education

Rabindra Bharati University

Self-Learning Materials
for
Master of Social Work
(Under CBCS)

Semester C.C. Units

1 1.3 1-5
Social Work Theories - I
Rabindra Bhavan, EE 9 & 10, Sector-II, Salt Lake City, Kolkata-700091, Phone-(033) 23584014/ 4016/ 4018
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Website: www.rbudde.in, E-mail: [email protected]
CDOE, RBU Social Work CC-1.3
Semester - 1
C.C 1.3 : Social Work Theories - I
COURSE CONTRIBUTORS

NAME DESIGNATION INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION

Dr. Apurba Ghosh Assistant Professor Department of Social Work,
(Social Work) Tezpur Central University, Tezpur, Assam
Dr. Binata Mondal Associate Professor Vidyasagar School of Social Work,
(Social Work) Vidyasagar University.
Dr. Sagarika Saha Assistant Professor Amik Institute of Management
(Social Work)
Kasturi Sinha Ghosh Assistant Professor Netaji Subhas Open University
(Social Work)
Ilora Barik Assistant Professor Department of Psychiatric Social Work,
(Psychiatric Social Work) IOP-COESSKM Hospital, Kolkata

COURSE EDITOR

NAME DESIGNATION INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION

Dr. G. Mahesh Assistant Professor School of Social WorkIGNOU, Maidan Garhi,
New Delhi
Dr. Archana Kaushik Associate Professor Department of Social Work,University of Delhi, Delhi
Dr. Bhavana Gulati Assistant Director Students Evaluation DivisionIndira Gandhi National
Open UniversityMaidan Garhi, New Delh

EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE

NAME DESIGNATION INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION

Ms. Arunima Dhar Assistant Professor Centre for Distance and Online Education,
(Social Work) Rabindra Bharati University.
Dr. Tanmoy Kr. Pal Assistant Professor Centre for Distance and Online Education,
(Social Work) Rabindra Bharati University.

March, 2021 © Rabindra Bharati University

All rights reserved. No part of this SLM may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means,
without permission in writing from the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

Printed and published on behalf of the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata by the Registrar, Rabindra Bharati
University.

Printed at The Saraswati Printing Works, 2 Guru Prosad2Chowdhury Lane, Kolkata-700006

Social Work Theories-I CDOE, RBU

CC 1.3

Social Work Theories - I

CONTENTS

Unit - I Methods of Social Work 5-22

Unit - 2 Functions and Application of Primary Methods of Social Work 23-44

Unit - 3 Functions and Application of Secondary Methods of Social Work 45-58

Unit - 4 Psychological Approaches-1 59-77

Unit - 5 Psychological Approaches-2 78-95

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Social Work Theories-I CDOE, RBU

Unit-I

Methods of Social Work

Content Structure
1.0. Learning Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Primary Methods of Social Work
1.2.1 Social Case Work
1.2.1.1 Concept
1.2.1.2 Definition
1.2.1.3 Features
1.2.1.4 Objectives of Social Case Work
1.2.1.5 Application of Social Case Work
1.2.2 Social Group Work
1.2.2.1 Concept
1.2.2.2 Definition
1.2.2.3 Features
1.2.2.4 Objectives of Social Group Work
1.2.2.5 Functions of Social Group Work
1.2.2.6 Application of Social Group Work
1.2.3 Community Organization
1.2.3.1 Concept
1.2.3.2 Definition
1.2.3.3 Features
1.2.3.4 Objectives
1.2.3.5 Application of Community Organization
1.3 Secondary Methods of Social Work
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1.3.1 Social Welfare Administration

1.3.1.1 Concept
1.3.1.2 Definition
1.3.1.3 Objectives
1.3.1.4 Functions
1.3.2 Social Work Research
1.3.2.1 Concept
1.3.2.2 Definitions
1.3.2.3 Objectives of Social Work Research
1.3.2.4 Subject Matter of Social Work Research
1.3.3 Social Action
1.3.3.1 Concept
1.3.3.2 Definitions
1.3.3.3 Objectives of Social Action
1.3.3.4 Functions of Social Action
1.4 Self- Assessment Questions
1.5 Suggested Reading and References

1.0. Learning Objectives

Methods in social work have been categorized into primary and secondary methods. Case Work, Group
Work and Community Organization are the primary methods, and Social Action, Social Work Research,
and Social Welfare Administration are the secondary methods of social work. After going through this
module,the learner would be able to:
Ø Comprehend basic understanding of Social Case Work,
Ø Explain Social Group Work method,
Ø Discuss various aspects of Community Organization,
Ø Describe Social Actionas a secondary method of social work,
Ø Develop an understanding of Social Work Research, and
Ø Demonstrate the relevance and significance of Social Welfare Administration.
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Social Work Theories-I CDOE, RBU

1.1 Introduction
Like any other profession, social work as a profession has developed a body of knowledge, which includes
methods, tools, and a terminology of its own. The Social Work profession aims at the social betterment of
the society, thereby aspiring for the fulfillment of the highest need of self-actualization of individuals.
A method is understood to be an orderly way or a particular procedure for accomplishing or approaching
something. Therefore, it is always carried out towards a specific aim. Methods in Social Work have been
categorized into Primary and Secondary methods. Case Work, Group Work and Community Organization
are the primary methods, and Social Welfare Administration, Social Work Research, and Social Action are
the secondary methods. Social workers try to accomplish different things by using different methods. The
objectives of these methods are not merely goals; they serve as motivating forces for social workers as well.

1.2 Primary Methods Of Social Work

1.2.1 Social Case Work
1.2.1.1 Concept
Social Case Work is a primary method of social work. It is concerned with the adjustments and development
of an individual so that one can have satisfying and fulfilling human relationships. Better family life,
improved schools, better housing, more hospitals and medical care facility, protected economic conditions
& better relations between religious groups can help a person in his/her adjustments and development.
The adjustments and development depend, to a large extent,upon the use of these resources by him. But
sometimes due to certain factors, internal or external, one may fail to effectively utilize the existing
facilities. In such situations, asocial case worker can provide the much needed help.
Thus, social casework is a one-to-one relationship between an individual and a social case worker with
the aim of helping the individual towards adjustments leading to meaningful development. This is done
by helping an individual to solve his/her problems in the society, thus facilitating him/her to perform in a
better way and to enhance his/her capabilities.Social a Case Work demands a dual-orientation. Firstly, an
orientation in human psychology; and secondly, an orientation in knowing the cultural force of the society
in which it works.

1.2.1.2 Definition:
1. Bowens (1949) definessocial casework as ‘‘an art in which knowledge of the science of human
relations and skills in relationship are used to mobilize capacities in the individual & resources in the
community appropriate for better adjustment between the client and all or any part of his total
environment”.

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2. Mary Richmond (1917) opines that”social casework consists of those processes which develop
personality through adjustments consciously effected, individual by individual between men and
their social environment”.
3. Perlman (1957) defines social casework as”a process used by certain human welfare agencies to
help individuals to cope more effectively with their problems in social functioning”.

1.2.1.3 Features:
The salient features of social case work include:
Ø Social Case Work is a method of helping people individually through one-to-one interaction.
Ø It is used by a professionally trained social worker in a social work agency.
Ø It helps individuals with personal as well as external and environmental issues.
Ø It is a method of helping through a relationship that uses personal and other resources for coping
with problems.
Ø Interviewing is one of the major tools of case work.

1.2.1.4 Objectives of Social Case Work:

The basic purpose of Social Case Work is to enable the client to enjoy, with some degree of permanency,
a more satisfying and effective social situation in which he finds himself. To achieve this goal, efforts are
made to bring an effective change in the client’s surroundings or his/her social living environment or
social living situation by clarifying the client’s possibly distorted perception of it, and/or strengthening
his capacities for coping with it. Its essential task is the facilitation and strengtheningof fruitful social
relationships.
Thus Social Case Work has the following objectives:
1. To provide a satisfactory level of adjustment to an individual for his problems by making him/her
aware of therelevant information.
2. To facilitate better understanding, acceptance, and adjustments in one’s life situations.
3. To equip an individual to handle his various life situations more positively and efficiently.
4. To directly counsel towards the promotion of overall growth of an individual.
5. To help a person to have better and sometimes a new insight into his/herproblems, even ifthe problem
may not be solved.

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1.2.1.5 Applications of Social Case Work:

Social CaseWork is practiced to help people with their social problems in a variety of settings,which are as
follows:
1. Medical Setting: Social CaseWork is practiced in hospitals and clinics run by the Government and
other private bodies. In the field of psychiatry, case work is practiced in child guidance clinics,
psychiatry departments in general hospitals, and crisis intervention centers as a part of psychiatric
casework.
2. Family Setting: In family casework, the effort is concentrated upon the family as a social unit and the
individuals as members thereof. The family relationships or adjustments and/or any aspect of family
life remain the focus of attention. Social Case Work treatment is to alleviate the person’s distress and
decrease the malfunctioning in the person-situation system.
3. Correctional Setting: Social Case Work has also been established in the field of criminology. It is
practiced in connection with the juvenile justice board, adult courts, probation, parole, and after-care
work.
4. School Setting: Social Case Work practice is very popular in the school setting. Case Work in such a
situation may involve direct work not only with the child but also with the parents. The goal of the
school social work is to reinforce the child’s potential strengths and capacities for satisfying, effective,
and acceptable performance in the role of student. To achieve this goal, the caseworker directly
works with the teacher and also with other personnel in matters regarding children’s needs and well-
being.
5. Child Welfare Setting: One of the important roles that child welfare agencies are supposed to play is
related to foster care and adoption services. The caseworker tries to provide an atmosphere in a
foster home and adoption center where the child’s growth and development will occur in the healthy
environment and in a desired direction.
6. Women Welfare: The role of case workers in family counseling centers, crime-against-women cells,
legal aid cells, family courts, and rape & crisis intervention centers is to help women overcome
trauma. Additionally, it is imperative in such situations toequip women with self-confidence and
self-esteem so that they are able to face and deal with their circumstances effectively.
7. Welfare of the Differently-abled: Giving support to the client (both emotional and action-oriented) is
an important intervention offered by the social caseworker who is working with a differently-abled
person. The caseworker also works with the family to help them cope with the situation, to understand
the needs of the client, and to learn the home management of the client.
8. Corporate Setting: In the field of labour welfare, individual problems of absenteeism, alcoholism,
depression, stress-related disorders, drug addiction, etc. among the factory workers are the concerns
for the social caseworker.

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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

9. Disaster management: There is an increasing need for individualized help for the victims of disasters,
whether natural or manmade. In this situation, the clients need individualized care to overcome
trauma. Once a client has emerged from the trauma, the caseworker engages the client to facilitate in
mainstreaming him/her into the society.

1.2.2 Social Group Work

1.2.2.1 Concept:
Social group work is a method of social work, which develops the ability of persons to establish constructive
relationships through activities in a group environment. Today, social group work is meant to have three
different meanings
1. It helps its members in problem-solving by working within the groups,
2. It helps to develop the group as such by working with its structure and processes, and
3. It intervenes in the external system using a group as an instrument.
Thus, group work will provide the opportunity for personal growth according to individual capacity and
need, help in the adjustment of the individual with other personsin the group and society, motivate
individuals towards improving their relationship with significant others in the society, and helps to recognize
his/her rights, abilities, and differences of others.

1.2.2.2 Definition:
1. According to Gisela Kanopka (1963), “Social Group Work is a method of social work which help
person to enhance their social functioning through purposeful group experiences and to cope more
effectively with their personal, group or community problem.”
2. H.B.Trecker (1955)defines Social Group Work ‘‘as a process and method through which individuals
and groups in social agency settings are helped by a worker to relate themselves to other people and
to experience growth and opportunities in accordance with their needs and capacities”.
3. American Association of Group Workers (1948) define Social Group work as ‘‘a method by which
the group worker enables various types of groups to function in such a way that both group interactions
and program activities contribute to the growth of the individual and the achievement of desirable
social goals”.

1.2.2.3 Features:
Following are the main features of social group work:
1. Social group work is one of the primary methods of social work.
2. Individuals are helped through groups and in social agency settings.
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3. The role of the professional group worker is to guide the interaction process in the group.
4. The social group worker helps the group to organize such types of activities through which group
members increase their capacities for participation, belongingness, decision-making, and
responsibility-taking and adjusting to them. They avail opportunities for their growth and development.

1.2.2.4 Objectives of Social Group Work

The objectives of group work include:
1. Ensuring provision for personal growth according to individual capacity and need
2. Facilitating the adjustment of the individual to other person(s), groups, and society, and the motivation
of the individual toward the improvement of the society.
3. Helping the individual in recognizing and accepting his own rights, abilities, uniqueness, and the
differences of others.
The other objectives of group work are:
a. To minimize frustration;
b. To increase the level of tolerance;
c. To increase self-esteem/ self-confidence;
d. To remove the feelings of isolation and strengthen the feeling of security;
e. To enhance the ability of coping with their problems;
f. To build a sense of self-acceptance and self-worth.

1.2.2.5 Functions of Social Group Work

Functions of social group work are as follows
1. The formation of a proper attitude that is crucial to the personality of an individual takes place
through participation in social group work activities. It is the attitude that guides the action of a
human being. Group activities provide opportunities for individuals to expose themselves to a variety
of situations that shape their attitudes.
2. Social group work experience operates to change an individual level of aspiration and striving. It is
well known that individuals reach their goals if their aspiration level is also high. Individuals constantly
check their aspiration level with those of others in the group and change it if they are at a lower level.
3. Individual patterns of living, working, and life pursuits also determine one’s personality. These patterns
could also be modified by participation in group work activity.

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4. Group work experience has a powerful influence on the individual’s perception of himself and on his
role in a given situation. The developmentof self-insight, and self- understanding is not only made
possible, but also strengthened by group influence.
5. Social group work activities tend to provide psychological support for individuals and help them to
express themselves both positively and negatively. The reinforcement and support that a group gives
to an individual are especially noticeable when the individual is called upon to accept and adapt to
his life situation.
6. Social group work helps in developing self-confidence. Every member is given the responsibility to
carry his role independently in relation to other roles. Thus the essential element of life is again
rearranged in a group.
7. Social group work helps individuals to make importantdecisions and solve problems more effectively.
When problems are discussed in group activity there is greater clarification of the problem. Similarly,
a variety of solutions are suggested by group members out of which a good solution emerges.
8. The feeling of being accepted is satisfied with the help of group work activities. Social group work
provides the opportunity for each of its members to perceive themselves as creative and honoured
members of the group.
9. Social group work helps in solving adjustment problems. One may fail to adjust in family and
community because of certain reasons. These reasons could include a person’s authoritative attitude,
aggressive tendencies, indifference, unresponsiveness and unwillingness towards his/her roles and
responsibilities, tendency of dependency, negative responses, and denial of other’s authorities. The
group experience is the best remedy for all these abnormal behavior symptoms.
10. A person’s identity, self-esteem and social competencies are shaped by his belongingness to social
groups and participation in the activities of those groups. Being a member of different kinds of
groups provides him with identity. Groups also help develop the self-esteem of its members by being
very supportive.
11. Social group work helps to assess, clarify, and help individuals with the interaction of their inner
motives and the demands of their social environment.
12. Social group work helps to change the social environment if it is detrimental to the social development
of individuals.

1.2.2.6 Application of Social Group Work :

The group work programme can be fruitfully used by different organizations to promote the all-round
development of the society which are as follows:

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1) Correction services: The field of correction involves the operation of prisons, reformative, training
schools for boys and girls, and the administration of probation and parole system. The correction
agencies have two broad objectives:
a) Providing secure custody to the offenders, and
b) Treatment of the offenders to direct their behavior to be more law-abiding. To achieve these objectives
the application of basic skills of the social group work process is crucial.
2) Schools Social Work: There are certain individual children who have social and emotional problems
that interfere with their school functioning and achievement. Social group work in school endeavors
to meet the needs of suchchildren. These services help them to overcome the learning difficulties
and help the students to build a cooperative relationship and to be disciplined.
3) Medical and Psychiatric Services: Group programs are used for helping the patients to develop
social relationships, to get support and acceptance of their fellow patients, and to create the necessary
group environment which itself is of therapeutic significance. Group work services are needed more
in hospitals for patients with long-term illnesses or with serious physical handicaps.
4) Youth and Child Welfare Services: In the various camps of youths and children, the group work
program is used to enrich the lives of the participants. In a group, they are given ample scope to
interactwith the other members, and through thisguided interaction, a group relationship is built.As
a result, the youth and children acquire human and social values that enhance their personalities and
make them responsible members of the community.
5) Child Guidance Clinic: The group work services can best be employed in child guidance clinics. To
diagnose children’s behavior correctly, experts agree that one needs to observe the child in interaction
with his contemporaries, as well as in interaction with adults. On the basis of observation in a group
situation, problem of the particular children can be diagnosed and likewise, the treatment plan is
prepared.
6) Old Age homes and Elderly Care Services: Older persons often feel lonely and unwanted;they have
lost their friends and feel a loss of importance in their families. Through participation in group work
activities, they achieve status and recognition within a group. If their experiences are properly
channeled, they can contribute to the growth of the society. The sense of being a contributing member
increases their mental well being.
7) Family Services: The purpose of family service is to improve and strengthen family life and to help
individuals and families with specific problems of family interrelationship or social adjustment.
8) Services for differently-abled: Group work programs can also be used to guide and promote thelives
of differently abled personsfruitfully. The group work services are directed toward the socialization

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of people with handicaps by helping them increase their skills and utilize their inherent capacities for
the all-roundwelfare of the country.
9) Labour Welfare: By group work programs, workers’ morale can be boosted, cooperation among
them can be encouraged, and discipline can be fostered. Their capacity for democratic decision
making through collective participation can also be strengthened by group work programs.

1.2.3 Community Organization

1.2.3.1 Concept:
Community organization includes two words: community, and its organization. The community has been
defined in terms of geographical boundaries. The area must have some common characteristics. Community
Organization is a process through which it is made possible for people of a community to work out
problems involved in coordinating the social services that are provided by all types of agencies - economic
development, health, welfare, and others.
Community organization is a method of social work practice that helps a community to be determined
and achieve program goals that meet the social welfare needs of the community. By facilitating the
interaction of its constituent parts (organizations, institutions, individual leaders, and geographical
subdivisions) to make maximum use of its internal and external resources, the ability of the community is
strengthened to undertake the solution of new and more difficult problems.
Community Organization is distinct from casework and group work, which are concerned with the welfare
of individuals through inter-personal and intra-group relationships. Community Organization is a process
in which efforts are directed towards meeting the community needs and developing integration within the
community.

1.2.3.2 Definition:
1) According to M. G. Ross (1955), “Community Organization is a process by which a community
identifies its needs or objectives, orders or ranks these needs or objectives, develops the confidence
and the will to work at these needs or objectives, finds the resources (internal or external) to deal
with these needs or objectives, takes action in respect to them, and in so doing extends and develops
cooperative and collaborative attitudes and practices in the community”.
2) Kramer and Specht (1969) defined Community Organization as “a method of intervention whereby
a professional change agent helps a community action system composed of individuals, groups, or
organizations to engage in planned collective action to deal with special problems within the
democratic system of values”.
3) K.D. Gangrade (2001) defined Community Organization as “the process by which the social system
of the community provides for integration and adaptation within the community”.
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1.2.3.3 Features:
Following are the salient features of Community Organization:
1) It is a process by which the capacity of the community to function more positively and progressively
grows.
2) Community Organization helps the community to identify its needs.
3) After the identification of the needs, the community is helped by a worker to establish some order of
priority among these needs.
4) Community Organization helps the community to locate the resources in the community through
which the needs may be fulfilled.
5) Community Organization process helps the community to take some action so that the problems are
solved or needs are fulfilled.
6) As the process evolves and progresses, people in the community will come to understand, accept,
and work with one another.

1.2.3.4 Objectives:
The objectives of community organization are as follows:
1) To secure and maintain an adequate factual basis for sound planning and action.
2) To initiate, develop, and modify welfare programs and services, in the interest of attaining a better
adjustment between resources and needs.
3) To improve and facilitate interrelationships and to promote coordination between organizations,
groups, and individuals concerned with social welfare programs and services.
4) To inculcate community consciousness, protection of the community from unwanted pressure, and
development of leadership.
5) To articulate resources and needs and the constant readjustment of resources in order to meet changing
needs.
6) To stimulate public interest in social problems and creating motivation for action through participation
and education.

1.2.3.4: Functions of Community Organization:

The functions of community organization are as follows:
1) Quality of life: Improving the quality of life of the members of the community.
2) Human rights: Extending human rights by developing participatory structures and opportunities
and deepening democracy for citizens who are excluded and feel powerless to influence policies that
affect their lives.
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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

3) Advocacy: Advocacy for a community of interest, such as children, or specific issues such as political
and social rights for women and marginalized populations.
4) Human social and economic development: To assure social support, economic viability, and
sustainability by expanding participation and building grassroots leadership; building economic,
social, and political assets for the poor in impoverished urban and rural areas.
5) Service and program: planning for a newly recognized or re-conceptualized need or to serve an
emerging population.
6) Service integration: Developing local to national and international means of coordinating human
services for populations in need.
7) Political and social action: To build political power for the economically and socially marginalized,
protect the weak and the poor, foster institutional change for inclusion and equity and increase
participating democracy, and equality of access and opportunity in local, regional, and international
efforts.
8) Social justice: To build a society with a strong foundation on equity, human rights and equal
opportunity across race, ethnicity, gender, and nationality.
1.2.3.5 Application of Community Organization
Community Organization can be used by the community organizers in different settings such asrural,
urban, tribal institutional, non-institutional settings. The settings can be identified based on certain
characteristics like location and the nature of administration.In different settings depending on the needs
and problems and the social situation of the community, the roles and strategies of Community
Organisationhave to be changed. Moreover, all the roles need not be applied in all settings.
Among the people living in rural and tribal areas, inter-personal receptivity is comparatively high than
the people living in urban areas. Organizing rural and tribal people is less difficult compared to urban
people.In the institutional and non-institutional settings, the people / members are organized and
unorganized respectively. In an institution, due to itsorganisedstructure, there arebetter
possibilitiesofbringing the people together for any common purpose, whereas in non-institutional settings,
it may be difficult to bring them together because of theirunorganised and unstructured pattern.
There are three different models of Community Organization. For the application of these models,different
sets of roles and an extensive understanding of the setting is expected from the Community Organiser.
● In the locality development model, the people come together to discuss and decide about the
improvement of an area, or locality, emphasizing the broader participation at the local level in goal
determination and action.
● In the social planning model, the people come together and gather pertinent facts about the problems,
then decide on a rational and feasible course of action. It is a technical process of solving social
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problems. Arranging and delivering goods and services to people who need them. External help is
more. Interested group members participate.
● The social action model brings people to uproot the oppressors. Basic changes in social situations
are brought about by organizing the affected segment of the population so that they make demands
on the larger community for increased resources or better treatment in accordance with social justice
and democracy and redistribution of power, resources, and decision-making.
The community organization has to see, observe, and understand all the settings and the models before
responding or making the people respond to the situation.

1.3 Secondary Methods of Social Work:

1.3.1 Social Welfare Administration:
1.3.1.1 Concept:
Today,SocialWelfare Administration is considered one of the most important methods of social work.
The modern concept of social welfare administration disapprovs and discards the idea of charity and pity
in social welfare activities. Welfare services are rendered through various agencies. Efforts are concentrated
onkeeping the agencies in running condition. To meet the daily needs of the society, and to keep the
agencies sustainable, administration becomes inevitable. The task of administration is to implement the
agency’s program faithfully and effectively with the aim of achieving its objectives.. The task of
administration involves laying down the procedure and policy, initiating programs, supervising activities,
keeping up contracts, and maintaining records and accounts.
In every profession, professional skills and competencies are applied to achieve certain desired results.
Knowledge of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, budgeting, subject matter of the
program, the field in which these techniques are applied, sound administration, and competent professional
services are essential for an organized humanitarian endeavor. Social Welfare Administration is as important
for a social worker as the understanding of the content of the program, technical knowledge, and skills.
Social Welfare Administration has been compared to an instrument with two blades like a pair of scissors,
to its one side is knowledge of techniques of planning, organizing, staffing, direction, coordination,
budgeting, etc. On the other side is the knowledge of the subject matter of the program, and the field of
services.
1.3.1.2 Definition:
1) J.C.Kidneigh (1950) defines Social Welfare Administration as the “process of transforming social
policy into social services ....a two-way process: (i) transforming policy into concrete social services
and (ii) the use of experience in recommending modification of policy”.

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2) Arthur Dunham (1962) describes Administration as the “process of supporting or facilitating activities
which are necessary and incidental to services by a social agency. Administrative activities range
from the determination of function and policies and executive leadership to routine operations such
as keeping records and accounts and carrying on the maintenance of services”.
3) H.B.Trecker, H.B (1971) interprets Social Welfare Administration as a “process of working with
people in ways that release and relate their energies so that they use all available resources to
accomplish the purpose of providing needed community services and programs”.

1.3.1.3 Objectives:
The objectives of social welfare administration are:
1) To determine the purpose, aims, and objects of the organization.
2) To establish the structure of the organization and to keep the organization strong.
3) To direct the work of the organization, selecting and developing adequate staff.
4) To work with boards and committees
5) To handle finances or organization.
6) To maintain effective public relations and proper coordination with other agencies.
7) To evaluate the total outcome in relation to the purpose of establishing the organisation.
8) To look ahead and to forecast the requirements of the society so that services are kept consistent with
the changingneeds and resources.

1.3.1.4 Functions:
Social Welfare Administration is supposed to perform the following functions:
1. Formulating the agency objectives: Social welfare administrator takes part in formulating the policy
so that coordination may be maintained between the objectives of the agency and the policy on the
broader level.
2. The provision of formal structure: The administrator’s second function is to make provisions of a
formal structure to serve as an effective communication system.
3. The promotion of cooperative efforts: The administrator’s functions are to attempt to lessen the
conflict between the needs of the agency as an organization and the needs of individual members,
and to enhance the sense of commitment to the agency which leads tohigh morale.
4. Finding and deploying resources: The administrator controls the resources of the agency. He deploys
the team efficiently in pursuit of the agency’s purposes.

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5. Supervision and Evaluation:An administrator has the supervisory function of allocating work and
evaluating the performance of the agency.

1.3.2 Social Work Research:

1.3.2.1 Concept:
In common parlance research refers to the search for knowledge. One can define research as a scientific
and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. Social Work Research is the application
of research methods to solve problems that social workers confront in the practice of social work. It
provides information that can be taken into consideration by social workers before making decisions that
affect their clients, programmers, or agencies such as the use of alternative intervention techniques or
change or modification of program/client/objectives and so forth.
The study of concepts, principles, theories underlying social work methods, and skills are the major areas
of Social Work Research. On the theoretical side, Social Work SRsearch re-examines the special body of
knowledge, concepts, and theories, whereas in the area of social work practice it tries to evolve a systematic
theory and valid concepts to know the efficacy of different methods/interventions of social work as to
search for alternative / innovative interventions and treatments. Ultimately it helps building a knowledge
base for social work theory and practice. Thus, social work research embraces the entire gamut of the
social work profession; concepts, theories, methods, programs, services, and the problems faced by social
workers in their practice.
1.3.2.2 Definitions:
1) According toFletcher (1949), “Research in social work has been defined as the scientific testing of
the validity of social work functions and methods”.
2) Brij Mohan (1986) defined Social Work Research as”an organized scientific endeavor is an established
professional activity towards building up a general theory of human behavior and social functioning
involving a coherent system of interventions”.
3) According to Ripple (1960) - “Social Work Research begins with practical problems and its objective
is to produce knowledge that can be put to use in planning or carrying on social work programmes”.

1.3.2.3 Objectives of Social Work Research:

The objectives of Social Work Research are as follows:
1) To extend knowledge of human beings, social life, and the environment. Social workers build up a
wealth of knowledge through their research findings.
2) To bring to light information that might never be discovered fully during the ordinary course of life.

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3) To analyze inter-relationships between variables and to derive causal explanations that enable social
workers to have a better understanding of the world.
4) To find out solutions to various social problems.
5) To standardize the services offered by the agencies
6) To develop new tools, concepts, and theories for studying unknown phenomena.
7) To help planning and thus contribute to national development.

1.3.2.4 Subject Matter of Social Work Research

The subject matter of social work research isas follows:
1) Social Work Research attempts to provide knowledge about interventions or treatments that help or
hinder the attainment of the goals of the social work profession.
2) Social Work research deals with problems faced by professional social workers, social workers
agencies, and the community in its concern with social work functions.
4) Social work research focuses on the assessment of practitioner’s work with individuals, groups,
families, communities, or appraisal of agencies or programs that involve the continued efforts of
practitioners with many clients.
5) Social work research is taken up in search of knowledge including knowledge of alternate practice
and intervention techniques to find ways and means to enhance social functioning at the
individual, group, community, and societal level.
6) Social work research lays special emphasis on evaluation. Evaluation studies point out the impact of
plans, policies, and programs and throw upsuggestions for their proper reformulation.

1.3.3 Social action:

1.3.3.1 Concept:
Social action is a challenging yet powerful secondary method of social work. It is used for mobilizing
masses to bring about structural changes in the social system or to prevent negative changes. It is based
on the human rights perspective and adopts the process of empowerment through redistributing justice.
Social action is a process in which some elites and/ or people themselves attempt to bring about change in
the system which is instrumental in solving problems and improving conditions which limit the social
functioning of weaker and vulnerable sections.
As the approach of social work practice has shifted from charity to empowerment, the scope of social
action has expanded enormously. With the emergence of the rights-based approach, the relevance of
social action has become almost omnipresent. Social action tackles problems at its roots and tries to
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remove the very causes of the problem. Certain social problems like poverty, exploitation, abuse,
stigmatization, ecological issues, bonded labour, child labour, women’s empowerment, substance
abuse, etc., can be tackled very effectively through social action.
The objective of social action is the proper shaping and development of a socio-cultural environment in
which a richer and fuller life may be possible for all citizens.

1.3.3.2 Definitions:
1. According to E. Wickendon (1956), “Social action isthat aspect of organized social welfare activity
directed towards shaping, modifying or maintaining the social institution and policies that collectively
constitute the social environment”.
2. W. A. Friedlander (1963)defines Social Action as “an individual, group or community effort within
the framework of social work philosophy and practice that aims to achieve social progress, to modify
social policies and to improve social legislation and health and welfare services”.
3. According to R. R. Singh (1986): “Social action is a process in which conscious, systematic and
organized efforts are made by some elite(s) and / or people themselves to bring about changes in the
system which areinstrumental in solving problems and improving conditions which limit the social
functioning of weaker and vulnerable sections”.
1.3.3.3 Objectives of Social Action:
Objectives of social action can be described as the following:
Ø To introduce structural changes for equitable redistribution of resources available in the society.
Ø To promote the realization of potential of the target population.
Ø To eradicate social evils as against human dignity.
Ø To curb abuse and exploitation.
Ø To conserve the physical, social, mental, and moral health of people.
Ø To strengthen the existing social institutions for a conducive social functioning, and
Ø To safeguard the human rights of individuals.

1.3.3.4 Functions of Social Action:

The following are the functions of social action:
Ø To modify the social policy by creating public opinion against the problems.
Ø To gain control over some economic, social, political, or religious weapon to obtain benefits for the
society.

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Ø To take action and punish those responsible for the cause of injustice.
Ø To create awareness among the masses through education.
Ø To mobilize the masses to use protests and strikes to achieve their objectives.
1.4 Self- Assessment Questions
1) Write a brief note on primary methods of social work.
2) Define Social Case work. What are the objectives of Social Case Work?
3) Elucidate the main features and functions of Social Group Work.
4) What are the objectives of community organization. Briefly illustrate the application of community
organizations in different settings.
5) Define Social Welfare Administration. What are the functions of social welfare administration?
6) Write Short Notes on –
a) Subject Matter of Social Work Research.
b) Social Action.

1.5 Suggested Reading And References

1. Konopka, Gisela (1963), Social Group Work: A Helping Process, Practice Hall, Inc., Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey.
2. Trecker, Herleigh B. (1790), Social Group Work, Principles and Practices, Association Press, New
York.
3. Misra, P.D (1994), Social Work - Philosophy and Methods, Inter-India Publications, New Delhi.
4. Mathew Grace, (1992) - An Introduction to Social Case Work, TISS, Bombay.
5. Biestek, F. P. (1957) - Case Work Relationship, Unurin Hyman Ltd, London.
6. Hamilton, G (1951) - Theory and Practice of Social Case Work, Columbia University Press, New
York.
7. Skidmore, R. A., Thackeray, M. G. and Farley, O. M. (1994): Introduction to Social Work, Eaglewood
Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall.
8. Friedlander, W. A. (1982) - Introduction to Social Welfare, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
9. Upadhyay, R. K. (2003) - Social Case Work - A Therapeutic Approach, Jaipur: Rawat Publication.
10. Ross, M. G., and Lappin, B. W. (1967) - Community Organization: Theory, Principles, and Practice,
Jointly Published by New York, Harper, and Row and Tokyo: John Weatherhill Inc.
11. Siddiqui, H. Y (1999) - Community Work, New Delhi: Hira Publishers.
12. Arthur Dunham (1958) - Community Welfare Organization: Principles and Practice, New York:
Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
13. Dunham, Authur (1949) - “Administration of Social Agencies” Social Work Year Book,
14. Kidneigh, John C (1957) - Administration of Social Agencies, Social Work Year Book,
15. Siddiqui,H. Y (1984) - Social Work and Social Action (ed.), Harnam Publications, New Delhi.
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Unit-2

Functions and Application of Primary Methods of Social Work

Content Structure
2.0 Learning objectives
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Primary methods of social work
2.3 Applications of primary methods of social work in family and child welfare setting
2.3.1 Key concepts
2.3.2 Scope for social workers:
2.3.3 Role of social workers and application of primary methods
2.4 Applications of primary methods of social work in school setting
2.4.1 Key concepts
2.4.2 Need of professional social workers in today’s schools
2.4.3 Scope of social work in school-setting
2.4.4 Role of social workers and application of primary methods
2.5 Applications of primary methods of social work in medical and psychiatric setting
2.5.1 Need of social workers in medical setting
2.5.2 Role of social worker in medical setting
2.5.3 Psychiatric social work
2.5.4 Objectives of psychiatric social worker
2.5.5 Role of psychiatric social worker
2.5.6 Application of primary methods in medical and psychiatric setting
2.6 Social work in industrial setting
2.6.1 Concept of industrial social work
2.6.2 Scope of industrial social work
2.6.3 Role of social worker in industrial setting
2.6.4 Uses of primary methods in industrial setting:
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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

2.7 Social work in correctional setting

2.7.1 Key Concepts
2.7.2 Correctional institutions
2.7.3 Role of social worker
2.7.4 Use of primary methods in correctional setting:
2.8 Self- assessment questions
2.9 Suggested reading and references

2.0. Learning Objectives

In the Unit 1 of this course, you have learned about the basics ofprimary and secondary methods of social
work. Case work, group work and community organization are the primary methods of social work. After
going through this module, one would know the applications of the primary methods and the role of a
social worker in different settings, namely:
Ø In family and child welfare setting
Ø In school setting
Ø In medical and psychiatric setting
Ø In industrial setting
Ø In correctional setting

2.1 Introduction:
Social work started as charity in India and turned into a profession. It seems to be a complex profession.
Throughout its history, awareness of human need has consistently exceeded available resources for
providing help. Modern manifestations of this dilemma can be seen in the suffering of the homeless and
the mentally ill on our streets and other public places, in the pain of neglected and abused children, and in
the distress of so many other people in trouble of one kind or another. In such a world, it is appropriate to
ask why we should turn to a subject like social work. The answer is that philosophical commitments are
integrally involved in everything that social workers do, not only in practice but also in teaching and
research. In addition, such commitments are present in how social workers see the society in which they
work, and in how they define their role in this society. Having a focus on every problem without
humanitarian touch is like inhaling air without oxygen. Therefore, the social work profession is like
oxygen in the air and inadequacy of it can be measurable.
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Social work has been defined “as a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes
social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles
of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility, and respect for diversities are central to social
work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities, and indigenous knowledge,
social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing. The above
definition may be amplified at national and/or regional levels.” (IFSW/IASSW, 2014)
Scientific social work today has emerged as a problem-solving profession. Compared to other disciplines,
professional social work is relatively young. This profession helps individuals, groups, and communities
to find solutions for their problems. Finding solutions to problems enhances the quality of life and fosters
development. Problems at any level (individual or social) can affect the interactions and relationships of
individuals. Thus, social adjustment and functioning get affected. Hence, social work intervention in
solving problems promotes the social functioning of people in different settings. Different kinds of problems
exist in different settings namely community settings, Family and child welfare settings, Medical and
Psychiatric settings, School settings, Correctional settings, and Industrial settings.
Social work aims to challenge and change socio-political, economic, and cultural systems that disadvantage
people, through advocacy, social action, and policy engagement, there is also an emphasis on maintaining
and promoting peaceful and harmonious relationships and social stability. Social work thus embraces
ameliorative, therapeutic, promotive, preventative, and developmental functions that are not necessarily
mutually exclusive.

2.2 Primary Methods of Social Work

The primary methods of social work are Social casework, Social group work, and Community organization.
Social Case Work consists of those processes, which develop personality through adjustments consciously
effected, individual by individual, between men and their social environment (Marry Richmond, 1922).
Social Group Work refers to a method of social work practice that is concerned with the recognition and
use of processes, which occur when three, or more people work together towards a common purpose. The
term ‘group work’ is also used to describe a context for practice, where social work practice is conducted
in groups (Doel, 2000. p.148). Understanding individuals who comprise the group requires knowledge of
psychosocial functioning and development through the life cycle, but it also requires knowledge of the
impact of the group’s structure and process on the members’ behavior. In turn, a group cannot be understood
accurately without knowledge of the members in their social contexts (Northen and Kurland, 2001, p.35).
Community Organizationis a procedure through which a community identifies its needs or objectives,
gives priority to them, develops confidence and will to work at them, finds possessions (internal and
external) to deal with them, and in doing so, extends and develops cooperative and collaborative attitudes

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and practices in the community (Murray G. Ross, 1967) Community practice is the work to improve the
quality of life and increase social justice through social and economic development, community organizing,
social planning, and progressive social change. It is a cooperative effort between practitioners and affected
individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and coalitions. Improving the quality of life for
impoverished and vulnerable persons and communities requires helping people to help themselves, to
build resources and develop social and political power. (Weil, Marie; 2005: A Handbook of Community
Practice)
The integrated approach of social work (Social Case work, Social Group Work, and Community
Organization, i.e, the primary methods of social work) refers to the holistic approach in the practice of
Social Work.

2.3 Applications of Primary Methods of Social Work in Family and Child

Welfare Setting

2.3.1 Key concepts

In the family and child welfare setting, social workers protect vulnerable youth and help disadvantaged
families in meeting the needs of their children. Some of their core responsibilities include responding to
cases of child abuse and neglect; removing children from home settings that are dangerous or which do
not meet certain standards; working with children and their families on a reunification plan in collaboration
with children’s courts; supporting parents in meeting the needs of their children (through resource
connections and navigation services, therapy and advising, and other services); and arranging for the
short and long-term care of children whose families are unable to take care of them.
Definition of child:
The United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC, defines the term‘child’ as ‘a
person under 18 years of age’. It acknowledges the primary role of parents and the family in the care and
protection of children, as well as the obligation of the State to help them carry out these duties. The
Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 defined a ‘child’ as ‘a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.’
Children as social change agents:
We tend to see children as persons dependent on adults. However, they can be seen as agents of social
change. Children in each community have special impacts on their family members. Whatever they learn
in the school is disseminated in their homes with other members of the family. They are listened to and
followed well by the elders. In the schools, special programs like the child-to-child programmecanbe
beneficial to spread the message of children’s rights in the communities. Gender awareness messages can
also be included in the syllabus at the later stage. Children can also play an exemplary role by involving

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the children who are not attending school. In many Indian families, where parents are not educated, there
is a need for generating awareness amongthe parents/grandparents and other uneducated members within
the house/family and community. Further, children can play an effective awareness role if they are equipped
with publicity material. In programs to create gender awareness and health education, adolescents can be
very useful. They can open the way for getting women into different programs. Within the community,
young girls attending high schools can level the ground for empowering both girls and women.
Child welfare
Child welfare service includes provisions for children in their own homes, in substitute family homes,
and in many institutions. Statutory provisions in most states are stipulated that except for the most
compelling reasons, self-assessment of a home or of the opportunity to be nurtured by his or her parents.
Only in the event of a major, irreparable breakdown in family life is it desirable to separate children
permanently from their natural parents.
In one sense, all child welfare work is protective work. Protective services are aimed at preventing abuse,
neglect, and exploitation of children. Their aim is to preserve the family unit by assisting parents to
develop the capacity for rearing children. In India, it is done by juvenile courts, family counseling centers,
and ICPS (Integrated child protection services).
The focus in protective care is on the family where unsolved problems have led to neglect, addiction-
related abuse and have become a hazard to the physical and emotional well-being of children. Therefore,
the social workers have an extensive set of roles through using the primary methods of social work.
Foster care
Foster care is the care of children in arrangements that are substitutes for care by natural parents. Foster
care is usually preferable as a treatment model for babies and young children.
In India, foster care is given by homes. But they are not always professionally sound to provide adequate
facilities to the children. Some time intervention is required by the social workers to manage the dysfunction.
Group Living
Group living may be the treatment of choice for the child who has experienced prolonged emotional
deprivation.An aggressive, acting-out child who cannot relate to adults or accept substitute parental ties
may be a good candidate for care in a group home.

2.3.2 Scope for social workers:

● Because of their knowledge and training, social workers oftenprove to be good counselors. Counseling
in this service area may beof three kinds or at three levels: premarital, marriage, and family.

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● Premarital counseling is the is the process of assisting a person or couple using courtship, marital
plans and problems.
● Marriage counseling is concerned with the relationship of husband and wife, their plans and problems.
● Family counseling coversthe husband, wife, and their children .
● In the case of juvenile delinquency, many courts have social workers attached to their organizations.
● Others play important roles in schools, universities, and college counseling centers and in private
family counseling agencies.

2.3.3 Role of social workers and application of primary methods

1. As a case-worker:
● Working collaboratively with families as a whole and with individual children to directly provide or
take a leading role in the provision of relationship-based, flexible and creative emergency, short term
or long term supportive, advocacy, educative or specialist therapeutic services to assist in recovery
from, or managing better to live with, a range of material and emotional stresses and traumas.
Therapeutic case work serves as the best remedy for a child suffering from any type of trauma.
● Other than case work, this includes providing child-focused assessments and reports for courts and
other agencies such as hospitals or custodial establishments, immigration services, etc. Co-ordinating
and leading multi-agency teams around children and families, child protection conferences, review,
and planning meetings, conferences, seminars is also a part of the process.
2. Case and Group worker:
● In collaboration with children, their parents, their careers, and professionals from other disciplines
and agencies plan, provide support, supervise and provide therapy (group, individual therapy) for
children, parents, and careers emergency, and, where necessary, short-term, and long term out-of-
home care ( network with ICDS, crèches, daycare facilities, playschool, etc for the care of children).
3. Community-social work:
● While coordinating and working collaboratively in teams around the child/family, social workers
play various roles. Let’s take the issue of child trafficking as an example to discuss the role of social
workers in the community setting:
● Awareness (information giver role): Awareness campaigns through television and radio as well as
educational workshops are carried out to limit different hazards. Access to information is crucial,
and families must know the risks like child trafficking, sexual exploitation, pornography, etc.
● Strengthening the Law Enforcement System (advocacy role): Countries must create and enforce
laws aiming to fight against trafficking. International legal instruments relating to child trafficking

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are forgotten and often poorly enforced by national governments. The more punishments incurred
for trafficking, the more traffickers will hesitate before acting.
● Observance and Cooperation (community organizer’s role):It is important that militaries effectively
control and observe their borders have ensured effective prevention. Effective regional, national,
and international cooperation is also importantbecause child trafficking networks often extend well
beyond the borders of a local area or a country.

2.4 Applications of Primary Methods of Social Work in School Setting

2.4.1 Key concepts

School social work:
“School social work is a specialized area of practice with the broad field of the social work profession.
School social workers bring unique knowledge and skills to the school system and the student services
team. School social workers are instrumental in furthering the purpose of the schools: to provide a setting
for teaching, learning, and for the attainment of competence and confidence”(The School Social Work
Association of America). In India, school social work started in 1970s. Schools social workers in India
work on attendance problems, emotional issues, behavioral issues, material needs, motivational needs,
special education areas, and child protection.
Right to Education:
The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India
to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a
Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged
under Article 21-A. This Actrecognized that every child has a right to full time, compulsory, free elementary
education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal schoolin the vicinity of his/her neighborhood.

2.4.2 Need of Professional Social Workers in Today’s schools

Children today are increasingly victims of many social forces that negatively affect their roles as students.
The family is in a state of change and until it becomes stabilized, in whatever form, children’s unmet
physical and emotional needs will continue to interfere with their ability to learn and adjust in school.
School Social Workers are trained professionals with a degree in social work who provide services related
to a person’s social, emotional, and life adjustment to school and/or society. School Social Workers are
the link between the home, school, and community in providing direct as well as indirect services to
students, families, and school personnel to promote and support students’ academic and social success.

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2.4.3 Scope of Social work in School-setting

Social organizations which work in the school setting, share various services for improvement of the
school environment and development of children so that their Right to Education is truly materialised.
These services include:
● Supporting inclusive education by providing infrastructure;
● Assessing abuse and neglect and take steps accordingly;
● Conducting home visits, parents’ meetings, and facilitating home-school liaison;
● Providingcounseling services;
● Conducting exposure visits for children;
● Career guidance for children;
● Providing life skills education to students;
● Developing and conductingawareness programmes in coordination with the school authorities.

2.4.4 Role of social workers and application of primary methods

Social workers provide various kinds of services to different sets of clientele when they work in a school
setting. Those services can be categorized as follows:
Services to Students (case work and group work):
● Providing crisis intervention.
● Developing intervention strategies to increase academic success.
● Assisting inconflict resolution and anger management.
● Helping the child develop appropriate social interaction skills.
● Assisting the child in understanding and accepting self and others.
Services to Parents/Families (case work):
● Interviewing the family to assess problems affecting the child’s educational adjustment.
● Working with parents to facilitate their support in their children’s school adjustment.
● Alleviating family stress to enable the child to function more effectively in the school & the community.
● Assisting parents to access programs available to students with special needs.
● Assisting parents in accessing and utilizing school and community resources.

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School-Community Liaison (Community Organisation):

● Obtaining and co-ordinating community resources to meet students’ needs.
● Helping school districts receive adequate support from social and mental health agencies.
● Advocating for new and improved community/school service to meet the needs of students and
families.
● Helping the system respond effectively to each child’s needs.

Services to School Personnel :

● Providing staff with essential information to better understand factors (cultural, societal, economic,
familial, health, etc.) affecting a student’s performance and behaviour.
● Assessing students with mental health concerns.
● Developing staff in-service training programs
● Assisting teachers with behaviour management
● Providing direct support to staff.
Related Services:
● Mobilizing family, school, and community resources to enable the child to learn as effectively as
possible in his or her educational program.
● Counseling (group, individual, and/or family).
● Preparing a social or developmental history on a child with a disability.
● Working with those problems in a child’s living situation(home, school, and community) that affect
the child’s adjustment in school.
● Participating in special education assessment meetings as well as Individual Educational Planning
meetings.
● Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.
Services to Government:
● Assist in developing and implementing educational programs for children, especially exceptional
children.
● Developing alternative programs for drop-outs, absentees, delinquents, etc.
● Identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect.
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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

● Providing consultation regarding school law and school policy.

● Providing case management for students and families requiring multiple resources.

2.5 Applications of Primary Methods of Social Work in Medical and Psychiatric

setting
2.5.1 Need of Social Workers in Medical Setting
With the advancement of the medical science and technology, new groups of high risk-population have
emerged. For example, AIDS patients, organ transplant patients, family violence survivors, etc. Further,
the change in demography provides an increasing concern with the elderly, single-parent families, and
lifestyle issues. With the increase of the elderly population, there come chronic health problems like heart
diseases, hypertension, diabetes, dementia, lung problems and asthma, fatigued muscles with orthopedic
diseases.
There is a need of interdisciplinary team collaboration in today’s competitive environment in the health
care system to providebetter services to the patients. In such an environment of complex health care
systems, it is crucial to have an “understanding of the particular organization and all its arrangements
related to funding, accountability procedures, the structure and relationships among and between various
services in the organization and, new services may be introduced or current programs changed”(Miller
and Rehr, 1983).
The concept of community health is intricately linked with social work practice in a medical and psychiatric
setting. Community health is a multi-sector and multi-disciplinary collaborative enterprise that uses public
health science, evidence-based strategies, and other approaches to engage and work with communities, in
a culturally appropriate manner, to optimize the health and quality of life of all persons who live, work, or
are otherwise active in a defined community or communities.
Many researchers/ authors have observed that social workers are better practitioners and are better suited
than other professionals to the ever-changing health care system because there is a need to oversee the
whole structure, organizational settings, and patient’s need in a medical setting. At the same time, social
workers are trained to work with groups and communities. Hence, they can easily adapt themselves in
community health approach.

2.5.2 Role of Social Worker in Medical Settings

a) Advocacy on behalf of the client to access financial and other assistance.
b) Developing resources and improving policies affecting the health care of clients by advocating for
them.

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c) Raising the basic rights for every patient.

d) Working as ‘Patient representatives’ to advocate for patients, and mediating between the patient and
the health care system.
e) Providing social support to the patient.
f) Being responsible to both the hospital administration and the patient’s needs.
g) Developing support or mutual aid groups and outpatient counseling services.
h) Stregtheninghome health care and community health clinics like PHCs (primary health centers)
i) Research and development related to different therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT),
psychotherapy, rational emotive therapy, family therapy, etc.

2.5.3 Psychiatric Social Work

Psychiatric social work is a specialized type of medical social work that involves supporting, providing
therapy to, and coordinating the care of individuals who are severely mentally ill and who require
hospitalization or other types of intensive psychiatric help. Psychiatric social workers work in a wide
range of settings, ranging from intensive inpatient wards to outpatient psychiatric clinics.
Social workers in the area of psychiatric health and substance abuse asses and assist in treating individuals
with mental illness or substance abuse problems. Such service includes group therapy, outreach, crisis
intervention, social rehabilitation, and training in skills of everyday living. The social worker in the field
of mental health and substance abuse is known as a clinical or psychiatric social worker.
The psychological problem is the problem of adjustment in one’senvironment due to his/her personality
disorder. The problem is of complexities i.e. inferiority complex or superiority complex it can be the
outcome of broken homes, unresolved Oedipus conflict, tensions, stresses, and/or aggressive behavior,
resulting in anxiety, depression, phobia, psychopathic behavior, and psycho-somatic disorder.

2.5.4 Objectives of Psychiatric Social Worker:

● Providing outdoor, indoor, and domiciliary treatment to the mentally ill, including alcoholics and
drug addicts.
● Conducting research and training for the development of the healing of the mentally ill.
● Generating awareness among the school and the community by giving the right message about
mental health to the people.
● Providing the right message about mental health to future generations.

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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

2.5.5 Role of Psychiatric Social Worker:

a) The psychiatric social worker makes a thorough study of the environment of the client enabling him/
her to prepare a systematic case history of the client, which throws light on the tension and difficulties
in the client’s life and helps him to assess the positive and negative aspects of the environment.
b) The psychiatric social worker explains to the client or relatives what the problem is and what is
involved in psychiatric treatment. The social worker has to help the relatives of the mentally ill, to
accept the diagnosis and the psychiatric recommendations. The social worker also tries to bring
about a better adjustment between the client and his family.
c) It is also his/her responsibility to enlist the cooperation of other social agencies for better discharge
of functions of one’s own agency and for stimulating interest in dealing with common problems
effectively.
d) In prenatal and postnatal clinics and nursery schools, the psychiatric social worker imparts mental
health education to parents. Sometimes his/her services are required to promote mental health
education within the community.
e) The psychiatric social workers attached to hospitals are requiredto respond to the problem of
homesickness as well as the boredom of long treatment. S/he may organize a recreation club with the
help of the members of the staff and the patients and encourage the latter to develop hobbies. Such
activities contribute much to the patient’s recovery.
f) The psychiatric social worker use different methods like awareness programs, short drama, and
group therapies for preventing mental illness among the masses.
g) The psychiatric social worker, may sometimes have to intervene and coordinate with the Police.
h) The psychiatric social worker uses home visit techniques and applies techniques of individual
counseling and family counseling.
i) Occupational therapy is also an important aspect of Psychiatric Social Work.
j) A Psychistric social worker may be required to intervene when families do not want to take back the
patients.

2.5.6 Application of Primary Methods In Medical and Psychiatric setting

Using casework and group work:
Social workers use casework and group work method while performing, for example:
● I.Q Assessment,
● Psychometric Testing,
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● Rehabilitation plan for client,

● Day Care Treatment plan
● Behavioral therapy and counseling
● Medication and drug-based treatment
● Treating related psychological factors, such as depression
● Providing ongoing care to reduce the risk of relapse
● Vocational & rehabilitation
Use of community organization:
At the community level, medical / psychiatric social workers often take a preventive approach.For Example:
● Generating awareness related to diseases, community services;
● Risk assessment at the community level;
● Promoting interventions with a multidisciplinary and multilevel (psychological, social, familial, and
legal) approach;
● Promoting healthy lifestyles which includenutrition and exercise;
● school-based interventions (targeting children, parents, and education professionals)

2.6 Social Work in Industrial Setting

2.6.1 Concept of Industrial Social Work :

“Industrial social work can be broadly defined as a specialized field of social work practice, which addresses
the human and social needs of the work community through a variety of interventions, which aim to
foster optimal adaptation between individuals and their environments”. (NASW, 1987). According to
Saini (1975), “industrial social work has come to be defined as a systematic way of helping individuals
and groups towards a better adaptation to work situation”.
The terms ‘Industrial Social Work’ and “Personnel Social Work” are synonymous in several ways, though
the area of operation of the one may be limited to personnel in the Industries, while the other would cover
those in business, sales, and many similar enterprises. While considering the operational areas of ‘Industrial
Social Work’, the general trend has been primarily to concentrate on industrial workers. However, the
levels in an enterprise need not be out of its purview. ‘Industrial Social Work’ emerged under these
circumstances, as a distinct operational area within the discipline of professional social work. It has its
roots not only in industrialization and urbanization, with all consequences, but also in developing social

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consciousness, expressed through measures of family assistance, labour welfare legislation, regarding
safety, hygiene, employment of women, young persons, etc.

2.6.2 Scopeof Industrial Social Work:

Social work in industry has a threefold aim, namely:
a) To help any individual or group to adapt to the work situation and to meet the work requirements; it
may here be pointed out that the problems arising for these individuals or groups may be caused by,
or occur in the work environment; or, have unfavorable effects on the work situation, although not
arising therefrom.
b) To stimulate the management to adapt the work situation to the social needs of itsemployees.
c) To assist the work ‘community’ as a whole to function in a better way.
To reach those aims, social workers work with different types of clientele whose problems and challenges
are quite different from each other, which are briefly outlined below:
Issues related to women work force:
For women and their families, such as patterns of child rearing and affordable child care, flexible working
hours, transportation to and from work, and job training, in addition to salary, benefits, pensions and
compensation are crucial. For their employers, absenteeism and tardiness, sick leave, and employee stress
become factor no matter how competent and hard working is their employees. Some other issues may
includedecreased flexibility of the workforce as two-career families become less willing to relocate,
fewer distinctions between males’ and females’ jobs and wage rates, increase in part time, flexible, and
stay at-home jobs and decrease in total work hours per employee.
Increased Stress:
One of the main sources of stress is job pressures. Particularly any job has stresses. The list of stress-
related illnesses includes bronchial asthma, hypertension, headache, migraine, insomnia, constipation,
cancer etc. Stress is also one of the causes of emotional disorders. Employers are becoming increasingly
aware of the cost of stress to employees and to their businesses, absenteeism, law productivity, short and
long-term stress related illnesses, job dissatisfaction, marital difficulties and emotional disorders.
Violence in work place:
Work place violence is an increasing problem identified by employers and their employees. Some employees
are bringing their family problems to work, or are often harassed by other family members, while at work.
Sexual Harassment:
The costs of sexual harassment can be extremely damaging, both emotionally and from a cost perspective
to employers. It is difficult to obtain accurate figures about the actual incidence of sexual harassment at
workplace, because half of all people who are harassed never report it.

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Occupational Health Hazards:

A number of occupational health hazards affect workers. These include on-the-job accidents and work-
related illnesses including job stress. Accidents and other on-the-job health hazards create additional
stresses for employees and their families. Workers in chemical plants who contract cancer and miscarry
or produce children born with congenitaldeformities, and construction workers who may be hurtby heavy
equipment place themselves and their families in jeopardy.
Issues of working parents:
Millions of children under the age of 14 are without adequate childcare while their parents work. Often,
infants and toddlers are left sleeping alone at night by working parents. It is not unusual for children ages
4 and 5 to be left at home alone for long periods of time, and children as young as8 are often left in charge
of their much younger siblings. Increasedyouth related delinquent acts, as well as increasedteenage
pregnancies, are being attributed partly to the lack of supervision provided to adolescents while their
parents work.
Issues related to aging workforce:
A more experienced, stable andreliable workforce should increase productivity. Those aging workers
who leave or lose jobs have a difficult time seeking new jobs at the previous levels.
Issues related to job seekers
The labour market for younger workers may actually get tighteneddue to factors like increased automation
and mismatch of skill set.A continuing decrease in the number of workers will have long-term implications
for areas such as social security.

2.6.3 Role of Social Worker in Industrial setting

(a) Helping employees to develop their inner resources and, if necessary, to mobilize other services
within the enterprise to bring about changes in the work environment.
(b) Helping workers in their personal and family difficulties to act as a resource person to community
services and to become a liaison between the plant and the community services.
(d) Helping the workers for better adjustment to working hours, working conditions, and workgroups
and helping management in evolving suitable working hours, working conditions, and workgroup.
(e) Orientation and induction of employees and assisting the “work community” as a whole to function
in a better way.
(g) Counselingto help in adjustment of the individual to his complex changing world.
(h) Active participation in corporate social responsibility activities and community development initiatives
of the industry
(i) Employee management and effective intervention of labor-management problems
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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

2.6.4 Uses of primary methods in Industrial setting:

Social Casework:
Social casework can be effectively used in situations of individual problems, such as alcoholism, depression,
drug abuse, anxiety, marital and family difficulties, etc. Further in induction, grievance situations, transfer
cases, leave needs, absentee situations, problems due to job loss, retirement, etc., it can find much use. In
accident cases, cases of indiscipline, it is also very useful. This primary method of social work can be
effectively applied at two levels:
● Difficulties and problems arising due to adjustment to family life due to any psychological, economic
and cultural factors;
● Difficulties arising out of adjustment to work life due to environment, personality problems,
organization structure and programmes, etc.
Social Group Work:
Group interaction can be used as an effective tool for helping employees to understand themselves and
improve their relations with those around. Group work techniques can be used in certain group situations
to help the group to attain their efficiency and objectives through a harmonious development of the
group work process. It can be used in point consultation situations, such as labour management council,
various committees, meetings, collective bargaining contexts, development implementations of several
welfare programmes inside and outside the workplace, building of group morale, etc. It can be used in
educational programmes and workshops for ‘at risk’ employees related to areas, such as coping with
job related stress, family and marital stress, anxiety, drug abuse, etc.
Community organization:
Here the social worker can help business to understand the total community in which they live and utilize
its resources to benefit the community on one hand and the organization on the other. The problems, such
as lack of educational facilities, proper recreation, medical facilities within the workers community, can
be attended to by the social worker. Community consciousness and development are being given importance
by the management where the skills of the professional social worker can be effectively used.

2.7 Social Work In Correctional Setting

2.7.1 Key Concepts

Crime:
A crime is a serious anti-social action to which the State reacts consciously. A crime is an act that breaks
a law that relates to how to behave in the society. The harm caused by an act is seen to be against the

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society as a whole, not just a specific person. Such as “an antisocial act,” or “a failure or refusal to live up
to the standard of conduct deemed binding by the rest of the community,” or “some act or omission in
respect of which legal punishment may be inflicted upon the person who is in default whether by acting
or omitting to act.”
Criminal justice:
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have committed crimes. Criminal Justice System
refers to the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting
criminal conduct. The criminal justice system is essentially an instrument of social control: the society
considers some behaviors so dangerous and destructive that it either strictly controls their occurrence or
outlaws them outright. It is the job of the agencies of justice to prevent these behaviors by apprehending
and punishing transgressors or deterring their future occurrence. The primary institutions of the criminal
justice system are the police, prosecution and defense lawyers, the courts and the prisons.
The Main objectives of the Criminal Justice System can be categorized as follows:
● To prevent the occurrence/episode of crime.
● To punish/penalize the transgressors and the criminals.
● To rehabilitate the transgressors and the criminals.
● To compensate the victims as far as possible.
● To maintain law and order in the society.
● To deter the offenders from committing any criminal act/activities in the future.
Correction:
The term “corrections” refers to the system response to individuals (women, men, and young persons of
both sexes) who have come into conflict with the law and have been convicted of a crime. The correctional
system is one component of the larger criminal justice system and is dedicated to improving public safety
by helping offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising secure and humane control.
Our constitution provides equal rights to all the citizens of India to live and to get equal opportunity to get
a chance to live his/her life. Therefore, there is a big role of social workers with government and non-
government settings to provide the opportunity by amending the behavior and attitudes of the offenders.
Hence, the course of action would protect and secure the society.
Rehabilitation as a Primary objective of Correction
● The projected goal of corrections today is to protect the society by controlling offenders and preventing
crime. Restraining the offender in custody protects the society from crimes, which he might otherwise
commit; nevertheless, the constraint is merely temporary. Incarceration, custody, or institutionalization
still has a role in the system, but it has come to be the least desired or the last resort.

39
CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

● Thus, rehabilitation is the primary objective in corrections; but in order to prevent recidivism, which
is a measure of failure in rehabilitation, a secondary, if not equally important, target is reintegration
- community acceptance of the offender. The above objectives are the basis upon which the existing
correctional systems and programmes are constructed and they signify, too, the direction toward
which correctional improvement must move.

2.7.2 Correctional institutions

Types of correctional institutions for institutional treatment:
1. Prisons
2. Observation homes
3. Special homes
4. Children homes
5. After-care organization
6. Protective home for women
7. Short stay home
Types of correctional institutions for Non-institutional treatment
1. Probation
2. Parole
3. Hybrid treatment
4. Community service
5. Work release
Roberts (1997) asserts that correctional institutions are characterized by four different philosophies:
retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation ‘‘(p. 310)’’. In practice, most systems use a
mixture of these philosophies. Most of these philosophies focus on punishment (i.e. retribution and
deterrence) rather than rehabilitation, which is consistent with current public sentiment towards the
treatment of offenders within correctional institutions. The focus on punishment is in direct contrasting
with the value those social workplaces on interventions that assist individuals in changing their behavior
through counseling, education, and involvement in adaptive activity.

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2.7.3 Role of Social Worker

In Indian criminal justice system, social workers may work in jails, prisons, community-based organizations
and primary health care agencies that serve ex-offenders, and in the courts. Social workers are committed
to social justice at micro as well as macro levels. Prison social workers have two defined roles at the
micro level:
● To motivate reform, and to rehabilitate the prison inmate.
● To attend to the families of prisoners and to enable the inmates to keep contact with the family.
Practitioners on the macro level usually focus on helping groups, communities and the society as a whole.
Social work positions within corrections encompass a wide range of skills and specialized services,
including discharge planning, case management, program delivery, individual/family/group counseling,
crisis intervention, negotiation and mediation, teaching, community capacity building, and advocacy
(individual and systemic).

2.7.4 Use of primary methods in Correctional setting:

Integrated approach:
A correctional social worker has to adopt an integrated approach inside a prison as outlined below:

Roles and Responsibilitiesof the Welfare Officer / Social Worker Use of Methods

Helping inmates to overcome their problems ofinstitutional adjustment Casework

Assisting inmates in dealing with problems facedby their families and dependents Casework
Participating in the orientation, classificationand re-classification programmes Casework
Facilitating understanding between the inmateand administration, group therapies Case & Group work
and individual therapy for psycho-criminals
Assisting prison authorities in maintaining prison security discipline Community organization

(Source: Bureau of Police Research and Development, 2003)

Social Group work in correctional settings
Group work with delinquents and adult offenders is often seen as a powerful technique for modifying
behaviour and attitude. The functions of group worker in correctional settings are:
● To strengthen the emotional security of the offender within the framework of the group so that he
does not feel alone and helpless but moves towards not being wholly dependent on it.

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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

● To strengthen the offender’s independence by helping him to actually participate in the group
discussion, and not to submit to a gang leader or a powerful sub-group.
● The introduction of an adult (group worker) who represent the values of a society offenders often
reject, but who, because of his accepting attitude, represents the adults’ security and love.
● To provide an opportunity to gain inner resilience and status with the group through accomplishment
in activities by the society.
● Group therapies and Occupational therapies also serve as important remedies for treating the offenders.
Community organization in correctional setting:
1. Community organization has an important role in rehabilitation and reintegration of released offenders
into the society. At the same time community organization is used widely for the prevention of crime
and delinquency.
2. The convicts, after completing the sentence. face problems in adjustment with the family, relatives,
peer group neighborhood and employment.
3. Social workers consider family to be an important unit that can provide support so thatthat offenders
take care of theirvarious needs. For this, the social worker has to mobilize the resources for meeting
the needs of individuals and establishing support groups whom one can rely upon, as and when
needed.
4. To attend to the families of prisoners and to enable the inmates to keep contact with thefamily.

2.8 Self- Assessment Questions

1) Who is a child? How do social workers use primary methods for welfare of children?
2) Why do today’s schools need professional social workers? What can be the role of social workers in
schools?
3) What is Psychiatric Social Work? What are the roles of psychiatric social workers?
4) Discuss various issues, which are regarded as the focus areas of social work in today’s industries and
workplace.
5) What is criminal justice? How do social workers use different primary methods inside a prison?
6) Write short notes on: a) Role of social workers in medical setting, b) Industrial Social Work
7) Write Short notes: a) ‘Children as social change agents’, b) Right to Education.

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2.9 Suggested Reading and References

1. Tata Institute of Social Sciences [TISS], (2000) TISS report, Mumbai: Tata Institute ofSocial Sciences
2. Tata Institute of Social Sciences [TISS] (2007-2008) TISS bulletin. Mumbai: Tata Institute of Social
Sciences.
3. Singh, I. J. (1979). Indian prison: A sociological enquiry. Delhi, India: Concept PublishingCompany
India.
4. Severson, M., (1994). Adapting social work values to the corrections environment. Social Work,
39(4), pp. 451-456.
5. Sabol, W., West, H. & Cooper, M., 2009. Prisoners in 2008, Washington DC: .S. Department of
Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
6. Pray KL (1943) Social work in the prison program. Fed. Probation 7(4): 3-7.
7. Ganesh Indira M (2007) Next Steps: Taking the Special Cell Process A head. Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Mumbai, India.
8. Desai, M.M., (1979), Industrial Social Work, TISS, May 1979.
9. Jacob, K K. (1965), Methods and Fields of Social Work in India, Bombay, Asia Publishing House.
http://ijsw.tiss.edu/collect/ijsw/import/vol.29/no.2/167-172.pdf
10. Anthony Maluccio, Barbara Pine, and Elizabeth M. Tracy. (2002)Social Work Practice with Families
and Children, Columbia University Press, September 2002
11. Cox, F.M., et.al. (1987), (Fourth Editions) Strategies of Community organization, Illinois : Peacock
Publishers.
12. Gangrade, K.D. (1971), Community organization in India, Bombay, Prakashan.
13. Kramer, Ralph M & Harry Specht (1975), Readings in Community organization Practice, New Jersey:
Printice Hall Inc. Ross, M.G. (1955), Community organization, Harper and Row Publishers, New
York
14. Andharia, J. (Ed.) (2008), Community Development Journal : Special Issue on Community
organization in India, Vo. 44(3), July 2009 http://edj.oxfordjournals.org
15. Batten, T.T. (1962).The Non-Directive Approach in Group and Community Work ,London: Oxford
University Press
16. Cox, F.M. et. (1997). Tactics and Techniques in Community Practice, Illinois: F.E. Peacock Publishers,
Inc.
17. Dominelli, Lena (2006). Women and Community Actions, New Delhi: Rawat Publications

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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

18. Gangrade K.D. Community organization in India, Bombay: Popular Prakashan

19. Jones, D. and Mayo, M, (Eds.) (1974). Community Work, London: Toutledge and Kegan Paul
20. Kramer, R.M. and Specht, H, (1983). Readings in Community organization Practice, Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice Hall
21. Mayo H., Jones D. (1974).Community Work, London: Toutledge and Kegan Paul
22. McMillan, M, (1945). Community organization for Social Welfare, Chicago: University of Chicago
Press
23. Murphy, C.G. (1954). Community organization Practice, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
24. Senapati, M (2005). Looking Within to Look Without: Journey of Living and Reliving Social Work
Practice in Community Development, TISS, Mumbai
25. Ross Murray G.(1955). Community organization: Theory, Principles and Practice, New York: Harper
and Row
26. Rothman et. Al (1995) Strategies of Community Intervention: Macro Practice, Illinois: Peacock
Publishers
27. Siddiqui, H.Y. 1997 Working with Communities: an introduction to community work. New Delhi:
Hira Publications
28. The CalousteGulbenkian Foundation (1968). Community Work and Social Change – A Report of a
Study Group on Training. London: Longman
29. Weil, M. (Ed.) (1996). Community Practice: Conceptual Models. The Haworth Press, Inc. New York
30. Weil, M and Gamble, D. (1995). Community Practice Models. The Haworth Press, Inc. New York
31. Weil, M (Ed.) (2005) The Handbook of Community Practice,Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications, Inc.
32. Rafferty.Y, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2013 - Wiley Online Library, vol. 86, p 559-557
Child Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Retrieved from online library.wiley.com/
doi/10.1111/ajop.12056/full
33. Elsevier Volume 44, Issue 3, March 2013, Pages 283-289American Journal , Human Rights retrieved
from www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/s0749379712008811.
34. Sen. S, PMN, IPS (2006) Vol.1, New Delhi, A report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India
2002-2003, retrieved from nlrd.org/wp-content/uploads 2012/02/report on trafficking.pdf
35. What is “community health”? Examining the meaning of an evolving field in public health, Richard
A. Goodmana, Rebecca Bunnellc , Samuel F. Posnera2014, www.elsevier.com
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Social Work Theories-I CDOE, RBU

Unit-3

Functions and Application of Secondary Methods of Social Work

Content Structure
3.0 Learning Objectives
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Social Welfare Administration
3.2.1 Definition
3.2.2 Function of Social Welfare Administration
3.2.3 Application of Social Welfare Administration in Practice
3.3 Social Action
3.3.1 Distinguishing Features of Social Action
3.3.2 Principles of Social Action
3.3.3 Application of Social Action in Practice
3.4 Social Work Research
3.5 Integrated Social Work Practice
3.5.1 Integration of methods
3.5.2 The System Model
3.5.3 Remedial, Preventive and Developmental Models
3.5.4 Conclusion
3.7 Self- Assessment Questions
3.8 Suggested Reading And References

3.0. Learning Objectives

In this unit we shall focus our attention on the secondary methods of Social Work practice. The objective
of this unit is to develop our understanding about the functions and applications of secondary methods in
the field of social work intervention. We would also try to find out how as professionals we may practice
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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

using these Social Work methods in an integrated way to enhance the capabilities of our communities.
From this module, the learner will gain understanding on –
● Function and application of Social Welfare Administration, Social Action and Social Work Research;
● Relevance and scope of Integrated Approach to Social Work Practice;
● Role of Social worker in Remedial, Preventive and Developmental models.

3.1 Introduction
Methods are specific skills, techniques or approaches which help us to practice something in a particular
way. Every profession has its own way of carrying out its functions. The profession of Social Work too
has six methods of Social Work which may be categorized under the Primary and Secondary Methods.
These methods are required for helping people to develop their strengths and capacities in a planned and
systematic manner.
Under the Primary or the Direct Methods we have –
● Social case work
● Social group work.
● Community organization
Under the Secondary Methods or Auxiliary methods we have-
● Social Welfare Administration.
● Social Work Research.
● Social Action
As the first primary method of Social Work, Social Case Work enhances the social functioning of
individuals. A well known definition of Case Work is, “Social case work consists of those processes
which develop personality through adjustments consciously effected, individual by individual, between
men and their social environment’ with their problems.”Thus, Social Case Work helps us to understand
the uniqueness of human behavior and individual differences. In this way it helps us to get an idea about
the needs of human beings within their social environment, and life experiences from their perspectives.
Social case work method tries to resolve individual problems mainly by restoring, maintaining or improving
aperson’s social functioning using the knowledge of human behavior, communication and relationship
skills and the available resources.
The next primary methoddeals with groups. Social Group Work is usually applied to help a group of
people having similar kind of life experiences to come together and interact effectively amongst themselves
and develop an insight about their problems and thus work together to improve their well being and try to

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find ways to relieve their personal suffering. Group work is one such method of social work which may
be used for all ages and all segments ofthesociety , and can be an excellent tool to enhance their social
functioning and coping mechanism.
The last of the primary methods is the Community Organization.Gangrade (2001) defined community
organization as “the process by which the social system of the community provides for integration and
adaptation within the community”. In this method, Community is the client of the Community Organizer,
therefore it becomes important to know each and everything about the community, like the geographical
area, the beliefs, customs, traditions, and the cultural pattern.
Let us now try to know in detail about the concepts of the Secondary methods of Social Work and how
they can be applied while practicing Social Work.

3.2 Social Welfare Administration

3.2.1 Definition
Social welfare administration is a process through which social policy is transformed into social services.
It involves the administration of government and nongovernment agencies. The following definitions
will elaborate the meaning of social welfare administration.
According to Walter A. Friedlander (1958) “administration of social agencies translates the provisions of
social legislation of social agencies and the aims of private philanthropy and religious charities into the
dynamics of services and benefits for humanity”.
According to Arthur Dunham (1962) “administration is the process of supporting or facilitating activities
which are necessary and incidental to services by a social agency. Administrative activities range from the
determination of function and policies, and executive leadership to routine operations such as keeping
records and accounts and carrying on maintenance of services”.
Herleigh Tracker (1971) interprets social welfare administration as a “process of working with people in
ways that release and relate their energies so that they use available resources to accomplish the purpose
of providing needed community services and programmes.”
On the basis of the above definitions, we find that social welfare administration is a process that includes
definite knowledge, understanding, principles and ways of interaction. Its main focus is on the accessibility
and sustainability of social services forthe needy. Social work enables the process of administration through
guidance, planning, stimulation, organization, creating structureand coordinating research. To accomplish
the well-defined objectives of administration, policies are suitably amended; programmes are formulated,
and budget, and finance provided; personnel and selection procedures are made available.
As professionals, we may define Social Welfare Administration as a ‘method used by those who have
administrative responsibility to determine organizational goals for a social agency or other units; acquire
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CDOE, RBU CC-1.3

resources and allocate them to carry out a program; coordinate activities towards achieving selected
goals; and monitor, assess and make necessary changes in the processes and structure to improve
effectiveness and efficiency.
3.2.2 Function of Social Welfare Administration
The most important functions of Social Welfare Administration include:-
(1) Planning: Planning is fundamentally anintellectual process, a mental predisposition to do things in
an orderly way, to think of facts rather the guesses. It is the initial task for the arrangement of resources,
both physical and social according to the needs for better life condition and adjustment.
(2) Organising: Organising is a skill of arranging the various resources and taskssystematically in a
manageable manner in relation to the hierarchal status, capabilities of associates and priorities of the
agency for smooth functioning. In every organization there is an integrated series of offices, or
hierarchal statuses, in which a number of functions are closely defined by specific rules.
(3) Staffing: Staffing means the administration of staff. Staffing includes recruitment, selection, service
conditions, promotion, leave, working conditions, welfare etc. Staffing also includes training,
orientation, supervision, grievance redressal mechanism, retirement rules etc.
(4) Directing: Directing is the process of giving instructions in oral or written form to the staff for
carrying out their tasks effectively and responsibly. Directingis an important functionto fulfill of the
objectives of the agency. The purpose of direction in anagency is to ensure that the work is carried
out in accordance with the instructions and rules and to assist the staff improvingtheir performance.
(5) Coordinating: Coordination means to bring together a common action, movement or condition to
relate and combine separate parts in a harmonious state of balance and adjustment. Coordination
asan element is essential forefficient and effective administration. Effectiveness of an individual in
achieving his/her aims in any social situation will depend not only upon his/her own activity, but also
on how well his/heractivities relate to that ofhis/her colleagues and co-workers.
(6) Reporting: A report is an official presentation of facts. It is a summary of activity covering a specific
period of time. Reports are prepared on the basis of the records maintained by the agency. It is useful
for planning and making strategies.
(7) Budgeting: Budgeting is a process of preparing and presenting the financial statement including
income and expenditure in a proper manner. A Social Work Administrator should be sound in the
technical knowledge of budgeting and its best practices.
(8) Evaluation: Evaluation means assessing the work completed by an agency in the light of planning
and instructions given before starting a task. Evaluation is an important component of social welfare

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administration for the performance of an agency. As a social welfare administrator, a social worker
has the supervisory function of allocating work, or seeing that it is done, and how it is done. He
evaluates the overallperformance of the agency.
(9) Feedback: Feedback in social service is a very important componentfor the success of a programme.
It is useful for the beneficiary, community, funding body and also inpolicy framing or modification.
Generally, feedback is the response of beneficiary or community. Feedback is a continuous function
of Social Welfare Administration. It should be providedduring implementation of a programme as
well as at the end of it. The lessons learntfrom feedback may be useful to restructure or modify not
only the ongoing, but also future programmes.

3.2.3 Application of Social Welfare Administration in Practice

The contents of social welfare administration are a varied in nature and its tasks are numerous. Its primary
tasks are:
(a) Management of Social Services - Aiming at the well being of the general public through the provision
of various services
(b) Social policy - Delineating the aims and objectives and the goals to be achieved for the welfare of
the clientele concerned through social action.
(c) Welfare administration - Related to organizational and administrative structure at theUnion level,
state level and local level.
(d) Social Security - To compensate for the loss of income due to employment, disability, or death
caused by accident and old age through social insurance and social assistance.
(e) Diagnosis of Social Problems and their treatment through social reform and social legislation.
(f) Detection of the reasons for the ineffectiveness of laws enacted for combating social evils and
vices and suggesting measures to make them effective mainly through the creation of public
consciousness and opinion withregard to the social problems.
Let us take the example of a well-known national level organization to understand how the social welfare
functions in practice.
● After the independence of India, the voluntary agencies started to implement various social policies
and processes for public welfare. They learned by experimentation.
● It was felt that there was an absence of trained manpower, financial support and guidelines for our
field workers and administrators of voluntary organizations.

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● As a response, the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) was established in 1953 bythe Govt. of
India. CSWB had the mandate of promoting voluntarism, providing technical and financial assistance
to the voluntary organizations for the general welfare of families, women and children.
● This was the first effort on the part of the Govt. of India to set up an organization, which would work
on the principle of voluntarism as a non-governmental organization.
● Many projects and schemes were implemented by NGOs with guidance and Grants-in-Aid from
Central Social Welfare Board. Welfare Extension Projects, MahilaMandals, Socio Dairy Scheme,
Condensed Courses of Education Programme for adolescent girls and women, Vocational Training
Programmes, Awareness Generation Programmes, National Crèche Scheme, etc. are some of the
significant programmes.
● Many NGO staff members were trained for improving the quality of services offered by the NGOs.
● A scheme of Family Counselling Centre was introduced by the CSWB in 1983. The programme is
still continuing. The scheme provides counselling, referral and rehabilitative services to women and
children who are the victims of atrocities, family maladjustments and social ostracism and crisis
intervention and trauma counselling in case of natural/ manmade disasters.
If wecompare the background of establishment of CSWB and its functions with tasks of social welfare
administration, then it would be easy to understand the scope of social welfare administration.

3.3 Social Action

3.3.1 Distinguishing Features of Social Action
You are already familiar with this secondary method of Social Work, as you have covered some of its
salient features while you read about Community Organisation. However, we shall know about the
application of this method in this section.
The term ‘Social Action refers to organized & legally permitted activities designed to mobilisepublic
opinion, legislation & public administration in favour of objectives believed to be socially desirable.Let
us learn some of the distinguishing features of social action:
1. Social action aims at bringing about desirable changes to ensure social progress.
2. Creating awareness about social problems, mobilizing resources, encouraging different ‘sections of
people to raise their voices against undesirable practices, and also creating pressure to bring about
legislation are some of the activities of the social workers using the method of social action.
3. It is an organized group process solving general social problems & furthering social welfare objectives
by legislative, social, health or economic progress.

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4. It seeks to achieve a proper balance between community needs and solutions mainly through individual
and group initiatives and self-help activities.
5. The aim of social action is not directly to change people’s values and attitudes (however important
this may be for lasting change) but to modify the policies and priorities of social, economic and
political institutions.
Kulkarni believes that “Social action creates the necessary conditions and climate in which social work
could be done more effectively.” However, Siddiqui, looks into it as the most controversial and most
challenging method. He opined that Social work as a profession has its core values as social justice and
equality, and it is through Social Action that we may be able to achieve this.

3.3.2 Principles of Social Action

According to Britto (1984), the principles of social action are-
1) CREDIBILITY BUILDING- It is the task of creating public image of leadership, the organization
and the participants of the movement as champions ofjustice, rectitude and truth.?
2) LEGITIMIZATION- Legitimization is the process of convincing the target group and the general
public that the objectives of a movement are morally right to establish their tenability. Legitimization
is a continuous process.
3) DRAMATIZATION- Dramatization is the principle of mass mobilization by sensational news
management, novel procedures, pungent slogans and other such techniques.
4) MULTIPLE STRATEGIES- This principle indicates the adoption of a social work intervention
with communities’ and institutions’ multiple strategies, using combined approaches and also a
combination of different types of programmes.
5) DUAL APPROACH- Any activist has to build counter-systems or revive some unused system,
which is thought to be beneficial to the mobilized public on a self-help basis without involving the
opponent.
6) MANIFOLD PROGRAMMES- It means developing a variety of programmes with the ultimate
objective of mass mobilization.

3.3.3 Application of Social Action in Practice

Let us briefly review the Justice for Nirbhaya movement first:
● In December 2012, the brutal rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who was tortured and left to
die on the roadside, shook India and the world.
● Subsequently, massive protests took place in New Delhi and around the world, calling for adequate
safety for women.
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● Thousands clashed with police at various places (like India Gate and RaisinaHills) in New Delhi.
● But in many cities the protests were heldin a silent manner.
● Online protests grew day by day. Studies on tweets about Nirbhaya movement showed that theonline
protests and offline events were resonating in an analogous manner.
● As a result of sustained protests, the Government accepted thelacunae in the prevailing laws, and
assured that new laws would be brought in. The system of instituting of fast-track courts to try rape
cases in a time-bound manner was promised by the Government.
● Three months after the incident, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 was passed after
recommendations by judicial committees. The definition of rape was changed, and age of consent
for women was raised to 18, among others. Juvenile laws were also amended to treat rapists between
16-18 years as adults.
● The government also launched the Rs. 2,000-cr Nirbhaya Fund to support sexual assault victims.
Four hundred fast-track courts were set up to handle rape cases.
● But despite many reforms, crimes against women kept on increasing. There were 24,293 rape cases
in 2012. A total of 32,033 cases of rape were lodged in 2019.
Now compare the events of ‘Justice for Nirbhaya’ movement with the features of social action given in
sub section 1.4.1 and principles described in section 1.4.2. It will give you an idea of what social action
looks in practice, and how it should be sustained to reach its objective.
Other prominent examples of social movements where Social Action method was adopted are –
● Chipko Movement by Sundar Lal Bahugunain Uttarakhand,
● Narmada BachaoAndolan by Medha Patkar in Madhya Pradesh
● Anti Corruption Movement by Anna Hazare in New Delhi

3.4 Social Work Research

Social work research is a systematic investigation for finding out new facts, test old hypotheses, verify
existing theories and discover causal relationships of the problems in which the social worker is interested.
In order to scientifically initiate any kind of social work programmes, a systematic study of the given
situation is necessary, through social work research and surveys. It is a systematic investigation of questions
in the field of social work with the aim of exploring answers to various social problems and thereby
extending interventions to resolve it.

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Fanshel (1980) proposed that “every profession must systematically carry out high quality research
about its practices if its performance in the service of clientele is to remain effective and up to date”.
He further states “that a sustained and creditable programme of research is also essential to a profession’s
self-respect and to its ability to maintain the positive regard of outsiders whose opinions help support
and legitimize the profession’s endeavors”.
Keeping the above statement in mind we say that, Social work research ensures professional practice.
Through social work research, the profession can:
● Assess the needs and resources of people in their environments;
● Apply Social Work Practices in meeting people needs;
● Explore Social Problems;
● Understanding the impact of legislation and social policy on the clients and communities;
● Propose Social Work Intervention.
The aim of social work research is to develop social work knowledge solve practical problems. It enables
the social workers to investigate social phenomena by applying scientific research methodology, which
includes, framing objectives, literature reviews, data collection, analyzing the data and finally
providingsuitable conclusions along with relevant social work intervention.
The social work practitioners are often ambivalent about the necessity of conducting research. However,
research in social work is important for many reasons. It is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the
practice in which social workers engage, and also the programmes they implement. Development of new
knowledge, policies and programmes often result from research efforts.
You will learn about Social Work Research later in more detail in Course No. 3.2 (Semester III).

3.5 Integrated Social Work Practice

3.5.1 Integration of methods

Integrated social work approach refers to the holistic use of methods of social work. It is an approach of
application of all the methods of social work in an effective manner and to reach a solution which has a
sustainable effect .We cannot be rigid and expect to bring about any change in our societal system by the
application of any one method of Social Work as we cannot be sure which method would be most suitable
in a given situation. Thus, it becomes essential to combine various methods together to develop a new
approach which is integrated in nature, thereby reachinga condition which has along lasting effect. As a
result,it may be possible to solvethe problem in a much more pragmatic manner. Integrated social work

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approach is therefore a flexible approach where we use different theories and methods ofsocial work to
understand, assess and intervene into some situation to get better results. Integrated social work suggests
the adoption of a more holistic approach in dealing with any problem in the clientelesystem. Here, all the
methods of social work are put together into operation to find a sustainable solution to a problem of the
client. A social worker applies the various theories, values and social work methods together to reach the
expected goal.
Now let us take an example to understand the application of integrated social work and how we may
combine various methods of social work to solve a particular problem.
Let us say that a 15 year old boy is found to be a drug addict. The child is brought to an agency setting,
were the socialworker meets him and arranges a series of sessions. After an in-depth interview with the
child, the social worker, records his/her observation maintaining complete confidentiality. Then, a meeting
is fixed with parents to understand their point of view in this regard. As a result, it isrealized that it is only
this particular boy who hasgot trapped in a racket of drug abuse.There are many other adolescent children
and youth of the community who have fallen victims to it. Thus, it becomes necessary to make the entire
community aware ofthis menace by organizing awareness generation camps. For this purpose,the social
workers may have to use all the three primary methods of Social Work i.e Case Work, Group Work and
Community Organization.
In the long run some schemes, legal support, policy and programmes would be needed to tackle with the
problem of drug abuse in this community.Thus, at this juncture we may clearly see the need for Social
Welfare Administration.
The whole community needs to be mobilized to take action against this social problem and extensive
research is also required to be carried out to understand the cause and effect of Drug addiction in a
particular community along with suggesting measures to deal with this social malady.
Thus, we may see how effectively we may integrate all the six methods of Social Work for tackling the
issue of Drug Addiction in a particular Community.
Therefore, an integrated approach to social work believes that a higher degree of integration of methods
of practice will not only change the way or approach of social workers, but alsoproduce more options and
choices to practice professional social work. Generally, it is observed that when a person is confronted
with a problem, one social worker may decide to offer clinical treatment, a second to give practical
support, a third to plan a new programme and a fourth to change the institutional arrangements that
impinge on the person(s) in need. But the best practitioner would be a person with a capacity to use a wide
range and variety of methods and theories.

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3.5.2 The System Model

A system perspective emphasizes looking beyond a client’s presenting problems to assess the complexities
and interrelationships of problems. Through a systems analysis of a case, the most effective intervention
targets and strategies can usually be identified. The most publicized systems model in social work literature
is the Pincus-Minahan (1973) approach.
Pincus-Minahan theorized that there are four basic systems in social work practice:
● A change agent system: is composed of professionals who are employed specifically for the purpose
of creating planned change.
● A client system: is composed of the people who sanction or ask for the change agent’s services, who
are the expected beneficiaries of the service, and who have a working agreement or contract with the
change agent.
● A target system: is composed of the people, agencies, and organizational practices that the worker
wishes to change in some measurable way to reach the goals of the change agent.
● An action system: is used to describe those with whom the social worker works to accomplish the
tasks and achieve the goals of the change effort.
The model believes that the strength of the profession lies in recognizing and working with the connections
between these elements. The model recognizes the fact that the worker has tasks to perform and relationships
to maintain with a variety of people in any planned change efforts. Work with people other than the client
is seen as a deliberate and purposeful activity. The model focuses on the relationship of these people to
the planned change effort and in skills in working with them as well as with the client. The workers often
have to work with, and through many different sizes and types of systems (one to one relationships,
families, community groups) in helping a client. The methods of practice suggested by the model are not
to be tied to any one size of system. The appropriate size and type of system or systems to work through
depends on the nature of the task at hand.
The model is not based on any substantive theoretical orientation, such as learning theory, ego psychology,
communication theory or conflict resolution, but allow for the selective incorporation of such theoretical
orientation in working with specific situations.
The model is applicable to analyzing social work in a wide variety of situations and settings in which it is
practiced.It does not account for the skills, tasks and activities of the social worker at a very specific level,
rather than an abstract one.
Finally, the model suggests that it has borrowed many useful ideas from existing conceptualization of
practice and adopted them in the model, but the model does not propose a super method of practice that
integrates or combines case work, group work and community work.Rather, the model integrates inways

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of understanding the nature of social work practice, the role of the social worker and the skills he uses in
carrying out his role.
Integrated approach in Social Work Practice is a Rights-based approach, as it not only caters to individual
needs but ensures rights for everyone at all the levels by the intervention of concerned authorities and
agencies which may be both Governmental or Non Governmental. This is an approach which acts as an
instrument to involve policy makers, law makers along with the community members to come forward
and participate in their own development as well for the development of the entire community. Thus, the
development which takes place in this manner has a sustainable effect. Therefore, Integrated Social Work
is a humane approach as it is not just restricted to an individual or group, rather it caters to the masses.

3.5.3 Remedial, Preventive and Developmental Model

Theintegration of methods by a professional Social Worker can be done in three different approaches.
The practice models are often categorized based upon the type of approach adopted. Accordingly, the
models are termed as Remedial,Preventive or Developmental models of social work practice.
A. Remedial Model
The Remedial model focuses particularly on those people who are unable to adjust in their personal and
social relations. A social worker follows this model while dealing with a group of persons having emotional
problems and they lack the basic skills to deal with the problems of their daily lives. The social worker, in
this model, acts as a changing agent who facilitates interaction among members of the group to adapt to
such a change. The Social Worker enables the group members to achieve such social skills in them that
are impaired or not fully developed. The worker in such a situation, has considerable superiority;he/she
instructsthe group members, and creates an atmosphere which motivates individual growth. The group
participants here are regarded as clients rather than members. The remedialmodel is widely used in mental
health centers, correctional institutions, family service organizations, counseling services, schools, health
care facilities, and in many institutions.
B. Preventive Model
Prevention Model is committed to help individuals to develop knowledge and skills, or changing
environmental and community factors that affect a large population. Programmes can be implemented in
settings such as schools, workplaces, and communities. This model has three distinct levels, namely, -
● Primary Prevention - By Primary Prevention, efforts are made to avoid occurrence of disease either
through eliminating disease agents or increasing resistance to disease. A very good example for this
can be –observing Polio Sunday to eradicate Polio from the theIndian communities, and this
programme has indeed proved to be successful.

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● Secondary Prevention - Secondary Prevention refers to detection of an existing disease before it

actually exhibits any symptoms. Example- Organizing Screening for detection of breast/cervical
cancer amongst women.
● Tertiary Prevention- Tertiary Prevention is done to reduce the harm of any symptomatic disease,
such as disability or death, through rehabilitation and treatment. Example- during the pandemic
situation which has occurred due to Covid-19, people are asked to maintain social distancing and
use face masks along with practicing hand washing to avoid getting infected from the widely spread
Corona Virus and learning to lead a safe life in a “New Normal”situation.
C. Development Model
Developmental model reflects different types, structures and composition of group therapy approaches.
When implementing an outpatient group, the leader establishes certain parameters, including whether the
group will be open or closed, time-limited or open-ended, as well as session frequency and duration. Each
of these variables influences group development.
For example, open groups which continually add and lose new members on an on-going basis, such as a
community based support groups, may not develop through certain stages in the same way as a closed,
insight-oriented, interpersonal group. That is, certain stages may be truncated or may simply not emerge.
In similar fashion, an open-ended group with a fixed membership will be more likely to manifest cyclical
patterns of development than a time-limited, fixed membership group.

3.5.4 Conclusion
According to International Federation of Social Work 2014, “Social work is a practice-based profession
and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the
empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility
and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social
sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and structures to address
life challenges and enhance wellbeing.”
The above definition of Social Work says that the profession of Social Work which aims to establish
Social Justice and Empowerment in our society is based on some theoretical approaches which are either
indigenous or borrowed from other disciplines of social science and humanities. However the integrated
application of these approaches as well as the principles, methods, models and techniques of Social Work
Practice would make the discipline work more effectively and flexibly to reach its goal. Thus as a Social
Worker one must be aware of these methods and models and apply them carefully to get better results
while working with individuals, groups and communities.

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3.7 Self- Assessment Questions

1) Define Social Work. What are the different Methods of Social Work Practice? Discuss.
2) What do you mean by Integrated Approach to Social Work Practice? Explain with a suitable example.
3) What are the primary tasks of social welfare administration? Explain with an example.
4) Write a note on System Model as proposed by Pincus and Minahan.
5) What are the principles of social action? Explain with an example how the principles are put in
practice.
6) Which method/s of Social Work can be applied to address the problem of child marriage in a rural
area of West Bengal?
7) Write brief notes on – a) Remedial Model; b) Preventive model.
8) Write brief notes on- a) Social Action; b) Function of Social Research.

3.8 Suggested Reading And References

1. Britto, G. (1984) Some principle of social action, in H. Y. Siddiqui, ed.,Social Work and Social
Action – A Development Perspective, Harnam Publications, New Delhi.
2. Misra, P.D (1994), Social Work - Philosophy and Methods, Inter-India Publications, New Delhi.
3. Pincus, A., &Minahan, A. (1973). Social Work Practice: Model and Method. Itasca, IL: Peacock.
4. Saifuddin Ahmed, KokilJaidka&Jaeho Cho(2017)Tweeting India’s Nirbhaya protest: a study of
emotional dynamics in an online social movement,Social Movement Studies,16:4,447-465
5. https://guide2socialwork.com/integrated-social-work-practice
6. Bhattacharya S (2008), Social work : An integrated approach, Deep & Deep publication, pp: 507
7. Parmar. A(2014), “Methods of Social Work and Its Role in Understanding Team Climate and Team
Effectiveness for Organizational Development”in Journal of Sociology and Social Work Vol. 2, No.
1, pp. 303-318
8. Sharma,P (1995) “Social Work –Philosophy and Methods, Inter-India Publications, New Delhi
9. https://anzasw.nz/international-federation-of-social-workers-ifsw
10. https://keralasocialworker.wordpress.com/tag/methods-of-social-work/
11. http://www.disabilitygauteng.org/newsletters/201703/03_NEWSLETTER_MARCH17

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Unit-4

Psychological Approaches-1

Content Structure
4.0 Learning Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Psychological Approaches -Psychodynamic Approach
4.2.1 The Psychoanalytic Model
4.2.1.1 Structure of Mind:
4.2.1.2 Ego Defense Mechanism:
4.2.1.3 Psychosexual Stages of Development
4.2.2 Erikson’s Psychosocial Crisis Model
4.2.3 Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology
4.2.3.1 Common Archetypes in Jung’s Theoryof The Collective Unconscious
4.2.4 Social Work and Psychodynamic Theory
4.3 Transactional Analysis
4.3.1.1 Structural Analysis – Study of Ego States
4.3.1.2 Transactional Analysis – Interactions between People
4.3.1.3 Existential or Basic Life Positions- Self Confidence and Confidence in Others
4.3.1.4 Strokes – Recognition of Another’s Presence
4.3.1.5 Stamps – The Study of Collection of Feelings
4.3.1.6 Time Structuring – Ways of Spending Time
4.3.1.7 Script Analysis – Study of Life Plan
4.4 Family Therapy
4.4.1 History of Family Therapy in India
4.4.2 Schools of Family Therapy

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4.4.3 Brief Description of the Schools of Family Therapy

4.4.3.1 Structural Approaches
4.4.3.2 Strategic Family Therapy
4.4.3.3 Psychodynamic Family Therapy
4.4.3.4 Behavioral Family Therapy
4.5 Self Assessment Questions
4.6 Suggested Reading and References

4.0 Learning Objectives

After going through this chapter, the readers will be able to:
o comprehend the psychodynamic theories of development and personality in connection with social
work practice;
o understand the social interaction through transactional analysis; and
o appraise the different family therapy models and intervention to deal with dysfunctional family
situations,as part of social work practice.

4.1 Introduction
Social work is a practice based helping profession. There are various theories emerging from the field of
psychology that provide greater insights to social work professionals in the diagnosis of the problem and
in the interventions. Psychodynamic theory is one among them that helps the social workers immensely
to understand human behavior, salient aspects of which are delineated in this chapter.
Further, effective communication is the crux of healthy relationships and the society is considered as the
web of relationships. It is imperative for social workers to understand the nuances of relationships.
Transactional analysis is an important theoretical framework that helps in understanding communication
and interactions between various social units. Main features of Transactional Analysis are discussed in
this chapter.
Relationship is the key component of any social unit. In the process of life progression, sometimes our
relationships get strained and distorted. To rectify these dysfunctional relationships in our family we
require certain therapeutic interventions such as family therapy. In this chapter,theoretical and application
based aspects of family therapy are mentioned.

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4.2 Psychological approaches -Psychodynamic Approach

Psychodynamic approach contain theories about the mind (psyche) that entail interacting and dynamic
structures defining our personality disposition and behavioral manifestations. These theories explain human
behaviour and motivation in terms of conscious and unconscious forces and the interplay between these.
They emphasize unconscious motives and desires, as well as the importance of early childhood experiences
in shaping personality. They all emerge from the matrix of psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory
is not a unified body of knowledge, rather, it is composed of multiple theories, models, and schemata
pertaining to human development, psychopathology, and clinical methods and techniques. It is a literature
of vast scope whose evolution now spans more than a century. Psychodynamic approach includes all the
theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within
the person, particularly unconscious, and between the different structures of the personality.

4.2.1 The Psychoanalytic Model

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was the original psychodynamic theory, and the psychodynamic approach
as a whole includes all theories that were based on his ideas, for instance, Jung (1964), Adler (1927)
and Erikson (1950) so forth. ‘Freud’s psychoanalysis is both a theory and therapy. The first systematic
approach came from Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939), whose five decades of work, contributed to the
development of the psychoanalytic model.

4.2.1.1 Structure of Mind:

Id, ego, and superego – This model states that three subsystems within the personality interact to shape
individual behavior.
Id- is said to be the source of instinctual drives, constructive and destructive, and operates on the pleasure-
pain principle, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. It is concerned with the immediate gratification of
needs without reference to reality or moral considerations. While the id can generate mental images of
wish fulfillment, it cannot undertake actions needed in order to meet those needs or desires.
Ego- mediates between the demands of id and the realities of the external world. The basic role of ego is
to meet the demands of id, also keeping with social realities and expectations and through appropriate
channels of need gratification. Hence, ego operates on the reality principle.
Superego- is the result of the individual’s learning of taboos and moral values of one’s society, otherwise
commonly referred to as conscience. It contributes to the sense of right and wrong and hence is a controlling
system that comes into play to deal with the uninhibited demands of the id. According to Freud, it is this
interplay between the three intrapsychic subsystems that determines human behavior.

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Anxiety, defense mechanisms, and the unconscious – Freud laid emphasis on the subjective feeling of
anxiety, and mentioned that ego adapts rational measures to cope with this sense of impending danger,
but in failure to do so, it adopts irrational protective measures, otherwise referred to as ego defense
mechanisms.

4.2.1.2 Ego Defense Mechanism:

Defense mechanisms are unconscious activities; they are not directly known to the person. They are
individualistic too; different individuals use different sets of them. They are considered to be normal, and
only if exaggerated beyond limit they give rise to abnormality. It is to be noted that the primary intention
of them is to meet the demands of id without being in conflict with the external world. Some of the
prominent ones are given below:
a) Denial: It is the non-perception of the anxiety-generating’ reality. For instance, an individual diagnosed
with a life threatening ailment out-rightly rejects the news initially.
b) Fantasy: It is the conjuring of an imagined scenario to replace a real one. It is done in all day
dreaming.
c) Compensation: A deficit in a particular area is compensated using the skill in a different area as in
the case of a student who is poor in his studies performs well in sports.
d) Projection: Placing one’s own unacceptable impulses on others as in the case of blaming the question
setter for low-grade in the examination.
e) Displacement: Redirecting the impulses on a low risk target as done in slamming the door instead of
hitting a person.
f) Sublimation: Redirecting the impulses through socially approved channels. This is obvious in one’s
interest in expelling his aggression by working as a butcher.
g) Reaction Formation: This is to do actions opposite to one’s actual motivation. This happens when
an alcoholic works in anti-liquor movement.
h) Regression: It is the instance of one’s return to earlier stage of development. An adult crying like a
child on listening to a bad news is an example of this defense mechanism.
i) Repression: It is the defense mechanism that is most important in psychoanalysis. In this the
unfavourable events are pulled back to the unconscious level. Even though it cannot become explicit
in usual circumstances, it has profound influence on the later behaviour of the individual. This is
done when a girl, for example, is sexually harassed in her childhood. The memory becomes latent
and may never be recollected in her life, but maybe expressed as a fear to be alone in house or
workplace.
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Most of the psychoanalytic clinical techniques are intended to investigate into the repressed unconscious
memories that give rise to the neurotic symptoms. In doing so, the client gains insight into his/her mental
dynamics and this reduces the symptoms.

4.2.1.3 Psychosexual Stages of Development

Freud viewed personality development as succession of stages, with emphasis on a particular dominant
mode of achieving sexual pleasure in each stage. The psychosexual stages are as follows:
Oral stage – During the first two years of life, the mouth is the principal erogenous zone; the infant’s
greatest source of gratification is stated to be through sucking.
Anal stage – The anal region is stated to be the main source of pleasure and stimulation from age 2 to age
3 years.
Phallic stage – From age 3 to 5 or 6 years, it is stated that self-stimulation of the genitals is the major
source of pleasurable sensation.
Latency stage – From years 6 to 12, sexual motivations are assumed to decrease in importance when
developing skills and other activities take priority for the child.
Genital stage – Heterosexual relations are stated to provide the deepest gratification after puberty.
According to Freud, gratification at each stage of development is important and when not obtained leads
to fixation at that stage and hence impairment in development.
Thus psychoanalytic model presents more of a negativistic view of human behaviour that minimizes
rationality and role of self-determination. Subsequent research findings have led to rejection or revision
of Freud’s ideas, but Freud’s work has provided in depth and valuable insights into human development
especially psychological processes and factors that influence personality and behaviour among people.

4.2.2 Erikson’s Psychosocial Crisis Model

Another important psychodynamic perspective was described by Erikson (1968). Erik Erikson’s work on
psychosocial development represented an additional breakthrough in the recognition of the significance
of culture in psychosocial development, in terms of both differences and similarities. He propounded the
psychosocial stages of development that spanned the total life-cycle and which are biologically and socio-
culturally determined. These stages are as follows:
The first stage is trust vs. mistrust catering to the first couple of years of life.During this stage, the infant
is dealing with the crisis of ‘trusting’ the people around or not. If the care the infants receive is consistent,
predictable, safe and reliable, they will develop a sense of trust that will carry with them to other
relationships, and they will be able to feel secure even when threatened thereafter.

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Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope. By developing a sense of trust, the infant can have
hope even when new crises arise, there is a real possibility that other people will be there as a source of
support. Failing to acquire the virtue of hope will lead to the development of fear and their progression
to the next stage won’t be successful. The infants will carry the feeling of mistrust in their next
relationships.
The next stage is autonomy vs. shame, covering 18 months to 3 years approximately. During this time,
children develop their fine and gross motor skills – they walk, run, pickup toys, and make choices about
what they like to wear, eat, play with, etc., and through these activities, they discover their skills and
abilities. This illustrates the child’s growing sense of independence and autonomy. Erikson states that it is
critical that parents allow their children to explore the limits of their abilities within an encouraging
environment which is tolerant of failure. That means if parents encourage their kids to be independent in
supervised environment, they feel a sense of freedom. But when parents tend to control their children
excessively, not allowing them to explore their skills, the children remain dependent on their adult caregivers
and lack confidence and self-esteem. They carry the sense of guilt and shame to the next stage of
development.
The next stage is initiative vs. guilt catering to the children between 3 to 5 years. During this period the
primary feature involves the child regularly interacting with other children at school. Central to this stage
is play, as it provides children with the opportunity to explore their interpersonal skills through initiating
activities. For example, if children are able to interact with other children successfully and take initiatives
in peer relation, they feel a sense of security. If they fail to establish rapport with their peers, they carry a
sense of guilt and being unsuccessful socially.
The next successive stage is industry vs. inferiority. Children (aged 5 to 12 years) at this stage prefer to
do things on their own. If they are allowed and encouraged to do things like eating, dressing, doing
homework, etc., on their own, they develop confidence and pride of accomplishment and those who
couldn’t, develop sense of inferiority.
Identity vs. role confusion is the fifth stage covering 12-18 years of age. This stage is characterized by
transition from childhood to adulthood where adolescents search for a sense of self-identity and identify
with the socially-fit roles. Inability to do so leads to role confusion, identity crisis and poor self-image.
Sixth stage of psychosocial development is intimacy vs. isolation taking place between 18 to 40 years,
approximately. During this stage the major conflict to be resolved is forming intimate loving relations.
Successful completion of this stage can result in happy relationships and a sense of commitment, safety,
and care within a relationship.
Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes
depression.

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Generativity versus stagnation is the seventh stage catering to 40 to 65 years of age category. Generativity
involves a sense of usefulness and accomplishment as individuals give back to the society through raising
our children, being productive at work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations,
while failure results in shallow involvement in the world, feeling of becoming stagnant and unproductive.
Ego integrity versus despair is the eighth and final stage catering to 65 years and above. During this
time, individuals reflect on their life and if they see their lives as productive with major goals getting
accomplished, they develop a sense of fulfillment and coherence.Contrarily, reviewing one’s life as a
series of failures and regrets leads to feelings of bitterness and despair.

4.2.3 Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology

Carl Jung brought an almost mystical approach to psychodynamic theory. An early associate and follower
of Freud, Jung eventually disagreed with Freud on various points of personality theory. Subsequently,
Jung developed his own theory and applied concepts from natural laws (primarily in physics) to
psychological functioning. He introduced the concept of personality types, and collective unconscious,
which is his unique proposition.
According to him, in addition to repressed memories and impulses, the personal unconscious contains
undeveloped aspects of the personality and material arising from the collective unconscious that is not yet
ready for admission into conscious awareness. The personal unconscious is revealed through clusters of
emotions, such as those resulting in a particular attitude toward one’s father or other father figures, which
Jung referred to as a complex. In this sense, a complex is not synonymous with a psychological problem,
as the term is often used today, but rather any general state of mind common to certain situations. In this
context, it is quite similar to the schemas discussed by cognitive theorists.
Thus, according to Jung, the collective unconscious is a reservoir of psychic resources common to all
humans (something along the lines of psychological instinct). These psychic resources, known
as archetypes, are passed down through the generations of a culture, but these are inherited, not learned. As
generation after generation experienced similar phenomena, the archetypal images were formed. Despite
cultural differences, the human experience has been similar in many ways throughout history. So, there
are certain archetypes common to all people. The most empirically valid archetypes, and therefore the
most powerful, are the shadow, the anima, and the animus.

4.2.3.1 Common Archetypes in Jung’s Theory of the Collective Unconscious

Self: Integration and wholeness of the personality, the center of the totality of the psyche; symbolically
represented by, for example, the Christ, or by helpful animals (such as for Hindus’ monkey is considered
as god Hanuman).
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Shadow: The dark, inferior, emotional, and immoral aspects of the psyche; symbolically represented by,
example, the Devil (or an evil character such as Dracula), dragons, monsters (such as Godzilla).
Anima: Strange, ghost like image of an idealized woman, yet contrary to the masculinity of the man,
draws the man into feminine (as defined by gender roles) behaviour, always a supernatural element;
symbolically represented by personifications of witches, the Greek Sirens, a femme fatale, or in more
positive ways as the Virgin Mary, a romanticized beauty (such as Helen of Troy) or a cherished car.
Animus: A source of meaning and power for women, it can be opinionated, divisive, and create animosity
toward men, but also creates a capacity for reflection, deliberation, and self-knowledge; symbolically
represented by death, murderers (such as the pirate Bluebeard, who killed all his wives), a band of outlaws,
a bewitched prince (such as the beast in “Beauty and the Beast”) or a romantic actor (such as Rudolph
Valentino).
Persona: A protective cover, or mask, that we present to the world to make a specific impression and to
conceal our inner self; symbolically represented by, example, a coat or mantle.
Hero: One who overcomes evil, destruction, and death, often has a miraculous but humble birth;
symbolically represented by angels, Christ the Redeemer, or a god-man (such as Hercules).
Wise Old Man: Typically a personification of the self, associated with saints, sages, and prophets;
symbolically represented as the magician Merlin or an Indian guru.
Trickster: A childish character with pronounced physical appetites seeks only gratification and can be
cruel and unfeeling; symbolically represented by animals or a mischievous god (such as the Norse god
Loki).

4.2.4 Social work and psychodynamic theory

Psychodynamic theory of personality, originated by Sigmund Freud, has a long and complex history within
social work. The young profession’s desire for a scientific base, Mary Richmond’s choice of a medical
model to assess and treat client problems, and the wide impact of Freud’s ideas on the popular culture,
contributed to the prominent role of psychodynamic thought in the theoretical base of social work. In addition,
the movement of large numbers of social workers into areas of practice heavily influenced by psychiatrists,
including child guidance and work with war veterans and their families, exposed them to psychodynamic
ideas. The Diagnostic or Psychosocial School developed by such early contributors, as-Mary Richmond,
Charlotte Towle, Gordon Hamilton, and Florence Hollis, used psychodynamic concepts to help explain
complex human behaviours. These writers attempted to integrate concepts, such as the role of drives in
human motivation, stages of psychosexual development, and ego defense mechanisms into a person-and-
environment framework to explain the interaction of interpersonal and societal factors. These efforts resulted
in social work widely utilizing psychodynamic concepts, while retaining the profession’s own identity and

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psychosocial focus. When psychoanalysts such as Hartmann, Erikson, and White theorized a more autonomous
role for the ego, social work adopted this theoretical shift as consistent with the profession’s perspective that
individuals actively interact with their environment and are capable of growth and change throughout their
lifetimes. Perlman’s development of the popular problem-solving model is heavily based on ego psychology.

4.3 Transactional Analysis

The concept of Transactional Analysis was propounded by Eric Berne, who mentioned, “the unit of social
intercourse is called a transaction. If two or more people encounter each other, sooner or later one of them
will speak, or give some other indication of acknowledging the presence of the others. This is called the
transactional stimulus. Another person will then say or do something which is in some way related to the
stimulus, and that is called the transactional response.” I Transactional Analysis (T.A.) is the way of
analyzing this transaction and determine which part of multiple nature human is activated – ‘Parent’,
‘Adult’ or ‘Child’ (the meaning of ‘Parent’, ‘Adult’ and ‘Child’ is different from their meaning in general).
The subject matter of T.A. can be conveniently divided in to the following segments for study.
1. Structural Analysis – Study of ego states
2. Transactions – Interactions between people
3. Life positions – Self-confidence and confidence in others
4. Strokes – recognition of another’s presence
5. Stamps – the study of collection of feelings
6. Time structuring – ways of spending time
7. Script analysis – study of life plan.

4.3.1.1 Structural Analysis – study of ego states

Structural Analysis is based on psychoanalytic theory of personality. There are three persons within all the
people. These are – Parent, Adult and Child. These are technically known as ego states. Berne (l972)
defines ego states as “coherent systems of thought, feeling, manifested by corresponding patterns of
behavior”. The ego state is an intangible concept, but we can observe the behaviour and conclude the ego
state from which it is arising. The three ego states and the sub-components of the ego states are described
below:
Parent: It contains attitude, belief and behavior which are taken in from external forces (primarily from
parents).
Critical Parent (C.P): is that part of us which sets limits makes judgment about ourselves and others.
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Nurturing parent (NP): is the other part of the parent ego state. It gives guidance, supports, protects,
nurtures and teaches how-to.
Adult: Outwardly the parent if often expressed towards others in prejudicial, critical or nurturing behavior
– from second position. Inwardly, it is experienced as old parental messages which continue to influence
the inner child- some good message and some limiting to the person.
Child: The adult ego state is not related to a person’s age – it is oriented in the present and can be
comparable to a computer in that it is in charge of executive functioning – i.e. decision making, problem
solving etc.
Natural Child (NC): is spontaneous, energetic, curious, loving and uninhibited. It is what comes naturally
and knows no rules and consequently operates without regard for others and is unconcerned about others’
reactions. It is characterized by behaviour such as the joy of solving a problem, the happiness of getting
the better of someone, enjoying the feeling of comfort, etc.
Adopted Child (AC): It acts in patterns learnt from the environment. It is developed when you learn to
change/adapt your feelings and behaviour in response to the world around you. The characteristics of AC
are learnt feelings of guilt, fear, anxiety, depression and envy, etc.
Little Professor (LP): is the intuitive part of the child which thinks without knowledge and all the facts
are believed to be needed. The ‘thinking’ can be free of rigid boundaries and seems to have an in-born
ability to dream up new ideas and intuitively sense what to do (or how to solve a problem) as if by the
magic.

4.3.1.2 Transactional Analysis – Interactions between people

Another important Transactional Analysis concept is that of transactions. The transaction consists of a
stimulus by one person and a response by another, which in turn may become a new stimulus for the other
person to respond to. Transactions are about how people interact with each other, specifically, which ego
state you are in. You may have noticed that sometimes communication continues in a straightforward,
easy way that seems to go smoothly. But at other times, things seem to get all jumbled up, confusing,
unclear, and unsatisfying. An understanding of transactions can help keeping communication effective.
The transactions may be (1) open or complementary or parallel (2) Blocked or uncomplimentary or crossed
(3) Ulterior or hidden or disguised transaction.
A. Open or complementary or parallel transactions
When the stimulus and response on the PAC diagram make parallel lines the transaction is complementary
and can go on indefinitely. It does not matter which way the vectors go (Parent Parent, Adult-Adult,
Child-Child, Parent-child, Child-Adult) as long as they are parallel. The diagram below shows the straight
transaction.
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B. Blocked or Uncomplimentary or Crossed Transactions:

When the stimulus and response cross on the PAC diagram this is called the crossed transaction and
communication stops. Here the response to the stimulus is either unexpected or inappropriate. It is out of
context with what the sender of the stimulus had originally intended.

C. Ulterior or Hidden or Disguised Transaction

In this type of transaction there is one overt stimulus and simultaneously there is another covert stimulus.
For example consider the following transaction. Boss to assistant: Where did you hide the keys? The
main stimulus is the adult seeking the information, but there is a secondary communication in the word
hide. This is “You never keep anything in the proper place”.

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I am Ok I am Ok
Positive You are not Ok You are Ok
Attitude (One up position) (Healthy position)
towards I am not Ok I am not Ok
oneself You are not Ok You are Ok
Negative (Hopeless position) (One down position)
Negative Positive
Attitude towards others

P P

A A

C C

Stroke for being Stroke for doing

I like you I like what you have
Positive

done.
Positive, unconditional Positive, conditional.
Loving Reward.
Negative

I dislike you I dislike what you have

done
Negative, unconditional Negative conditional.
Hating Punishment.
4.3.1.3 Existential or Basic Life Positions- Self Confidence and Confidence in Others
In the process of growing up, people make assumptions about themselves and other significant people in
their environment. These assumptions may or may not be generalized to other persons later in life. These
are basic assumptions that individuals make about themselves and about others. The combination of an
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assumption of oneself and another is called a life position. The life positions tend to be more permanent
and a conscious effort is to be made to shift to position four of I am OK – you are OK.

4.3.1.4 Strokes – Recognition of another’s Presence

Eric Berne defined a stroke as a “unit of human recognition”. Stroke is any act of implying recognition of
another’s presence. It can be verbal or non-verbal or both. A stroke can be a look, a nod, a smile, a spoken
word, a touch. Any time one human being does something to recognize another human is a stroke. A
stroke is the basic unit of communication. It is the fundamental units of social action.A stroke can be
A) Positive
B) Negative
C) Conditional
D) Unconditional
The strokes can be better understood through the following gird as shown below.

4.3.1.5 Stamps – The Study of Collection of Feelings

Stamps are certain feelings which are collected at the end of a transaction. An individual can collect
stamps from either oneself or from others. Once sufficient numbers of stamps are collected, they can get
a prize for it. There are two categories of stamps i.e. Gold stamps and Brown stamps.
Gold Stamps: are good or positive feelings and a constructive activity. Gold stamps are collected when
individual do a job well or succeeds in anything, and so on. Examples of gold stamps may be seeking
relaxation, after a productive job.
Brown stamps: refer to collection of bad or negative feelings and a non-constructive activity. In this
case, an individual collects hurts, insults and resentments until he/ she feels ready to encase them for a
reporting sick, or by rebelling, etc.

4.3.1.6 Time Structuring – Ways of Spending Time

Time Structuring is a crucial part of human life to get various strokes in different time frame. Individuals
can get their desired strokes by structuring time adequately and effectively. Time structuring helps to live
more effectively by solving our day to day issues. There are several ways in which we structure our time
such as ritualistic activity, leisure time, sports/ games, intimacy and social distancing, etc.

4.3.1.7 Script Analysis – Study of Life Plan

A person’s psychological script is a life plan, decided by him/her at an early stage of life. It is an unconscious
life plan based on decisions made in early childhood about ourselves, others, and our lives.
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It is a drama the person writes and then feels compelled to live out. These plans may be positive, negative
or circular. These decisions made sense when we were young and often helped us adapt in the world of
our childhood. They do not always make sense when we are adults, but until we discover what our early
decisions were, we often repeat the patterns that prove those early decisions to be true.

4.4 Family Therapy

4.4.1 History of Family Therapy in India

Dr. A. Vidyasagar is known to be the father of Family Therapy in India due to his pioneering work
involving families at the Amritsar Mental Hospital.The therapy carried out by him focused mainly on the
patients and involved families in the care of these patents. Families of the patients supported each other
through group participation. Subsequent to Vidyasagar’s pioneering work two centers in India took up
work with families.
The first such work was a unique experiment at the mental health centre at Vellore where all psychiatric
patients were admitted with families to unit family rooms. The experiment is unique because of obligatory
nature of admission with families. Over the years the work at this centerfocused on family education and
counseling about managing patients.
The second experiment was the experience of dealing with families at the psychiatric servicecentre at
NIMHANS, Bangalore. Descriptions of this early work carried out at NIMHANS showed that families
were taught to cope with their burdens through education, counseling and group support. Subsequent
work with these families showed the usefulness of involving families in the management of a variety of
psychiatric disorders.

4.4.2 Schools of Family Therapy

At least 11 approaches of family therapy have been developed.
● Structural family therapy
● Strategic family therapy
● Psychodynamicfamily therapy
● Behavioral family therapy
● Psycho-educational family therapy
● Milan’s systemic therapy
● Solution focused therapy
● Emotion focused therapy
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● Experiential approaches
● Narrative approaches
● Integrative approaches
However, we shall discuss only few of these approaches in this module.

4.4.3 Brief description of the Schools of Family Therapy

4.4.3.1 Structural Approaches
Salvador Minuchin is the founder of structural family therapy. Drawing from the systemic model, structural
family therapy emerged in the 1960 and 1970 as a new model.
Structural family therapy focuses on the person within the family system rather than only on the individual.
This approach moves away from the focus on individual pathology in the traditional mental health model.
It recognizes that individual symptoms and dysfunction are best understood in the context of family
interactional patterns.
The underlying philosophy of the structural family therapy approach is that ‘man is not an isolate’. The
concept of interrelationship of the whole system implies that the individual, while a separate being, is
also a part of the whole family. Thus, the influence of each person’s behavior within the family cannot be
separated from other family members’ behaviors.In other words any behavior is contingent on someone
else’s behaviour.
Structural family therapy attributes problems to dysfunctional family structures. The solutions and changes
also arise from the changes of the family structure. Structural family therapy assumes that family
dysfunctions arise out of difficulties in adapting to the changing demands of various developmental stages.
Structural family therapy also recognizes the strengths and inner resources of the family to participate in
the change process with the assistance of the therapist.
A.) Key concepts related to Structural family therapy
● Family structure
Family structure is the invisible set of functional demands that organizes the ways in which family members
interact. A family is a system that operated through transactional pattern. Repeated transaction establish
pattern of how when and with whom to relate and these pattern underpin the system.
● Subsystem:
Subsystems are the smaller units of the family system. Units within a family based on characteristics such
as age, gender or function.
● Boundaries:
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Boundaries are the invisible barriers that govern the contact that subsystem have with other subsystem
and are necessary for a healthy family structure
● Power:
The concept of power refers to the level of influence that each family member has on the outcome of an
activity.
● Alignment :
An alignment can include the joining of two people for a common interest. Alliance within the family
structure can have a healthy and positive influence on the system.
● Coalition
A coalition is an alignment between two people in a system which excludes a third person. There is a rigid
boundary around the coalition. It is covert alliance between two family members against a third.
A. Goals of Structural family therapy
Friesen (1995) outlined five main goals of Structural family therapy
● Creating an effective hierarchical structure in the family
● Helping parents to complement each other in their roles as parents in order to be an effective parental
subsystem.
● Aiding the children to become a subsystem of peers.
● Increasing the frequency of interactions and nurturance, if the family is disengaged.
● The differentiation of family members if the family is enmeshed.
B. Techniques in Structural family therapy
Ø Joining
● maintenance
● tracking
● mimesis
Ø Family mapping and structural diagnosis
Ø Restructuring techniques
● reframing
● enactment
● boundary making
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● punctuation
● unbalancing
● task assignment
● support, education and guidance

4.4.3.2 Strategic Family Therapy

Strategic family therapy is based on strategy. The therapist devises and initiates interventions for solving
the problems presented by families. Strategic therapists are concerned with dysfunctional hierarchies and
repetitive sequences of behaviour between family members and other systems that help in maintaining
the present problem.
A. Features of Strategic Family Therapy:
It is a purely systemic approach. In this, the focus is on brief intervention. From a strategic view point,
change is a discontinuous process. The goal is to intervene, find a new way of functioning, and promptly
end the treatment. Use of team approach offer commentary and directives to the therapist and family.
They see families with problems as having got themselves into a repetitive but dysfunctional pattern of
interaction, developed at some critical point in the family functioning. For example, when a family presents
with a symptomatic member, the strategic therapist is interested in their organization around the symptom
and their pattern of interaction. The focus is on the process not content.
B. Strategic Methods
Strategic methods center on altering feedback cycles within the family, but do not seek to enable insight
within the family about such cycles. Change, not learning about the change process, is the center of
attention. Most important strategic methods are:
Ø Reframing- Process whereby new meaning is given to a behavior, a sequence of interactions, a
relationship or some other feature of the current situation.
o Context reframing: A behavior is redefined as useful in certain circumstances not in the current
situation.
o Content reframing:Reframing the meaning of some event, behavior or stimulus. Example: where a
behavior is useful.
Ø Paradox- effective when the family and the therapist become locked in a symmetrical relationship.
Directives are offered which if acted one would move the family in the opposite direction from that
which is desired
Ø Changing the sequence of their interactions-Prescribing the sequence in which things are to be
done.
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Ø Metaphor-mythology, parables and children’s fairy tales are used to communicate ideas.
Ø Rituals- another way in which ideas can be communicated, points made and sequence of behaviour
changed.

4.4.3.3 Psychodynamic Family Therapy

The objective of Psychodynamic Family Therapyis to help the family members obtain insight into
themselves and the way they interact with each other. It emphasizes onthe unconscious mental processes.
Early experience has an influence on later behaviour and experience.The therapist focuses on the processes
that occur within individuals and believed in ‘free associate’. Transference and counter transference are
some of the risk factors for this therapy. It is different from other schools in the way that the therapists
make fewer comments, ask fewer questions, intervene less actively, and refrain from giving advices and
from manipulating the families.The concepts have contributed to our understanding of families, but there
are no well-defined strategies and intervention tools in the psycho-dynamic school of family therapy.

4.4.3.4 Behavioural Family Therapy

Behavioural Family Therapy applies the principles of behaviour therapy. Change in families is
conceptualized in terms of respondent conditioning, operant conditioning, modeling or cognitive change.
Operant conditioning has great importance where reinforcement is central. Primary objective is to increase
the positive behaviours at the expense of the negative or undesired ones. This therapy is widely used in
marital counseling but it does not deal primarily with whole family systems. In this therapy, interventions
in families are designed by working out and implementing plans to change the interactions between
certain members in fairly specific ways.
According to the behaviour exchange model, ‘marital distress is viewed largely as a function of the rate
of reinforcement/ punishment directed by marital partners toward one another, and the relationship between
each person’s delivery of reinforcement and punishment’. Problem behaviour is the product of skill deficits
that stem from lack of knowledge, or from the establishment of coercive exchange.Techniques include
skill training, and creating awareness about patterns of exchange, so that coercive exchange is replaced
by positive exchange.

4.5 Self Assessment Questions

1. Describe the stages of psycho-social development as provided by Erikson.
2. What are the major Psychodynamic theories? How the Psychodynamic theories and models have
influenced social work practice?
3. Who developed the concept of Transactional Analysis (TA)? Describe various Ego states as
conceptualised in TA. What are the different types of Transactions in TA?
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4. What are the key concepts and main goals of structural family therapy?
5. Write short notes: a) Strokes b) Psycho-sexual stages of development
6. Write short notes: a) Ego Defence Mechanisms b) Common Archetypes in Jung’s Theory
7. Write main features of: a) Strategic Family Therapy b) Behavioural family therapy

4.6 Suggested Reading And References

1) Carol Solomon (2003) Transactional Analysis Theory: the Basics Transactional Analysis Journal
Vol. 33, No. 1,
2) Carr, A. (1998). Michael White’s narrative therapy. Contemporary Family Therapy, 20 (4), 485-503.
3) Epston, D. & White, M. (1992). Experience, Contradiction, Narrative and Imagination. Adelaide:
Dulwich Centre Publications.
4) Epston, D. (1989). Collected Papers. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.
5) Germain, C. (1970). Casework and science: A historical encounter. In R.W. Roberts & R.H. Nee
(Eds.), Theories of social casework (pp. 3-32). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
6) Greene, R.R., &Ephross, P.H. (1991). Classic psychoanalytic thought, contemporary developments,
and clinical social work. In R.R. Green & P.H. Ephross (Eds.), Human behavior theory and social
work practice (pp. 39-78). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
7) Goldstein, E.G. (1995). Ego psychology and social work practice (2nd ed.). New York: The Free
Press.
8) Brandell, J.R. (2004). Psychodynamic social work. New York: Columbia University Press.
9) Orcutt, B.A. (1990). Science and inquiry in social work practice. New York: Columbia University
Press.
10) R.V.S.Rao. Transactional Analysis:105th FoCARS; National Academy of Agricultural Research
Management
11) White, M. &Epston, D. (1989). Literate Means to Therapeutic Ends. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre
Publications. (Republished in 1990 as Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. New York: Norton.)
12) White, M. (1989). Selected Papers. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.
13) White, M. (1995). Re-authoring Lives. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications. WHO (1992). ICD-
10. Geneva, WHO.
14) Gerald Corey. Transactional Analysis. Corey TPCP(7e) / WebTutor / Transactional Analysis. http://
edwardsfamilytherapy.com/writings/ major-models-of-experiential-family-therapy/

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Unit-5

Psychological Approaches-2

Content Structure
5.0 Learning Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Task Centered Approaches:
5.2.1 Theoretical Foundations of Task Centered Approaches:
5.2.2 Strategy of Task Centered approaches
5.2.3 Steps of the Task Centered Approaches:
5.2.4 role of the social-worker
5.3 Crisis Intervention
5.3.1 Crisis:
5.3.2 Types of Crisis:
5.3.3 Crisis Intervention – A glance:
5.3.4 Roberts’ Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model:
5.3.5 SAFER-R Model
5.3.6 Conclusion
5.4 Cognitive Approach
5.4.1 Introduction to Cognitive Approach:
5.4.2 Principal Proponents:
5.4.3 Principles of Cognitive Therapy:
5.4.4 Overview of the Treatment:
5.4.5 Limitations of Cognitive Approach:
5.5 Behavioral Approach
5.5.1 Introduction to Behavioral approach
5.5.2 History of Behavioral Approach
5.5.3 Principles of Behavioral Approach
5.5.4 Behavioral Strategies and Interventions:
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5.5.5 Steps of Behavioral APPROACH:

5.5.6 Areas of Application
5.5.7 Conclusion
5.6 Self Assessment Questions
5.7 Suggested Reading And References

5.0 Learning Objectives

After going through the unit, you will be able to understand basic concepts, application and relevance of
various theories in social work practice, as follows :
● Strategy and steps of Task Centered Approaches;
● Characteristic features, stages and steps of Crisis Intervention;
● Principles and treatment modalities in Cognitive Approaches; and
● Principles, strategies and interventions under the gamut of Behavioral Approaches.

5.1 Introduction
Social Work theories are the body of logically interdependent generalized concepts of empirical reference.
They emerge through the process in which the relationship between facts is posited through observation,
speculation, inspiration and experience. Harold Lewis says that “...theory in social work is intended to
provide explanations for the phenomenon of practice” For a social worker seeking to offer responsible,
effective intervention, the most essential and important contribution of theory is its ability to predict
outcomes, and also, its ability to explain. Social work theory aids the practitioner to anticipate future
outcomes of some situations and to speculate on unanticipated relationships between variables: that is,
theory helps us to recognize, understand and explain new situations. Social Work theory helps us to carry
over from one situation to the next, in aiding us to recognize what is similar and what is different in our
ongoing practice experience. This in no way detracts from the concept of individuality or self-determination:
in fact, it can enhance these concepts by helping us see not only how a particular client or situation is
similar to the other clients and situations, but how he/she/it is different.
In this unit, various theoretical approaches and models are explained that have high relevance in
understanding the behavioural and personality dispositions of client groups, diagnosing the problems and
designing effective interventions.

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5.2 Task Centered Approaches:

Task-centered approach is a brief and time-limited treatment process of social work which emphasizes on
helping the clients with specific problems of theirs by choosing through the discrete client and practitioner
actions or tasks.

5.2.1 Theoretical Foundations of Task Centered Approaches:

Task Centered treatment has evolved from the model of brief, time-limited casework tested in the mid-
sixties at the Community Service Society of New York which revealed that psychosocial casework was
more effective than conventional, long term forms of psychosocial practice in helping individuals and
families. Using that brief service approach as a starting point, William J. Reid and Laura Epstein attempted
to develop a more comprehensive, systematic and effective model of short-term treatment. In the initial
conception the task-centered approach utilized the time-limited structure and techniques of short-term
psycho-social casework as a means of helping clients devise and carry out actions of tasks to alleviate
their problems. Perlman’s view of casework as a problem-solving process and Studt’s notion of the client’s
task as a focus of service influenced this theory in the beginning phase. Later the planned brevity of the
model was based on the contributions of social work practitioners, researchers and educators which
summarized the following formulations:
i) Clients are human beings and their action is guided by a sophisticated set of beliefs about themselves
and the world;
ii) Since their problem is psycho-social, their plans and actions will usually involve others – the
individuals, groups and organizations that make up their social system;
iii) Their actions, in turn, will shape the evaluation of the responses of this system;
iv) Task centered approach attempts to deal with those factors that are currently causing it rather than
the problems of historical origin;
v) Obstacles to problem resolution can be modified through the collaborative efforts of the client and
the social worker;
vi) Both problem causation and remediation can be explained in terms of a common set of concepts.
vii) Those problem-solving capacities that are complex, ingenious and effective deserve more prominence
than the ones prescribed in the theories of helping.
5.2.2 Strategy of Task Centered approaches
The strategies of this approach are based on the parsimonious form of intervention that respects the
client’s right to manage his/her own affairs. The relationship between the practitioner and the client
provides a means of stimulating and promoting problem-solving action. Although encouragement, advice
giving, role playing and exploration are important in this process yet stress is placed upon practitioner

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and the client’s joint problem-solving efforts. The central and the most effective strategy of Task centered
approaches is that its dependence on the different tasks as the means of problem resolution. The client
and the practitioner’s efforts primarily concentrate on:
● Identification of the problem
● Construction of the tasks
● Implementation of the activities
● Review of the tasks
Success of the tasks depends on the benefits achieved from the application of the model.

5.2.3 Steps of the Task Centered Approaches:

The different steps of the Task centered approaches are as under:
● Problem Specification:
In the initial phase of the interview process, the problems are explored and clarified by the social worker and
the client. Importance is given to what the client wants and not what the social worker feels that the client
may need. The problems are then, re-defined by the social worker’s skills and expertise after the client
enumerates his/her problems. The problems are defined as discrete, numerable entities and are specified in
terms of definite conditions to be changed. In other words, the clients re-work on their problems and in case
of‘involuntary clients’, they agree to the fact that they have some difficulties on which they need to work on.
In the second phase, both the client and the social worker decide on an explicit agreement on the problems
to be dealt with. Concentration on a causal analysis of this problem is focused on in this model.
● Contracting:
An oral or a written contract in which the client agrees to work with the practitioner is then worked out.
The contract may also include the following:
- A statement of the client’s goals in relation to the problem.
- Estimation of the limits of the treatment including the approximate number of sessions and the
length of time.
- Flexibility in terms of renegotiation in case of arising of new problems or longer duration of service
is also mentioned.
● Task Planning:
After the agreement on the target problem and treatment has been reached, tasks are selected and formulated
in collaboration with the client and their implementation is planned. There are two types of tasks- General
and Operational. General tasks are those tasks in which a client is given a direction for action but no
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specific programme of behaviour to be followed is given. But in an operational task, a client is given a
specific action which the client has to follow. The push in this model is towards ‘task specificity’. The
most crucial point of this model is the client’s commitment to achieve the specified tasks.
● Establishing Incentives and Rationale:
In this step, the worker and the client develop a rationale or a purpose for carrying out the specific task, if
it is unclear to the client. The practitioner’s main role is to identify and reveal to the client the positive
consequences of the task which the former might not have explored.
● Analyzing and Resolving obstacles:
Before attempting the task, the worker and the client make certain clarifications of the task at the formulation
level only. If the client is unable to see the forthcoming problems, the worker may raise the possible
problems in the form of likely contingencies. After the task is attempted but not completed, the actual
obstacles which are encountered are then examined. Those obstacles may be either psychological or
environmental or might be a combination of both. Then both the worker and the client make an attempt to
clarify the different ways in which the obstacles might interfere with the task achievement. Thus, the
worker or the client may either remove the obstacle or revise the original task.
● Simulation and Guided Practice:
The worker may model possible task behaviour or ask the client to rehearse what he is going to say or do.
Role play may be used for Modeling or Rehearsal where ever it becomes essential. Role-Reversal can
also be used whenever needed. Guided practice is the performance of the of the actual (as opposed to
simulated) task behaviour by the client during the interview. It can also be extended to real life situations.
● Task Review:
Routine review of the client’s progress of the tasks and the worker’s tasks is also done at the beginning of
each session. The worker’s role depends on the results of the task review. If the task is completed, the
worker may formulate another task with the client on the same problem. If the task is partially completed
then the worker may take up obstacles, make a new plan to execute the task or apply another task
implementation activities. The task itself may be revised or replaced by another.
● Terminating:
The process of terminating begins at the initial phase when the duration of treatment is initiated. In the
last interview the progress of the problem is reviewed by both the practitioner and the client. The client’s
achievement of tasks is taken into consideration, he is assisted how to continue with the work on tasks, or
to develop new tasks which he might undertake on his own. If additional services are requested by the
client then extensions beyond agreed-upon limits are normally made which might extend up to a small
number of additional sessions, generally less than 20% in most settings.

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5.2.4 Role of the social-worker

Task-centered model is one of the most effective approaches that are being employed by social workers in
wide array of settings such as hospitals, child guidance centres, de-addiction centres, mental health clinics,
children’s institutions, schools, rehabilitation centres, etc. It is offered as a basic service for majority of
the clients dealt with by the clinical social workers. The notable activities designed in the task-centered
approach to help clients plan and implement problem solving tasks is remarkable and can be used within
most practice frameworks. It offers a systematic, evidence-based approach for solving any set of problems.
Clients and social workers cooperate to identify issues, set goals, develop an action plan and evaluate the
results.

5.3 Crisis Intervention

5.3.1 Crisis:
“Crisis is a state of disequilibrium resulting from the interaction of an event with the individual’s or
family’s coping mechanisms, which are inadequate to meet the demands of the situation combined
with the individual or family’s perception of the meaning of the event.” According to Lagurquist,
Crisis is “a sudden event in one’ life that disturbs homeostasis, during which usual coping mechanisms
cannot resolve the problem.” Thus, Crisis can be defined as any stressful situation or event in which an
individual confronts an intolerable, difficult problem and is unable to utilize his/her available resources,
problem solving abilities and/or coping skills effectively.

5.3.2 Types of Crises:

There are mainly three types of crises which are as follows:
● Developmental (Maturational Crisis): It is also known as Internal Crisis. It is experienced at any
transitional period of normal growth and development in a person’s life. An individual may experience
such crisis in any stage of his/her transition which may disturb the homeostasis and create
disequilibrium in one’s life, instances are marriage, child-birth, old age, etc.
● Situational Crisis (Accidental crisis): It is also known as External Crisis. It may occur in response
to a sudden unexpected event in a person’s life. An individual’s role and identity may be affected due
to this sudden, unavoidable traumatic event. The critical life events revolve around experiences of
grief and loss such as death of a loved person.
● Adventitious Crisis: This is not a part of one’s everyday life. It is also a type of External crisis. It
is unplanned and accidental resulting in traumatic experiences such as natural disaster like flood, or
crime like child-abuse. This type of crisis leads towards acute and post-traumatic stress reactions. It
is unlike the developmental or situational crisis as it does not occur in the lives of all people.
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5.3.3 Crisis Intervention – A glance:

Crisis Intervention may be explained as the logical and orderly process in which the psycho-social methods
are applied to offer immediate short term help to the individual who is in crisis or is in an event that
produces emotional, physical, mental and behavioural distress, impairment and instability. It is an immediate
and short-term psycho-social care aimed at assisting individuals in a crisis situation in order to restore
equilibrium to their bio-psycho-social functioning and to minimize the potential of long-term trauma.
Crisis Intervention is a time-limited and goal-directed therapy.
The roots of crisis intervention come from the pioneering work of two community psychiatrists—Erich
Lindemann and Gerald Caplan in the mid-1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
a) Good prognosis of Crisis Intervention:
● Realistic perception of the event.
● Adequate primary, secondary and tertiary support
● Sufficient problem-solving skills
● Ability to utilize coping mechanisms
● Adequate resilience to bounce back.
b) Stages of crisis intervention:
In the crisis intervention, client’s situation must be evaluated before planning the intervention. It includes
the following components:
● The hazardous event
● The vulnerable state
● The precipitating factor
● The state of active crisis and
● The extent of integration.
Aguilera (Dr. D.C.) defines four steps of crisis intervention which are follows:
● Assessment
● Planning therapeutic intervention
● Implementing techniques of intervention
● Resolution of the crisis and anticipatory planning.

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5.3.4 Roberts’ Seven-Stage Crisis Intervention Model:

This is a systematic and structural conceptual model for crisis assessment and intervention that facilitates
planning for effective brief treatment in outpatient psychiatric clinics, community mental health centers,
counseling centers, or crisis intervention settings. In conceptualizing the process of crisis intervention,
seven critical stages through which clients typically pass on the road to crisis stabilization, resolution, and
mastery was propounded by Roberts. The stages are following:
1. Plan and conduct a thorough bio-psycho-social and lethality/imminent danger assessment;
2. Make psychological contact and rapidly establish the collaborative relationship;
3. Identify the major problems, including crisis precipitants;
4. Encourage an exploration of feelings and emotions;
5. Generate and explore alternatives and new coping strategies;
6. Restore functioning through implementation of an action plan;
7. Plan follow-up and booster sessions.

5.3.5 SAFER-R Model

(Along with the Roberts, 7 Stage Crisis Intervention Model). ‘‘The SAFER-R Model...’’ is also a much
used model of intervention with the persons in crisis. The model approaches crisis intervention as an
instrument to help the client to achieve their baseline level of functioning from the state of crisis. This
intervention model for responding to individuals in crisis consists of 5+1 stages. They are as under:
1. Stabilize the person in crisis,
2. Acknowledge the problem,
3. Facilitate understanding,
4. Encourage adaptive coping mechanisms,
5. Restore functioning and/or,
6. Refer

5.3.6 Conclusion
Clinicians and social workers initiating crisis intervention must respond quickly to the challenges posed
by clients amidst in a crisis state. They need to take critical decisions on behalf of their clients. Thus, a
time of crisis seems to be an opportunity to maximize the crisis clinician’s ability to intervene effectively as
long as he or she is focused in the present situation, willing to rapidly assess the clients’ problems and

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resources, suggest goals and alternative coping methods, develops a working alliance, and build upon the
client’s strengths. Crisis Intervention seems to be the most emerging therapeutic method for most
individuals.

5.4 Cognitive Approach

5.4.1 Introduction to Cognitive Approach:

The Cognitive approach stands on the premise that an individual’s thinking is a conscious process and is
the principal determinant of emotions, motives and behaviours. The problems with which the clients
come to the social workers are considered to be the problems of consciousness in this approach. Included
in the cognitive theory are approaches which go by the names of ‘Rational’, ‘Reality’ or ‘Phenomenological’.
The main features of Cognitive theory are as follows:
● Thinking determines behaviour.
● Life style develops depending on our goals.
● Unconscious forces do not fully control an individual’s life though the origins of current attitude or
behavior is unknown to the individual.
● Instinctual drives are present but aggression is not one of them. Aggression is a reaction to feelings
of threat or frustration.
● Individuals modify their instinctual drives which are inconsistent with their chosen objectives.
● Most behaviorsare not a manifestation of sex urge.
● Thinking is traced back by emotions also.
● Motives can come into existence through a cognitive process.
● Cognitive theory is socially oriented.
● Every person has resources of courage, is inherently creative, and strives for competence and a sense
of completion.
● Change comprises of modifying the consciousness of an individual until he/she faces reality through
perception.

5.4.2 Principal Proponents:

Alfred Adler around 1911 was the first proponent of cognitive approach by the virtue of his ‘holistic
approach’ wherein he believed that each person’s behaviour was shaped by his notions of success and by
the goals he set to achieve it. Later Joseph Wortis in 1953, Joseph Furst in 1954, Albert Ellis in 1956,
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Maxie Maultsby in 1975 and Arnold Lazarus in 1976 contributed significantly to this cognitive approach.
But amongst all the contributions, Aaron Beck created a revolution in the field of mental health through
this structured, short-term, present-oriented psychotherapy which he originally termed as ‘Cognitive
Therapy’ also known as ‘Cognitive Behaviour Therapy’ in the early 1960s.
There are a number of forms of cognitive behaviour therapy that share characteristics of Beck’s therapy,
but whose conceptualizations and emphasis in treatment vary to some degree. These include rational
emotional behaviour therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, problem-solving therapy, acceptance and
commitment therapy, exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive behavioural analysis system
of psychotherapy, behavioural activation, cognitive behaviour modification, and others. Beck’s cognitive
behaviour therapy often incorporates techniques from all these therapies and other psychotherapies within
a cognitive framework.

5.4.3 Principles of Cognitive Therapy:

● Cognitive therapy is based on an ever-evolving formulation of clients’ problems and an individual
conceptualization of each client in cognitive terms.
● Treatment requires a sound therapeutic alliance.
● Cognitive therapy emphasizes collaboration and active participation.
● It is goal oriented and problem-focused.
● Cognitive therapy initially emphasizes the present.
● Cognitive therapy is educative, aims to teach the client to be his/her own therapist, and emphasizes
relapse prevention
● Cognitive therapy aims to be time bound.
● Sessions are structured.
● Treatment teaches clients to identify, evaluate, and respond to their dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs.
● Treatment uses a variety of techniques to change thinking, mood, and behaviour.
Levels of Cognitions:
In this approach, cognitions are categorized into four levels:
● Automatic Thoughts: The stream of cognitions that constantly flow through our minds.
● Intermediate Beliefs: These often reflect extreme and absolute rules and attitudes that shape people’s
automatic thoughts.
● Core Beliefs: These are the central ideas about ourselves that underlie many of our automatic
cognitions that usually gets reflected in our intermediate beliefs.
● Schemas: These have been defined as “specific rules that govern information processing and
behaviour” (Beck et al. 2006).
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5.4.4 Overview of the Treatment:

Cognitive Approach is for limited time and a straight forward problem may require 6 to 14 sessions
(According to Beck). Each session has clear goals and agenda and an overview of the treatment is
enumerated below:
● Initial Session: This includes establishing an agenda meaningful to the client, identifying and
reviewing the present problems, eliciting person’s expectations from the treatment, educating the
client about the diagnosis, treatment and his role in the therapy.
● Establishing Goals: The overall goal of this approach is to help client to recognize and correct errors
in their information-processing system. Treatment must include clear, specific and measurable goals.
● Therapeutic Alliance: This approach requires a sound, therapeutic alliance between the therapist
and the client. The cognitive therapist is active, goal-oriented, collaborative and problem-focused.
The therapists use Socratic Questioning and Guided Discovery.
● Socratic Questioning is one of the cornerstones of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that involves a
disciplined and thoughtful dialogue between two or more people. It is widely used in counselling to
expose and unravel deeply held values and beliefs that frame and support what we think and say. It is
used to modify thinking to facilitate desired emotional and behavioural change. Guided Discovery is
a process that a therapist uses to help his or her client reflect on the way that they process information.
Through the processes of answering questions or reflecting on thinking processes, a range of alternative
thinking is opened up for each client.
● Case Formulation: Before moving into interventions, therapists develop a case formulation reflecting
their in-depth understanding of the client in order to sketch an effective therapeutic plan.
● Eliciting and Rating Cognitions: In this process the therapist uses a dysfunctional thought record
to facilitate identification and modification of such thoughts.
● Determining the validity of Cognitions: After the cognitions are elicited the therapists’ use of
Guided Discovery (also known as Socratic Dialogue) via skillful questioning and experiments
help people to test the reality of their thoughts.
● Labeling the Distortion: The distorted cognitions can be facilitated by categorizing and labeling
the distortions. Cognitive distortions include
Ø Polarized thinking
Ø Overgeneralization
Ø Mental filter
Ø Disqualifying the positive
Ø Arbitrary Inferences
Ø Minimization
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Ø Emotional Reasoning
Ø Labeling and Mislabeling
Ø Personalization
Ø Catastrophizing
Ø Mind Reading
Ø Should and Must Statements
Ø Tunnel Vision
● Assessment of Mood: This is a very important part in this approach as cognitive therapy was initially
developed to treat Depression and Anxiety. Monitoring the intensity and nature of people’s emotions
can give enough proof of progress whereas improvement in mood can enhance client’s motivation
and optimism.
● Strategies for modifying cognitions: Some strategies are enumerated below:
Ø Challenging absolute statements
Ø Activity Scheduling
Ø Reattribution blame
Ø Cognitive Rehearsal
Ø Diversions
Ø Self-Talk
Ø Affirmations
Ø Keeping Diaries of Events
Ø Letter Writing
Ø Systematic assessment of Alternatives
Ø Reframing
Ø Role Playing
Ø Distancing
Ø Bibliotherapy
Ø Graded Task Assignments

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● Termination and Relapse Prevention: This is the concluding phase and it is carefully planned and
restructured to help clients successfully apply what they have learned throughout the therapy. In this
session clients and the therapist collaborate in developing goals and plans for clients to continue
their progress on their own.

5.4.5 Limitations of Cognitive Approach:

● Individuals seeking unstructured, long-term treatment that focuses on the development of insight
may view this approach as unsuitable to their needs.
● People who are reluctant to participate fully in their own treatment
● People who are intellectually limited
● People who are unmotivated to make changes.
● Therapists’ shortcomings – neglect to develop strong therapeutic alliance, downplaying the importance
of empathy, critical and judgmental about client’s dysfunctional thoughts, unorganized and
uncomfortable with the structure and unwilling to use forms to assess clients’ concern and progress.

5.4.5 Conclusion
Cognitive approach is one of the most effective ways to help people make positive changes by enabling
them to identify, evaluate and if necessary, modify their thoughts. Clients and therapists work collaboratively
to promote and reinforce positive changes. Research has proven the effectiveness of cognitive therapy
with a broad range of mental disorders and clients. It is especially effective in the treatment of depression
and anxiety.

5.5 Behavioural Approach

5.5.1 Introduction to Behavioural approach

The behavioural approach is a short term treatment with clear goals that focuses on the present and not
the past and brings in a rapid change. Behavioural approach seeks to diminish or extinguish maladaptive
behaviours and help people learn new adaptive ones. The following is the list of goals that can be achieved
through behavioral approach:
● Reduction of undesirable behaviours in children
● Reduction in the use or abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
● Reduction in undesirable habits such as nail biting and others.
● Improvement in social skills such as assertiveness and conversation.
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● Amelioration of fears and phobias.

● Improvement in concentration and organization.
● Improvement in health and fitness habits
Behavioural therapy focuses on the present not the past, observable behaviours rather than unconscious
forces and is a short-term treatment with clear goals and rapid change.

5.5.2 History of Behavioral Approach

Behavioural therapy had its beginnings in the early 1900s and became established as a psychological
approach in the 1950s and 1960s. At this time, it received much resistance from the current school of
thought, psychoanalysis. The great contributors of the behavioural approach are as under:
● Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936)
Pavlov’s contributions to behavioural therapy were accidental. He was originally studying the digestive
process of dogs when he discovered that associations can develop when pairing a stimulus (food) that has
a response (dog salivates) with a stimulus that has no response (bell). The stimulus with no response
(bell) eventually develops the same response (dog salivates) as the stimuli that has the response (food).
This type of learning is known as classical conditioning.
● B.F. Skinner (1904 – 1958)
Skinner developed the theory of operant reinforcement theory which is the notion that how often a behavior
is executed depends on the events that follow the behaviour. For example, if the behaviour is reinforced,
the behavior is more likely to be repeated.
● John Dollard (1900 – 1980) & Neal Miller (1909 – 2002)
Dollard and Miller provided more understanding to behavioural theory. They believed that when a stimulus
and response are frequently paired together and rewarded, the more likely it is for an individual to repeat
the behaviour. They identified this as a habitual response. Dollard and Miller also identified four elements
in behaviour : drive, cue, response, and reinforcement.
● Albert Bandura (1925)
Bandura applied the principles of classical and operant conditioning to social learning. Basically, people
learn behaviours through observation of other’s behaviour, also known as modeling.
● Behavioral Approach-Recent Advances:
The traditional behavioural approach is no longer used as it once was. It has moved towards a more
collaborative treatment with cognitive therapy and as such this has meant a more applicable approach.

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5.5.3 Principles of Behavioural Approach

Although genetics play a role, individual differences are derived primarily from different experiences.
● Behaviour is learned and acquired largely through modeling, conditioning, and reinforcement.
● Every behaviour has a purpose.
● Habits, thoughts, emotions, and other aspects of personality are determined by behaviour.
● Behaviour therapy seeks to understand and change behaviour.
● Therapy should be based on the scientific method and be systematic, empirical, and experimental.
● Goals should be stated in behavioural, specific, and measurable terms, with progress assessed regularly.
● The focus of treatment should generally be on the present.
● Past is explored only if it is appropriate to the context and help people feel understood.
● Education, promoting new learning and transfer of learning, is an important aspect of Behavioural
approach.
● Strategies of behaviour therapy are different for different person and needs to be individualized to
the particular person and his/her problem.
● Clients and their family have primary responsibility for defining their goals and completing homework
tasks. The treatment plan is formulated collaboratively, with client, their family and the clinician
participating actively in that process.

5.5.4 Behavioural Strategies and Interventions:

Some of the useful interventions are as follows:
● Acting as if:clients are prepared for handling a challenging situation by behaving or acting as if they
can handle it and they will.
● Activity Scheduling: planning activities that are rewarding, having the schedule provides focus and
direction, and can limit the time for negative behaviors.
● Aversion Therapy: Linking undesirable behaviours with negative experiences.
● Behavioural Rehearsal:Practice a challenging task for opportunities for feedback and improvement.
● Biofeedback:Instruments that measure bodily functions such as heart rate, sweat gland activity, and
pulse rate. Promotes reductions in tension and anxiety and can help lower blood pressure and improve
pain control. It has been used for brain injuries, sleep disorders, ADHD, and depression.
● Contracting:A clear agreement between the client and counselor about goals that have been set. It
provides direction and motivation.
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● Diaphragmatic Breathing:Focusing on slow deep breaths in order to relax or induce sleep. Breathe
in through the nose and out the mouth is another technique.
● Exposure : Repeated contact with a feared or avoided stimulus resulting in adaptation.
● Expressive and Creative Activities:Art, dance, and music therapy are incorporated to enable people
to become more aware of their emotions. This is especially beneficial for those who are not good at
verbalizing their thoughts.
● Flooding:Clients are exposed to high doses of a feared stimulus.
● Relaxation:Breathing, hypnosis, progressive muscle relaxation, simple exercises, and visual imagery.
Relaxation techniques can help reduce a client’s anxiety.
● Modeling:People are most likely to be influenced by models that involve therapists demonstrating
target behaviors or clients can observe other people to emulate or visualize the situation and their
responses.
● Shaping:Gradually working toward an ultimate desired positive behaviour.
● Skill Training:Learning skills such as assertiveness, decision making, problem solving,
communication skills, or any other skills necessary to gain a more desired behaviour.
● Token Economies:These are used to change a broad range of behaviours in a group of people.
Guidelines are laid out for all to see and understand, each person’s performance is recorded, and a
system of rewards is developed. The rewards a saved up to use towards privileges.
● Reinforcements:Reinforcements and rewards encourage positive behaviour. They must be realistic
and equivalent to the positive behaviour.
● Reasonable consequences:Consequences that are logical outcomes for undesirable behaviour

5.5.5 Steps of Behavioural Approach :

● Describe the problem behaviour: Describe the behaviour in specific and measurable terms
● Establish a baseline: Counselors determine a baseline by finding ways to measure and record
behaviors
● Determine the goals: Goals should be clear, specific, meaningful, measurable and achievable
● Develop strategies to facilitate change:These strategies should help the clients understand their
problem behaviour, develop skills specific to his/her needs, control impulsivity and reinforce already
made efforts
● Implement the plan: It involves putting the strategies into play and making notes about aspects that
may hinder or facilitate the plan
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● Assess progress and evaluate the success of the plan: Regular monitoring of the progress is done
by counselors to ensure that plan is working and make changes wherever necessary.
● Reinforce the gains:encouragement and reinforcement is provided for the positive changes among
clients
● Continue the process to maintain the gains and prevent relapse: It involves fixing the required
problems, implementing new goals and/or continuing the work and sessions to prevent relapse.
5.5.6 Areas of Application
Behavioural therapy can be used to treat many psychological disorders including anxiety disorders, addiction
and substance abuse, sexual disorders, depression, schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, bipolar
disorders, insomnia, interpersonal and marital problems, chronic mental conditions, childhood disorders,
antisocial and borderline personality disorders, criminal actions, eating and weight disorders, prevention
and treatment of cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, fatigue, and general stress. It has also been applied
to enhance early-childhood education, sports performance, and organizational behaviour management.
An array of techniques of behavioural therapy are applied in schools, child guidance centres, industries,
offices, factories, and mental health clinics.

5.5.7 Conclusion
Overall, behavioural approaches are not generally used on their own in treating psychological disorders
but their techniques are used in a wide variety of settings. Behavioural therapies have contributed to
greater understanding of the learning processes and have also significantly influenced measurement
strategies for identifying different psychological problems such as anxiety disorders.

5.6 Self-Assessment Questions:

1. Explain the need of social work theories.
2. Briefly elaborate the theoretical foundation of Task-centered Approach. Explain its steps and strategies.
3. Define Crisis. What are the types of the Crisis?
4. Name the two pioneers of Crisis Intervention. What are the good prognostic factors of crisis
intervention?
5. Elaborate the models of crisis intervention.
6. What are the main features of cognitive approach?
7. Who are the principal proponents of cognitive approach? What do you know about the levels of
cognition?

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8. Elucidate the principles of cognitive therapy.

9. Give an overview of the cognitive approach. Briefly state the limitations of this approach.
10. What are the goals of behavioral approach? Elucidate the principles, strategies and interventions of
Behavioral approach.
11. Describe the work of the main proponents of behavior therapy.
12. Briefly state the steps of behavioral approach. Mention at least 5 disorders where it can be successfully
applied.

5.7 Suggested Reading And References

1. Beck, A.T. Cognitive Therapy and Emotional Disorders. New York: International Universities Press,
1976.
2. Beck, J. S. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford Press.
3. Bond F. W. & Dryden W. (2002). Handbook of brief cognitive behavior therapy. San Francisco:
Wiley.
4. Caplan, G. (1961). An approach to community mental health. New York: Grune and Stratton.
5. Caplan, G. (1964). Principles of preventive psychiatry. New York: Basic Book
6. Corey, C. (2005). Theory and practice of counseling & psychotherapy. (7th ed.). Belmont,
CA:Thomson Learning.
7. Corsini, R.J., & Wedding, D. (2000).Current Psychotherapies. (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson
Learning, Inc.
8. Francis J. Turner. (1978). Social Work Treatment. Oxford University.
9. Guilliard, B., James, R., & Bowman, J. (1994). Theories and strategies in counseling and
Psychotherapy. (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
10. Roberts, A. R. (2005). Bridging the past and present to the future of crisis intervention and crisis
management. In A. R. Roberts (Ed.), Crisis intervention handbook: Assessment, treatment, and
research (3rd ed., pp. 3–34). New York: Oxford University Press.
11. Seligman, L. (2006). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Systems, strategies, and skills.(2nd
ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Ltd.
12. Weiten, W. (2007). Psychology: Themes & Variations. (7th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson
Publishing Inc.

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