UNIT 1 COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL CASEWORK

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Dr. Sayantani Guin

Contents
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Person
1.3 The Problem
1.4 The Place
1.5 The Process
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Key Words
1.8 Suggested Readings
1.9 Answers to Check Your Progress

1.0 OBJECTIVES

There are six methods in social work which are categorized into the primary methods and the
secondary methods. Primary methods include social casework, social group work and
community organization. The secondary methods include social action, social welfare
administration and social work research.
In this unit, we will discuss about the components of social case work.
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
 Explain the components of social casework;
 Discuss the role of social worker in each component of social casework;
 Describe the role of the person, problem, place and process in effective casework
process.

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Social case work is the primary method in social work practice. In social case work, a social
worker works with an individual, helps an individual who faces problem in the day to day
functioning. This method deals with both the social and psychological aspects of an

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Dr. Sayantani Guin, School of Social Work, SOSW, IGNOU.

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individual’s life. The term “social” implies the experiences of the individual with other
people and his/her environment, and the term “psychological” implies the thoughts and
feelings which occupy the mind within an individual. Thus, the social aspects deal with the
interpersonal experiences of the individual and the psychological aspects deal with the
intrapersonal experiences of a human being. In order to understand the individual person, it is
important to understand the various components of social case work and the importance of
the components in dealing with the problems of the individual.
Social case work is defined by Mary Richmond in 1915, as “the art of doing different things
for and with different people by cooperating with them to achieve at one and the same time
their own and society’s betterment.”
The nucleus of social case work is given by H.H. Perlman which is, ‘a person with a problem
comes to a place where a professional representative helps him by a given process’. This
entire phenomenon is also known as the 4P’s and is used in most of the situations where a
person seeks professional help.
There are four components of casework known as the 4 P’s:
1. The person.
2. The problem.
3. The place.
4. The process.
Let us now explain each one of them.

1.2 THE PERSON

The person is any individual who is under stress or is facing problem in his/her life. The
person can be a man, woman or a child. The person in social work terminology is called the
‘client’. The person may have problem due to his/her inability of adjusting to the existing
situation which is created by forces which are beyond his/her control. This problem can be
social, economic or psychological in nature. When confronted by a problem, an individual
usually tries to solve the problem by employing solutions from his/her previous experiences.
However, when the problem does not seem to resolve, an external support is needed and then
the individual seeks for professional help. A person becomes a ‘client’ as soon as he starts
getting professional help.
The person or the client has several unmet needs, concerns and problems. These problems are
unique to his/her situation. Every person is unique and has his own set of social and cultural
environment in which he/she lives which makes the person have unique social experiences.
At the same time, the person is also part of the social environment and shares the
commonalities of the humankind and has a set of transactions with other people. The person
is unique and different from every other member of his/her family or society.

Clients are of the following types:

1. Those who seek help for themselves.

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2. Those who seek help for another person.
3. Those who block or threatens the social functioning of another person (e.g., the neglectful
parent in a child protection case).
4. Those who seek help for inappropriate goals.
5. Those who seek help as a means to reach their own goals or ends.
The nature of social casework will depend on identifying the type of the client and the
problem he/she seeks to resolve.
Felix Biestik (1957) has identified seven needs of clients as they come to the helping
situation:
1) To be dealt with as an individual rather than a type or category.
2) To express feelings both positive and negative.
3) To be accepted as a person of worth, a person with innate dignity.
4) Sympathetic understanding of and response to feelings expressed.
5) To be neither judged nor condemned for the difficulty in which the clients find themselves.
6) To make own choices and decisions concerning one’s own life.
7) To help keep information confidential about self as secret as possible.
To understand a person, it is essential to understand the personality of the person. The
personality structure plays an important role in determining how the behaviour of the person
is affecting the social functioning of the person. According to Freud, a person’s behaviour is
governed by three forces of personality structure, viz. id (life forces of the individual), ego
(which is conscious and drives our personality forces) and super ego (which is unconscious
and consists of ethical values and principles).
Every human being is hindered by some obstacles and tries to cope with the problem. If the
coping is not successful, he / she look for outside help to solve their issues to return to regular
functioning. A person seeking help not only brings innumerable concerns, needs and
problems, but also brings with him/her perceptions of self, the situations and patterns of
coping with stress and patterns of interpersonal relationships. The role of the social worker is
to understand the client as a unique person in a unique situation. Since the social and cultural
background of a person varies therefore these problems or unmet needs could be unique.

1.3 THE PROBLEM

A problem is an obstacle or a hindrance in the normal functioning of an individual. Problems

usually arise due to unmet needs, maladjustments and frustrations. When these unmet needs
or frustrations prolong for a longer period of time and start affecting the social functioning of
an individual, they take shape of problems. Thus, intrapersonal problems arise due to unmet
needs and desires of the person, which affect the person’s living situation or the effectiveness
of his/her efforts to deal with it.
Dimensions of problems

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There are several dimensions in which a problem may arise. Some of these are listed below:
1) Intrapersonal problem: When maladjustments and frustrations arise due to personal
issues of an individual and block their social functioning, these problems are intrapersonal in
nature. These problems only affect the concerned person and the surroundings of a person.
2) Interpersonal problem: When problems arise due to some external cause, situation or the
surroundings of an individual and make him/her uncomfortable, these problems are
interpersonal in nature. Interpersonal problems also affect the people who surround us like
family, friends, etc.
3) Physiological problems: Physiological problems are caused due to ailments in certain
body part or due to physical illness. When a person experiences a prolonged disease, it starts
to affect his/her mental health and therefore it becomes important to be addressed.
4) Economic problems: Fulfillment of basic needs is imperative for every human being.
Problems arising due to poverty are one of the basic problems. People all over world are
facing economic crisis. The society is divided into various classes - upper, middle and lower.
The upper class is capable of affording almost all the luxuries, the middle class is capable to
at least fulfilling all the basic requirements, while the lower class faces a crisis in their daily
life.
5) Psychological problems: Psychological issues are usually related to the mind and
behaviour of a person. Anxiety, depression, paranoia, etc., are the extreme results of a
prolonged psychological problem.

Casework helps in problem solving. It tries to provide an intervention to breaks or modify the
cause-and-effect chain of problems. Social casework tries to assess the situation of the client
and the available means and processes to facilitate the client’s problem-solving efforts. Three
main considerations enter into the choice of problem focus: 1) what the client wants 2) what
the caseworker’s professional judgments points to as possible and desirable solutions and 3)
what the agency is for and can offer.

Check Your Progress I

Note: a) Use the space provided for your answer.

b) Check your answer with those provided at the end of this unit.

1) Define Social case work.

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1.4 THE PLACE

‘The place’ is a social service agency or a social service department where the person comes
for help with his/her problem. Place may include a larger institution (e.g., the local authority),
or the smaller social work microcosm (e.g., the psychiatric social work department in a
mental hospital). Place may also include the institutions in which caseworkers’ practice
(schools, child guidance clinics, children’s departments of the hospitals and courts and so on).
Classification of Social casework agencies
Social casework agencies may be classified based on the following three factors:
1) Source of support- These are the agencies which are funded by public taxation (child
welfare, physical and mental health programmes, etc.) or voluntary contribution.
2) Source of professional authority – Some agencies are primary agencies which carry full
authority and responsibility for their social functions and some are secondary agencies which
derive their authority and responsibility from the host agency.
3) Special function and area of concern- Primary agencies may be both public and private.
These agencies choose to work in particular area in which they give services. Secondary
agencies are associated with the work of some other profession, such as medicine, education
or law and cater to their specific knowledge and purpose.
Characteristics of social agency
Some of the characteristics of social agency as given by Pearlman are described below:
1) Help the society: A social agency protects members of a society by helping individuals and
groups against social breakdowns, to prevent their maladjustments and to promote the
development of better or higher levels of humans functioning.
2) Develops a suitable programme: A social agency develops particular programmes and
activities depending on the needs of the people, availability of funds, the knowledge and
competency of the agency staff, the interest, resources and support of the community.
3) Has an organizational structure: The social agency has a structure and is made up of many
members with different purposes and powers, all dependent upon one another in the agency’s
overall functioning. Each member of the agency is assigned different tasks and
responsibilities.
4) Consists of skilled personnel: The agency consists of trained caseworker who has
specialised knowledge and skill to deal with problems of people to assist them in better social
functioning.
5) Meeting point for client and social worker: The agency brings the client and social worker
together and enables them to interact in a professional manner. In majority of the cases, it
provides the meeting point for the social worker and the client.
Social workers need to understand the agency in which they are employed. They also need to
be able to understand other social agencies working in the allied areas. The first task in
understanding an agency is to define its boundaries. The second task is to determine

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environmental factors that influence the structure and functioning of the agency. The third
task is to understand the structure and functioning of the agency system.

1.5 THE PROCESS

A process, is a number of stages or steps followed by the case worker to help the client. It is
mandatory for a professional worker to follow certain steps in order to help the client. The
worker is required to maintain a good rapport with the client throughout the process. The
worker helps the client to strengthen his/her coping mechanism in a problematic situation.
The professional social worker accepts the client, develops a good relationship with client
and tries to elicit facts. The facts stated by the client are properly diagnosed and the worker
helps the client to arrive at the solution, ensuring full participation of the client in the process.
The first part of the casework process, is to ascertain and clarify the facts of the problem. The
second phase of casework process is thinking through the facts. The conclusive phase of each
problem-solving effort in casework is the making of some choice or decision.

Stages of Problem-Solving Process

The following stages explain the processes involved in the problem-solving in social case
work:
1) Preliminary statement of the problem: This involves a clear, precise and accurate
statement of the problem. Often the problem statement is vague, global and lacking in
precision.
2) Statement of preliminary assumptions about the nature of the problem: After clearly
stating the problem, assumptions are made regarding the nature and cause of the
problem. This gives an indication regarding the need to solve the problem and
understanding the hurdles in fulfilling this need.
3) Selection and collection of information: Information may be collected from a variety
of sources including historical, social, psychological, biological, economic, political,
religious, and ethical understandings. The client is the primary source of information
regarding the problem.
4) Analysis of information available: The information gathered regarding the problem is
analysed in order to determine feasible goals, possible outcomes, possible plans of
action, interpretation of the meaning of the information gathered, and evaluation.
5) Development of a plan: Gathering and analysing information leads to an
understanding of what can be done to remove obstacles which are blocking need
fulfillment. A plan is developed regarding the possible solutions considering various
strategies and techniques.
6) Implementation of the plan: The plan is put into action in order to solve the problem
of the person.
7) Continuous monitoring and evaluation: While the plan is in operation, it is constantly
monitored and reviewed. While implementing the plan, constant evaluation must
include gathering of more information. Once the goal is reached, evaluation of the
plan is undertaken in order to understand the outcome of the plan.

Steps of Problem-Solving Process

The following steps are given by Mary Richmond in 1917 to solve the problem of the client:

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1) Intake: Whenever a person seeking help comes to an organisation, an administrative
process of enrolling the client is performed by the agency. Intake can also be explained as the
acceptance of the client as he/she is by the case worker. A case worker has to maintain a non-
judgmental attitude towards the client. The professional worker in this step establishes a
relationship with client and tries to make the client comfortable.
2) Study: Once a relationship is established, the worker tries to elicit various facts and
information from the client. Probing is a well-known technique performed by a skilled
caseworker to understand the deep aspirations and underlying issues, while dealing with the
client. A preliminary analysis starts at this stage.
3) Diagnosis: In this stage, the worker tries to diagnose the problem of the client after
studying the facts provided by the client. Diagnosis is understanding the nature of the cause
of problem. The worker thoroughly assesses the already known information and tries to reach
to the roots of the problem. Diagnosis are of three types:
 Dynamic diagnosis: Dynamic refers to analysing the current problem. Dynamic
diagnosis is assessing the current issues, surroundings and feelings of the client.
 Clinical diagnosis: In this type of diagnosis, the worker gathers information
related to the behaviour of the client. Here the case worker analyses the
behavioural patterns and personality traits of the client. This type of diagnosis
helps in understanding the nature of the problem and a particular behavior or trait
related to the problem. Clinical diagnosis helps in understanding various
personality disorders.
 Etiological diagnosis: This type of diagnosis deals with the background and the
life-history of the client. It also studies the family history to understand certain
personality patterns and helps in assessing the success of the employed
alternatives and coping mechanisms of the client.
4) Treatment: The last step in problem-solving process is the treatment which is the sum
total of all the activities implemented to provide immediate relieve to the client. A treatment
is done to avoid breakdown of an individual and restore his/her social functioning. It is to
strengthen the psychology of the client.
Components of Problem-Solving Process
The components of the problem-solving process include assessment, planning, action and
termination. Although assessment precedes planning, planning precedes action and
termination precedes action, the process is cyclic in nature.
Planning for a solution of the problem involves understanding the situation of the person.
This understanding includes assessment. Action often leads to new information for use in
understanding or demonstrates the need for additional planning. Evaluation, the assessment
of what has happened as a result of action, is ongoing in the process and leads to new
understanding and sometimes to new plans and action. Thus, all four stages are always
present, but at various points in the work one or more may be the focus and receive the most
attention.

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All the above four stages as well as the interactional process constitute intervention. All can
influence changes in the transactions between clients and the systems in their environment.
All can influence the social functioning of individuals and social systems.

Casework process aims to engage the client with his/her problem and encourages him/her to
do something about it. This happens within a working relationship of the client with the
agency and the social caseworker.

Many a times, solution of a problem involves provision of material means or opportunities

which are accessible to the person who is in need. Some resources that any person may need
in order to resolve a given problem in his/her daily living include money, medical care,
nursery schools, scholarship, short-stay homes, foster homes, recreational facilities, etc. It is
essential that the caseworker is informed about these resources and when and how to use it.

Check Your Progress II

Note: a) Use the space provided for your answers.

b) Check your answers with those provided at the end of this unit.

1) Enlist the components of social case work.

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2) Explain dynamic diagnosis.

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1.6 LET US SUM UP

This unit aims to familiarise you with the components of social case work. The four
components of social case work are person, problem, place and process. The person is called
the client in social work terminology. The person may voluntarily approach the social work
agency or may be referred by someone else. The person may be facing some problem which
hampers his/ her day to day social functioning. Professional help is sought by the person
when he/she is unable to get a solution. The place is the agency or the organisation where the
person with the problem meets the social case worker. The social case work process consists
of several stages, steps and techniques. Some of the important steps in social case work
process include assessment, planning, diagnosis and evaluation.

1.7 KEYWORDS

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The person: A person can be a man, woman or a child who is facing
problem in his/her life.

The problem: A problem is an obstacle or a hindrance in the normal

functioning of an individual. Problems usually arise due to
unmet needs, maladjustments and frustrations.

The place: The place refers to a social agency or a section of any social
agency that provides help to the person in problem.

The process: The process involves various steps, stages and techniques,
used to arrive a solution to help the person who is in the
problem.

1.8 SUGGESTED READINGS

Hamilton, Gordon (1956), Theory and Practice of Social Casework; Columbia University
Press, New York.

Perlman, H.H (1957), Social Case Work: A Problem Solving Process, Chicago. Biestek, Felic
P (1957), The Case Work Relationship; Loyola University Press, Chicago, Illinois.

Matthew, Grace (1991), Theory and Practice of Social Casework; Columbia University
Press, New York.

Aptekar, Herbert H. (1955), The Dynamics of Case Work and Counselling; the Riverside
Press, Cambridge.

Turner J. Francis and Hollis Florence (1983), Differential Diagnosis and Treatment in Social
Work, 3rd Edition; Collier Macmillan Publishers, London.

Nee Robert H and Roberts W (1970), Theories of Social Case Work, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago and London.

Timms Noel (1964), Social Case Work Principles and Practice; Routledge & Kegan Paul,
New York.

Tilbury D.E.F (1977), Case Work in Context-A basis for Practice, Pergamon Press, United
Kingdom.

1.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check your progress I

1) Social case work is a method of helping people individually through one to one
relationship that taps personal and other resources for coping with problems.
Check your progress II
1) The components of social case work are:

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 The person.
 The problem.
 The place.
 The process.

2) Dynamic as the name suggests refers to analysing the current problem. Dynamic
diagnosis is assessing the current issues, surroundings and feelings of the client.

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