THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING RAPPORT BETWEEN CLIENT AND WORKERS

TOWARDS THE SOCIAL WORK HELPING PROCESS

An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of Social Work Program
Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges – Marbel, Inc.
Koronadal City

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science in Social Work

ROSALINDA L. DELA CRUZ

2022
 Chapter I
Introduction

Rationale

The importance of Building rapport between client and worker relationships

towards the social work helping process is seen as essential in the field of social work. It
serves as one of the foundations that may use in dealing with different people to help
them achieve their goals or meet their needs. In addition, this will also create a
comfortable environment for the client throughout the process.

Building a healthy working relationship with the client is the primary focus of any
social worker. Rapport is a harmonious relationship in which there is mutual
understanding and connection. When a rapport is established, clients feel that they can
open and trust their social worker (Gonzalez, 2022).

In addition, the helping relationship between a client and a practitioner is often

described as the heart and soul in social work (Glazer, 2020). Establishing and
maintaining boundaries in social work is essential and it aims to protect social workers,
clients, and the organization they work for and avoid emotional stress (Cooper, 2012).

Furthermore, During the intervention process, communication plays an

essential role, constituting perhaps the most important skill of the social worker,
necessary in developing the relationship between social worker and client. Obtaining
information for identifying the problems/needs the client is facing and establishing
specific ways of intervention depending on the quality of communication.
Communication in this framework is a complex process that involves skills such as:
active listening, emotional control etc. (Obikeguna, Agbawodikeizu, and Uche, 2017)

However, in some situations, despite the efforts made by social workers to

communicate, there are still some instances where the client will not cooperate that is
why for managing these situations, the social worker must act with calm, respect, and
empathy. Thus, calm, respectful behavior, listening to the client, reminding to the client
the social worker’s helping role, showing compassion, establishing, and maintaining
boundaries are essential particularly while encountering problematic situations (National
Association of Social Workers, 2013).

This research gave motivation to the researcher to understand the

importance of building rapport between the client and workers in the social work helping
process, especially in achieving its goal. So, as a future social worker someday, it is the
motivation of the researcher to understand and learn from the study about the different
ways of building rapport. It is also a framework for the researcher to have a background
on the importance of building rapport in the profession that she chooses. In addition,
this study will serve as an inspiration to the researcher when it comes to handling the
clients someday. That is why knowing the importance of building rapport between the
client and workers towards the social work helping process is indeed very useful on the
part of the researcher.

Research Objective

This study aimed to determine the importance of building Rapport between client
and workers towards the social work helping process.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following:

1. To determine what is the demographic profile of respondents in terms of

1.1 Age

1.2 Sex and.

1.3 Marital status

2. To determine the importance of client and workers relationship as perceived by

the social workers.

3. To draw an implication based on the result of the study.

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter provides a review of related literature and studies that the
researcher finds useful in relating to this present study. These give clarity and, at the
same time, development of the study.

Foreign Literature

There’s no doubt that building positive relationships as a social worker is

essential. When it comes to succeeding as a social worker, professionals need to be
empathetic, supportive, and socially aware. Social workers provide services to people
facing a variety of different challenges. In this people-centric career path, understanding
how to build relationships is crucial to success. Social workers are responsible for
ensuring families, older people and young children feel comfortable and happy, so well-
developed interpersonal skills are key. One of the main ways to build great relationships
as a social worker is to establish a meaningful connection with the people in your care.
This means finding common ground and building rapport and treating everyone as an
individual. As a social worker, you need to show empathy for people’s past experiences
and understand their feelings. This means social workers should always be respectful of
boundaries and maintain their professionalism. Social workers need to be able to
effectively communicate understanding and provide encouragement. These are all
keyways of making a connection and building great relationships with people in need.
It’s important that social workers put themselves in someone else’s position to make a
connection, and make adults and children feel at ease (Charles Hunter
Associates,2020).

In addition, effective communication skills are an important part of any working or

personal relationship. The stronger your connection with others, the more you are able
to understand and empathize with them. Human beings can build rapport by connecting
through shared interest, mutual understanding, and empathy (Masterclass,2021).
 Communication in the social work profession encompasses a wide range of
activities beyond the ability to communicate effectively with their clients and other
professionals. Determining the best approach to utilize when communicating with clients
and other professionals will require the use of critical thinking skills. Many social
workers are often working in the role of helping others who are seeking to make
changes. Therefore, effective social workers will use a combination of different
strategies to help move clients towards change. Social workers with effective
communication skills avoid directly telling other’s what to do and rely heavily of their
ability to communicate to empower clients to identify their own solutions. Developing
and utilizing effective communication skills help clients establish trust and promotes
rapport building between the social worker and the client which increases the chances
of a successful intervention (Beckman, 2022).

Hepworth et al. (2013) stated also that perhaps the most challenging aspect of
social work is engaging clients. Rapport building is of the utmost importance.
Establishing rapport nurtures good communication and empowers clients to garner
much needed trust in the helping.

A part of a social worker’s task is to enhance the life of an individual through

advocacy, educating, and engagement. Positive influence is benefited through the
engagement of the client such as building rapport with the individual. By doing this, the
social worker develops trusting ground for the individual delivering the message.
Engagement is reported to be an establishment of a professional relationship with a
client (Langer & Lietz, 2014).
 Foreign studies

Relationship-based social work is not new to social work practice and there is
a call for social workers to return to interventions based on effective engagement
with clients within a therapeutic relationship (Ruch, 2010:22). Social workers
typically work with families and children during extremely stressful times in their
lives (Seden, 2011:60; Spray & Jowett, 2012: 49) and are expected to offer
support, promote change, help with problem-solving, empower people and improve
wellbeing while assessing the situation (Aldgate, 2011:134; Glicken, 2011:12;
Maritz & Coughlan, 2004:32-33; Monnickendam, Katz & Monnickendam, 2010:918;
Schenck, 2004:166; Spray & Jowett, 2012:21,56).

RUCH, G. 2010. The contemporary context of relationship-based

practice. In: RUCH, G., TURNEY. D. & WARD. A. (eds). Relationship-based social
work: getting to the heart of practice. London: Jessica Kingsley.

SEDEN, J. 2005. Counselling skills in social work practice (2nd ed).

Berkshire: Open University Press.

ALDGATE, J. 2011. Child and family focussed work in children's

services. In: SEDEN, J., MATTHEWS, S., McCORMICK, M. & MORGAN, A.
(eds) Professional development in social work: complex issues in
practice. New York: Routledge. 

The concept of the “social worker-client relationship” is variably described in the literature and
in practice, and yet it retains a consistent core of underpinning humanistic principles (Payne, 2011) that
implies the notion of care (Banks, 2012b; Bauman, 2000b), and acknowledges the centrality of power in
the “self-other” dynamic. The social worker-client relationship is the vehicle in which empathy is
conveyed, care is provided, experiences are shared, belonging is created and meaning making occurs
(Howe, 2013).

The humanistic perspective of social work respects relational experience and the complexity of
being in relationships. For social workers in child and family welfare, engagement with clients has added
complexity by virtue of practice ethics associated with juggling the dual and sometime contradictory
responsibilities for care and for control (Banks, 2012b; Pettersen, 2012).
 Contemporary social worker-client relationship practice draws on a range of theoretical
perspectives, practice theories, models and frameworks (Connolly & Harms, 2013; Healy, 2014;
Maidment & Egan, 2016; Pease, Goldingay, Hosken & Nipperess, 2016). Skills required for social work
engagement with clients typically include interpersonal skills, written communication skills, emotional
intelligence (Howe, 2008a: Ingram, 2013) and selfregulation, critical reflection (Watts, 2018), ethical
decision making, and organisational and analytical skills (Trevithick, 2012). Overall, social work practice
with people requires exercising capacity for a particular type of “use of self” (Trevithick, 2018; Leichty,
2018).

Payne, M. (2011). Humanistic social work: core principles in practice. Basingstoke, Hampshire:
Palgrave Macmillan.

Banks, S. (2012b). Negotiating personal engagement and professional accountability:

Professional wisdom and ethics work. European Journal of Social Work, 16(5), 587-604 doi:
10.1080/13691457.2012.732931.

Howe, D. (2013). Empathy: what it is and why it matters. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Connolly, M. & Harms, L. (Eds.). (2013). Social Work: Contexts and Practice. South Melbourne:
Oxford University Press.

Trevithick, P. (2012). Social work skills and knowledge: a practice handbook. Maidenhead,
McGraw-Hill: Open University Press

Trevithick, P. (2012). Social work skills and knowledge: a practice handbook. Maidenhead,
McGraw-Hill: Open University Press
Local literature

Local studies
 Theoretical Framework

Two theories are contributed to the understanding of the present study focusing
on the importance of building rapport between client and social workers towards social
work helping process.
Conceptual Framework

The major concept of this study focused on the Importance of building rapport

between client and workers towards the social work helping process.

Input

Importance of building
rapport between client and
workers towards the social
work helping process.

Proposed Enhancement

Plan

Output

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework of the Study

 Figure 1 contains the conceptual framework of the study. It was indicated in the

illustrations that the input centered the Importance of building rapport between client

and workers towards the social work helping process, and the output box contains the

proposed enhancement plan.

Significance of the study

The study entitled ‘’ The importance of Building Rapport between client and
workers towards the Social Work helping process’’ will be useful and significant to the
following.

Social Services Directors. Social work directors work in many settings to assess
potential needs, manage staff, and plan and implement policies to ensure the best
possible services they may provide. So, they can benefit from this study in terms of
using it as one of their foundations for creating good relationships within the
organization and with the people in it. It will also help them improve their policies and
other strategies that they implement in doing or giving any service. Furthermore, this
study will also give them the idea that building rapport in the workplace and with the
people around them will make their services more successful.

Social Workers. This study would help the social workers establish strong bonds with
all the people they work with and the clients that they may handle, whether they are
individuals, groups, or the community. It is also beneficial for them because this study
helps them create a comfortable environment with their clients throughout the process.
Through this study, they can also reflect and assess their current situation with their
client or with the people around them. In addition, this study will help the social workers
gain other strategies or improve their performance and relationships with their clients.

Clients. This study would help the client understand the value of developing rapport
with social workers or other people. This would also help them develop their
communication skills, build confidence, and avoid awkwardness with other people with
whom they will interact. This would also serve as their foundation for creating a
comfortable environment to solve their problem with their assigned social worker.
Furthermore, this would also help them avoid difficulty when it comes to communicating
and sharing their information. In short, they may learn how important to be open and
create bonds throughout the interventions or processes.

Future Social Workers. Future social workers would benefit from this in terms of
acquiring an idea or background on how they may be able to build a good relationship
with their future clients and the things that they need to consider when building a rapport
with the clients they will work with. Aside from that, it will also be beneficial for them
because they can use this study as their framework when they begin working with their
co-workers or clients or within the organization or field that they may be assigned. That
is why this study is very beneficial to future social workers.

Social Work Students. This study would be beneficial on the part of the social work
students because they may be able to know and understand the value of client and
worker relationships in the profession that they choose. This study also gives them an
insight into how social workers deal with their clients in terms of the helping process and
other services in which the participation and relationship between client and worker are
very essential. In addition, social work students may realize that building rapport with
the client is not easy, but it is very important to consider, especially in the profession
they choose.

Researcher. This study would help the researcher gain additional knowledge about the
importance of building rapport between the client and worker relationship towards the
helping process. This would also help the researcher realize that building rapport in any
aspect is very important. Apart from that, it would help the researcher not just know the
topic but also realize the importance of this study. Furthermore, this study would serve
as one of the frameworks on how to build rapport when it comes to client and worker
relations.

Future researcher. This study would be beneficial to future researchers as it will be

one of their references in the future when they conduct research that is connected to
this study. This would also give them some ideas to be used in seeking answers for
their research and to improve their working studies. The findings that they may get from
this study will have a significant contribution not just to the study but also on the part of
the researcher.

Definition of terms

This section presents the clear definition of the key and important terms in the
study. The following terms were defined conceptually and operationally for the
understanding of this paper:

Building Rapport. Conceptually, this refers to the process of creating deeper

relationships with others. It means taking action to create a harmonious or sympathetic
connection with another person (Robbins, 2022). Operationally, this refers to the
connection that a person can build to avoid the awkwardness when interacting with
other people.

Client and Workers Relationship. Conceptually, the social worker – client

relationship is the vehicle in which empathy is conveyed, care is provided, experiences
are shared, belonging is created, and meaning making occurs (Howe, 2013).
Operationally, this refers to the relationship that the client and worker have throughout
the process. It is also used in the field of social work.

Helping process.
Chapter II

METHOD