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Contents vii

Principles That Guide Practice Activities 58

The Social Worker Should Do No Harm 59
The Social Worker Should Engage in Evidence-Based Practice 59
The Social Worker Should Engage in Value-Guided and Ethical Practice 59
The Social Worker Should Address All Relevant Client Systems 60
The Social Worker Should Serve the Most Vulnerable Members of Society 60
The Social Worker Should Treat the Client with Dignity 61
The Social Worker Should Individualize the Client 61
The Social Worker Should Consider Clients Experts on Their Own Lives 62
The Social Worker Should Lend Vision to the Client 62
The Social Worker Should Build on Client Strengths 62
The Social Worker Should Maximize Client Participation 63
The Social Worker Should Maximize Client Self-Determination 63
The Social Worker Should Help the Client Learn Self-Directed
Problem-Solving Skills 64
The Social Worker Should Maximize Client Empowerment 64
The Social Worker Should Protect Client Confidentiality 64
The Social Worker Should Adhere to the Philosophy of Normalization 65
The Social Worker Should Continuously Evaluate the Progress of the Change Process 66
The Social Worker Should Be Accountable to Clients, Agency, Community,
and the Social Work Profession 66
Conclusion 66
Selected Bibliography 67

6. Practice Frameworks for Social Work 68

Requirements of a Practice Framework 69
Guidelines for Selecting a Practice Framework 69
Selected Practice Frameworks 71
Selected Practice Perspectives 72
Generalist Perspective 72
Ecosystems Perspective 73
Strengths Perspective 75
Ethnic-Sensitive Perspective 76
Feminist Perspective 77
Selected Practice Theories and Models 78
Behavioral Theory 78
Cognitive-Behavioral Theory 79
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) 80
Exchange Theory 81
Psychodynamic Theory 82
Person-Centered Theory 83
Interactional Model 84
Structural Model 85
Crisis Intervention Model 85
Task-Centered Model 86
Psychoeducation Model 86
Addiction Model 87
Self-Help Model 88
Solution-Focused Model 89
viii Contents

Narrative Model 89
Trauma-Related Interventions 90
Family Therapies 91
Small-Group Theories 93
Organizational Change Models 94
Community Change Models 96
Conclusion 98
Selected Bibliography 98

7. Using Evidence in the Change Process 99

Conducting Evidence-Based Practice 100
Critical Thinking When Making Practice Decisions 101
Guiding the Planned Change Process 104
The Context of Planned Change 105
Identifying Actors in Planned Change 106
Phases of the Planned Change Process 107
Conclusion 109
Selected Bibliography 109

Part 3: Techniques Common to All Social Work

Practice 111
8. Basic Communication and Helping Skills 112
8.1 Creating an Effective Helping Relationship 114
8.2 Verbal Communication Skills 116
8.3 Nonverbal Communication Skills 119
8.4 Helping Skills 121
8.5 Enhancing Client Motivation 132
8.6 Understanding Emotions and Feelings 135
8.7 Responding to Defensive Communication 137
8.8 Applying Cultural Competence to Helping 139

9. Basic Skills for Agency Practice 145

9.1 Written Reports and Correspondence 146
9.2 Effective Telephone Communication 148
9.3 Using Information Technology 149
9.4 Client Records and Documentation 152
9.5 Dealing with Ethical Issues 154
9.6 Managing Time and Workload 157
9.7 Elements of Professional Behavior 159
Contents ix

Part 4: Techniques and Guidelines for Phases of the

Planned Change Process  161
10. Intake and Engagement 162
Section A Techniques and Guidelines for Direct Practice 163
10.1 Making the First Telephone Contact 165
10.2 Conducting the First Face-to-Face Meeting 166
10.3 Clarifying the Client’s Problem, Concern, or Request 168
10.4 Making a Referral 170
10.5 Obtaining, Protecting, and Releasing Client Information 173
10.6 Conducting an In-Home Interview 176
10.7 Engaging the Mandated Client 178
10.8 Responding to the Manipulative Client 180
10.9 Increasing Personal Safety in Dangerous Situations 183
10.10 Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities 186
10.11 Addressing Power Differentials with Clients 187
Section B Techniques and Guidelines for Indirect Practice 188
10.12 Orienting Yourself to Your Agency 190
10.13 Selecting and Orienting New Staff and Volunteers 192
10.14 Orienting Yourself to Your Community 195

11. Data Collection and Assessment 199

Section A Techniques and Guidelines for Direct Practice 200
11.1 Assessing a Client’s Social Functioning 203
11.2 The Meaning of Work in Social Functioning 208
11.3 The Social Assessment Report 211
11.4 Mapping Client Conditions 216
11.5 Expanding a Client’s Vision of Changes That Are Possible 219
11.6 Identifying Client Strengths 221
11.7 Assessing a Client’s Social Support 224
11.8 Assessing a Client’s Coping Strategies and Ego Defenses 225
11.9 Assessing a Client’s Role Performance 228
11.10 Assessing a Client’s Self-Concept 230
11.11 Assessing a Client’s Needed Level of Care 233
11.12 Using Questionnaires, Checklists, and Vignettes 234
11.13 Identifying Developmental Delays in Young Children 239
11.14 Assessing a Client’s Mental Status 241
11.15 Using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the
Person-in-Environment (PIE) Assessment Tools 243
x Contents

11.16 Assessing a Child’s Need for Protection 245

11.17 Mandated Reporting of Abuse and Neglect 249
11.18 Referral for Psychological Testing 252
11.19 Assessing Family Functioning 253
11.20 Understanding the Family Life Cycle 258
11.21 Assessing Small-Group Functioning 261
11.22 Accessing Evidence-Based Information 264
Section B Techniques and Guidelines for Indirect Practice 266
11.23 Assessing Agency Structure 266
11.24 Assessing Human Services Needs 268
11.25 Community Decision-Making Analysis 269
11.26 Analyzing Social Policy Implications 271
11.27 Conducting a Community Assets Assessment 273

12. Planning and Contracting 276

Section A Techniques and Guidelines for Direct Practice 277
12.1 Selecting Target Problems and Goals 278
12.2 The Problem Search 280
12.3 The Client Needs List 281
12.4 Formulating Intervention Objectives 282
12.5 Written Service Contracts 284
12.6 Making Use of Informal Resources 287
12.7 Family Group Conferencing 288
12.8 The Small Group as a Resource 291
Section B Techniques and Guidelines for Indirect Practice 295
12.9 Establishing and Changing Organizations 296
12.10 Agency Planning Processes 298
12.11 Selecting Change Issues for Advocacy 300
12.12 Project Planning and Evaluation 301
12.13 Planning a Primary Prevention Program 303
12.14 Participatory Action Planning 306

13. Intervention and Monitoring 309

Section A Techniques and Guidelines for Direct Practice 310
13.1 Preparing for an Interview 311
13.2 Information, Advice, and Persuasion 312
13.3 Reinforcement and Related Behavioral Techniques 314
13.4 Behavioral Rehearsal 318
13.5 Behavioral Contracting 318
Contents xi

13.6 Role Reversal 319

13.7 Managing Self-Talk 320
13.8 Building Self-Esteem 323
13.9 Confrontation and Challenge 325
13.10 Reframing 326
13.11 Helping Clients Make Difficult Decisions 327
13.12 Helping Clients with Harmful Habits 329
13.13 Helping Clients with Financial Problems 332
13.14 Helping Clients in Crisis 336
13.15 Homework Assignments 338
13.16 The Feelings List 338
13.17 Client Advocacy 339
13.18 Client Empowerment 341
13.19 Resolving Conflict through Counseling and Mediation 343
13.20 Providing Support for Caregivers 345
13.21 Indirect Discussion of Self in Small Groups 347
13.22 Programming in Group Work 348
Section B Techniques and Guidelines for Indirect Practice 350
13.23 Working with a Governing or Advisory Board 350
13.24 Conducting Effective Staff Meetings 352
13.25 Building Interprofessional Teamwork and Cooperation 353
13.26 Leading Small-Group Meetings 354
13.27 The RISK Technique 357
13.28 The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) 358
13.29 Chairing a Formal Committee 359
13.30 Problem Solving by a Large Group 362
13.31 Brainstorming 362
13.32 Class Advocacy 364
13.33 Teaching and Training 366
13.34 Preparing a Budget 368
13.35 Marketing and Fund-Raising for Human Services 370
13.36 Developing Grant Applications 373
13.37 Organizing Neighborhoods and Communities 377
13.38 Influencing Legislators and Other Decision Makers 378

14. Evaluation and Termination 382

Section A Techniques and Guidelines for Direct Practice 384
14.1 Measuring Change with Frequency Counts 388
14.2 Measuring Change with Individualized Rating Scales 390
xii Contents

14.3 Measuring Change with Standardized Rating Scales 392

14.4 A Service Plan Outcome Checklist (SPOC) 394
14.5 Task Achievement Scaling (TAS) 399
14.6 Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) 401
14.7 Single-Subject Designs (SSDs) 404
14.8 Termination of Service 409
Section B Techniques and Guidelines for Indirect Practice 411
14.9 Program Evaluation 412
14.10 A Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) 415
14.11 Agency Evaluation 417

Part 5: S pecialized Techniques and Guidelines for

Social Work Practice 419
15. Guidelines for Working with Vulnerable Client Groups 420
15.1 The Client Experiencing Poverty 421
15.2 The Client Who is a Child 425
15.3 The Client Who is an Adolescent 432
15.4 The Client Who is a Parent or Grandparent 435
15.5 The Client Who is an Older Person 439
15.6 The Client Who is Experiencing Domestic Violence 442
15.7 The Client Who is at Risk of Suicide 445
15.8 The Client with an Intellectual Disability 448
15.9 The Client with Brain Injury 451
15.10 The Client with a Serious Physical Disability 453
15.11 The Client Who is Chemically Dependent 456
15.12 The Client with Serious Mental Illness 465
15.13 The Client with a Personality Disorder 469
15.14 The Client on Psychotropic Medication 473
15.15 The Client Who is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender 475
15.16 The Client with an Eating Disorder 478
15.17 The Client Experiencing Grief or Loss 481
15.18 The Client with Concerns Related to Spirituality and Religion 483
15.19 The Client Who is Impacted by the Criminal Justice System 490
15.20 The Client or Family Affected by War 497
15.21 The Client or Family Experiencing an Adoption 502
15.22 The Client Who is an Immigrant or Refugee 507
15.23 The Client or Community Experiencing an Emergency or Disaster 511
Contents xiii

16. Techniques for Sustaining Social Work Practice 516

16.1 Getting a Social Work Job 517
16.2 Preparing for Social Work Competency Exams 519
16.3 Developing Self-Awareness 522
16.4 Avoiding Compassion Fatigue and Stress Management 525
16.5 Dealing with Sexual Misconduct 528
16.6 Avoiding Malpractice Suits 529
16.7 Testifying in Court 533
16.8 Providing and Receiving Supervision 536
16.9 Building and Maintaining Mentoring Relationships 539
16.10 Consuming and Contributing to Professional Knowledge 542
16.11 Improving the Social Work Image 553
16.12 Becoming a Leader 554

Author Index 558

Subject Index 564
This page intentionally left blank
Preface

Many people are influenced, directly and indirectly, by the decisions and actions of
­social workers. Working in courts, clinics, hospitals, schools, businesses, private practice,
and a myriad of private and public social agencies, social workers deliver a wide vari-
ety of services directly to clients while also striving to promote positive community and
­social changes. Improving the quality of life for an individual, a family, or the people of
a ­community ultimately impacts society as a whole and elevates the health, happiness,
safety, and productivity of all its members.
This book is about what social workers actually do when helping their clients solve
problems and/or enhance their functioning. Although many books describe social work’s
basic principles and theory, Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice focuses on a
more specific and concrete level. It describes 154 techniques and guidelines that social
workers use in everyday practice.
Most social workers have been exposed to a variety of practice theories and con-
ceptual frameworks described in the literature and taught in programs of social work
education. Although that knowledge base is essential, practice is much more than a set
of beliefs and ideas about how people can be helped. In reality, social work practice is a
set of actions and behaviors by the social worker. Clients are not directly affected by the
worker’s theory; rather, they are influenced by what the worker actually does—by the
social worker’s specific actions and behaviors. We do not intend to suggest that atten-
tion to the techniques can or should replace attention to theoretical frameworks. Rather,
techniques and specific guidelines complete the package of knowledge and skills needed
by the social worker.

Plan and Structure

Understanding the design of a book helps the reader make use of its contents. This book
has five major parts.
Part I, “Social Work and the Social Worker,” reviews the background knowledge and
characteristics we believe a social worker must possess, including:

• A clear conception of the domain of social work and the competencies the social
worker is expected to bring to the change process (Chapter 1)
• An understanding of the challenges a social worker faces in merging his or her
personal life with professional roles and responsibilities (Chapter 2)
• The native talents necessary for perceptively creating and entering into the inter-
personal relations that are at the heart of practice (i.e., the art of social work), as
well as a commitment to draw on and apply the science of social work—that is,
the profession’s knowledge base and its ethical principles (Chapter 3)

xv
xvi Preface

Part II, “The Building Blocks of Social Work Practice,” stresses the need for the
s­ocial worker to become familiar with the central features of effective helping. To
serve clients ranging from individuals to communities, a social worker must have these
qualities:
• An understanding of the varied roles performed by social workers in deliv-
ering human services and the specific functions associated with these roles
(Chapter 4)
• A deep appreciation for the profession’s fundamental practice principles and a
commitment to be guided by those principles (Chapter 5)
• A basic knowledge of the various perspectives, theories, and models that have
proven useful in practice (Chapter 6)
• The ability to use critical thinking to select the best possible knowledge, values,
and skills to help clients make sound decisions about how they might improve
their lives (Chapter 7)
In Chapters 8 to 16 we present numerous techniques and guidelines, each of which
has a number and a title (e.g., 10.4: Making a Referral). In this example, 10.4 signifies the
fourth item in Chapter 10. This system of numbering is used to refer the reader to related
information in other parts of the book.
Several paragraphs describe each technique or guideline and its application. In addi-
tion, we present a Selected Bibliography, which usually lists two to four books or articles
that we consider particularly useful for obtaining more in-depth information related to
the topic discussed.
In Part III of the book, “Techniques Common to All Social Work Practice,” we
have included techniques that strengthen the social worker’s performance regardless of
agency setting and irrespective of whether the client is an individual, family, group, orga-
nization, or community. Underlying our selection was the belief that the social worker
must have these basic skills:
• The interpersonal competence to communicate effectively and engage the client
in a set of basic helping activities (Chapter 8)
• The ability to address ethical issues, handle organization-related details
of ­service delivery, and effectively manage her or his time and workload
(Chapter 9)
Part IV, “Techniques and Guidelines for Phases of the Planned Change Process,”
lists techniques and guidelines for both direct and indirect practice in chapters organized
around the five phases of the planned change process. Although social work authors use
differing names for these phases, we have elected to use the following:
• Intake and engagement (Chapter 10)
• Data collection and assessment (Chapter 11)
• Planning and contracting (Chapter 12)
• Intervention and monitoring (Chapter 13)
• Evaluation and termination (Chapter 14)
When introducing these five chapters, we describe what should be accomplished dur-
ing that particular phase of the planned change process. These general concepts are then
elaborated to more clearly describe the direct-practice applications (Section A) and the
indirect-practice applications (Section B) in those chapters. A worker can readily examine
Preface xvii

several suggested techniques or guidelines by identifying the phase of the change pro-
cess, determining if the activity is a direct or indirect intervention, and then locating the
most applicable technique or guideline.
Part V, “Specialized Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice,” includes
some items that cut across the five phases of the planned change process and thus did
not fit into the classification system used in Part IV. To address these issues, we cre-
ated two chapters containing items related to serving vulnerable client populations
(Chapter 15) and the items related to maintaining a social work position and enhancing
one’s ­professional performance (Chapter 16).

Definition of Terms
Writing about social work practice inherently presents some language problems. One has
to read only a few social work texts or articles to become at least a little confused when
various authors use terms somewhat differently. Unfortunately, some commonly used
terms lack a precise or an agreed-upon definition. Perhaps that is to be expected in a pro-
fession that focuses on complex and dynamic human and social interactions. This book
cannot overcome these long-standing problems of terminology, yet the ideas presented
here will be more readily understood if we make the meanings of several terms, particu-
larly those in the title of the book, more explicit.
A technique is viewed as a circumscribed, goal-oriented behavior performed in a
practice situation by the social worker. It is a planned action deliberately taken by the
practitioner. The application of a simple technique (e.g., making the first telephone con-
tact) may take only a few minutes, whereas more complex techniques (e.g., assessing a
client’s social functioning) may require several hours or more.
Guidelines, by comparison, are a set of directions intended to influence the social
worker’s behavior and decisions. Guidelines are essentially lists of do’s and don’ts. They
might be used when working with a specific type of client (e.g., a child or a client with
mental illness) or when carrying out workload management tasks (e.g., recording or
writing reports).
Social work is a term applied to a specific profession that is committed to improving
the quality of life for vulnerable people by helping them deal more effectively with the
challenges they face and/or helping to change the social and economic conditions that
create or exacerbate individual and social problems. In our introduction to Part I, we
more fully spell out our perception of social work.
Practice is a term used when speaking about what social workers actually do, as
in the phrase social work practice. The word practice infers action and performance by
the social worker. The word practice also implies that social workers always are learning
from what they do, always open to new insights, and never content to do what they have
­always done. Thus, social workers take the viewpoint that they are continually practic-
ing, evaluating, and improving their craft.
In addition to terms in the book’s title, the reader should be alert to the varied mean-
ings of the term client. Common usage implies an individual who is the consumer of
­services. However, as used in this book, the term has a broader connotation. The ­client
of the social worker may be an individual, a family or another form of household, or
even a small group, committee, organization, neighborhood, community, or larger
­social ­system. Throughout the book, the term client is occasionally expanded to mention
­clientele, clients, client groups, or client systems, reminding the reader that the tradi-
tional narrow definition of client is not intended.
xviii Preface

Finally, the term intervention is sometimes confusing to someone new to social

work. The practice of social work is all about change—for example, change in the client’s
thoughts, perceptions, and actions, as well as change in the environment that affects or
impinges on the client. The word intervention suggests that the social worker enters into
and guides the client’s search and struggle to deal more effectively with some particular
challenge or problem.

New to This Edition

Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work Practice has been carefully updated to provide
students with easy access to current information on fundamental techniques required for
social work practice from the generalist perspective. Virtually every chapter and every
item has been revised to add new understanding, to delete outdated material, and so far
as we are able, to offer clear descriptions and explanations. In addition, new features of
this tenth edition of Techniques and Guidelines include:
• The brief descriptions of intervention approaches commonly used by social
workers (see Chapter 6) have been expanded to include dialectical behavioral
therapy and various trauma-related approaches.
• Several new items related to direct-practice interventions are included in this
­edition: clarifying roles and responsibilities, the meaning of work in social func-
tioning, assessing a client’s needed level of care, mandated reporting of abuse and
neglect, understanding the family life cycle, accessing evidence-based informa-
tion, and providing support for caregivers.
• We have also added two new indirect-practice items: conducting community
­assets assessments and participatory action planning.
• An item on measuring client change with frequency counts was added to
Chapter 14 to complement the items on measuring with individualized and
­standardized assessment scales.
• In Chapter 15 new items related to the client with a personality disorder and the
client or family experiencing an adoption have been added.
• With each new edition of this text it has been necessary to delete some items
in order to make room for new content we believed was important to include.
Many of these deleted items are quite relevant today and we are making them
available by indicating through marginal notes how to access them. The notes
­appear near related content in this current edition.

Supplements for Instructors

For instructors using this book in their classes, we have created an Instructor’s Manual
and Test Bank to assist them in using this text. This manual can be obtained from your
campus Pearson representative or by writing to Pearson Education (One Lake Street,
Upper Saddle River, NJ, 07458).

Acknowledgments
Social work practice involves many different activities with a wide variety of clients
having many different problems and concerns. Moreover, social work practice takes
place within a wide spectrum of organizational settings and social environments.
Consequently, social work practice entails a vast array of knowledge and skills. This book
Preface xix

is ambitious in the sense that it describes techniques and guidelines used by social work-
ers practicing in different settings and with many differing types of clients and situations.
That goal and broad scope calls for more expertise than that possessed by its two authors.
Consequently, in preparing this book we asked more than 65 colleagues and former stu-
dents in social work practice and social work education to critique our drafts of the items
included in the book. We thank them for enhancing the quality of this publication, but
take full responsibility for the final product.
We would also like to acknowledge the following individuals, who reviewed this
tenth edition and offered suggestions for improving this publication: Kathleen Belanger,
Stephen F. Austin State University; Rosalyn Deckerhoff, Florida State University;
Kimberly Delles, Aurora University; Lettie Lockhart, University of Georgia; and Patricia
Magee, Pittsburg State University.

Bradford W. Sheafor
Charles R. Horejsi
This page intentionally left blank
 Part 1

Social Work and

the Social Worker

Social work is an indispensable profession in our complex and ever-changing society. But
it is an often misunderstood profession, in part because it is a profession characterized
by considerable diversity. Indeed, social workers engage in a broad range of activities
within many types of settings and with many different people. Some social workers deal
intensely with individuals and families, whereas others work with groups, organizations,
or whole communities. Some deal primarily with children, others work with older per-
sons. Some are counselors and psychotherapists, others are supervisors, administrators,
program planners, or fund-raisers. Some focus on family violence and others specialize
in how to provide housing or medical care to the poor. This variety is what makes social
work so challenging and stimulating. But it is because of this diversity of both clients and
activities that it is so difficult to answer the simple question: What is social work?
The task of concisely defining social work in a manner that encompasses all of what
social workers do has challenged the profession throughout its history. At a very funda-
mental level, social work is a profession devoted to helping people function as well as
they can within their social environments and, when necessary, to changing their envi-
ronments to make positive social functioning possible. This theme of improving person-
in-environment functioning is clarified and illustrated throughout this text.
The authors’ perspective of social work is captured in the following three-part defini-
tion of a social worker. A social worker
1. has the recognized professional preparation (i.e., knowledge, ethics, and compe-
tencies) and the requisite skills needed to provide human services sanctioned by
society, and
2. especially to engage vulnerable populations (e.g., children, older people, the
poor, women, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups) in efforts to bring about
needed change in the clients themselves, the people around them, or related
­social institutions,
3. so that these individuals and groups are able to meet their social needs, prevent
or eliminate difficulties, make maximum use of their abilities and strengths,
lead full and satisfying lives, and contribute fully to strengthening society.
In order to be a responsible professional, the social worker must understand and
function within the profession’s accepted areas of expertise. Throughout its history, ­social
work has been portrayed as both an art (one’s personal characteristics) and a s­cience
(a base of knowledge and skill required to be an effective professional). Part I of this book
addresses the most fundamental elements of social work practice—the b­ lending of the
person and the profession. These elements must be clearly understood before a social
worker can most effectively use the techniques and guidelines described in the subse-
quent parts of the book to assist vulnerable and disenfranchised people as they seek to
prevent or resolve the complex social problems that arise in their daily lives.
 1
The Domain of
the Social Work
Profession
L ea r n i n g O bj ec t i v es
At the conclusion of this chapter, the reader should be prepared to:
• Describe the unique place of social work among the several help-
ing professions.
• Identify that the improvement of people’s social functioning and
changing detrimental social conditions are the dual responsibili-
ties of social workers.
• Recognize that social work’s person-in-environment focus
requires the social worker to address issues and problems ranging
from those of the individual to those impacting the community or
society as a whole.
• Identify the merging of client, social worker, agency, and social
policies and programs during the process of planned change.

When a person sets out to help others, he or she assumes a seri-

ous ­responsibility. The responsible helper from every profession
must practice within his or her professional domain (i.e., the pro-
fession’s area of expertise) if clients or patients are to receive the
most ­effective services that the professional is prepared to provide.
Indeed, professional helpers can harm those they intend to help if
the helpers’ ­activities extend beyond their professional boundar-
ies because these boundaries identify and encompass the services
its members are best prepared to deliver. These boundaries also
determine the content of professional social work education and
training.
This text is concerned with the profession of social work and
how social workers assist people in addressing a variety of different
problems and issues that confront them. Thus, understanding the
professional domain of social work is prerequisite to helping clients
address their issues.

2
The Domain of the Social Work Profession 3

Social work is, indeed, a curious name for a profession. In times that emphasize image
over substance, it is clearly a title that lacks pizzazz. In fact, the use of the word work
makes it seem burdensome and boring. Social work is a title that many social workers
have wished they could change, possibly without understanding where it came from in
the first place.
The title is attributed to Jeffrey Brackett (1860–1949), who served for nearly 30 years
on the Massachusetts Board of Charities and later became the first director of what is
now the Simmons College School of Social Work. In the early 1900s, Brackett argued
that the word social should be part of this developing profession’s title because it depicts
the focus on people’s interactions with important forces that shape their lives, such as
family members, friends, or a myriad of other factors, including their relevant cultural
or ethnic group, school, job, neighborhood, community, and so on. He added the word
work to differentiate professional practice from what he considered the often misguided
and self-serving philanthropic activity of wealthy volunteers. Brackett believed including
work in the profession’s title emphasized that its activities were to be orderly, responsible,
and disciplined—not something to be engaged in by volunteers or those simply curious
about other people’s problems.
Social work, then, is an accurate title for a profession that applies helping ­techniques
in a disciplined manner to address social problems. During the years since Brackett
convinced early helping services providers to accept this title, the domain of social
work has expanded and its methods have been reshaped by knowledge drawn from
the social and behavioral sciences. Yet the title continues to describe this profession’s
central focus today.

The Social Work Domain

It is important for the social worker to carefully examine the domain of social work
(i.e., to understand its purpose, focus, scope, and sanction). This is critical for students
because educational programs divide the study of social work into units, or courses, and
this can lead to familiarity with the parts without necessarily understanding the whole.
Yet the practice of social work requires attention to the whole of the profession’s mission.
Another reason for understanding the social work domain is to help guard against
professional drift, which is the neglect of a profession’s traditional purpose and func-
tions in favor of activities associated with another discipline. This happens most often in
clinical settings when social workers align themselves too closely with models and theo-
ries used in medicine, psychology, and other disciplines that tend to minimize attention
to social policy and social justice issues. These individuals may come to define themselves
as their job title first (e.g., therapist, probation officer) and social worker second—or
perhaps not as a social worker at all. Professional drift is also seen among administrators
and managers, too, who were trained as social workers but identify primarily with the
­existing procedures of specific organizations rather than also introducing the perspec-
tives of the social work profession. When professional drift occurs, it is a disservice to
one’s clients, social agency, and community, for it diminishes the unique commitment,
perspective, and competencies that social work brings to the helping process.
A precise and generally agreed-upon understanding of the boundaries that mark
the several helping professions does not exist. Different disciplines (e.g., social work,
­clinical psychology, school counseling, and marriage and family therapy) have claimed
their ­domains without collaboration or mutual agreement about where one profession
4 Part 1: Social Work and the Social Worker

ends and another begins or where they appropriately overlap. This problem is further
complicated by the fact that each state that licenses the practice of these professions is
free to establish its own definitions of professional boundaries. It is important, therefore,
to approach learning about social work’s domain with recognition that the boundaries
­between professions are sometimes blurred.

Social Work’s Purpose

An understanding of the social work profession begins with a deep appreciation of
­humans as social beings. People are, indeed, social creatures. They need other p­ eople.
Each individual’s growth and development requires the guidance, nurturing, and
­protection provided by others. And that person’s concept of self—and even his or her
very survival, both physically and psychologically—is tied to the decisions and actions of
other people. It is this interconnectedness and interdependence of people and the power
of social ­relationships that underpins social workers’ commitment to improve the qual-
ity and effectiveness of those interactions and relationships—in other words, to enhance
clients’ social functioning and, at the same time, to improve the social conditions that
affect social functioning.

Improved Social Functioning

The concept of social functioning is a key to understanding the unique focus of social
work and distinguishing it from the other helping professions. Social functioning relates
to a person’s ability to accomplish those tasks and activities necessary to meet his or
her basic needs and perform his or her major social roles in the society. As Maslow
(1970) suggests in his hierarchy of human needs, the most basic human needs concern
having adequate food, shelter, and medical care, as well as being safe and protected
from harm. At an important, but not quite so critical, level, people need to feel that
they belong within their social networks, experience some level of acceptance and
­respect from others, and have the opportunity to fulfill their own potential (i.e., self-
actualization). Indeed, one aspect of the diversity in the profession of social work is
that social workers are prepared to help clients improve social functioning related to all
levels of these basic human needs.
Another illustration of the diversity of human situations social workers address
­relates to the fact that their clients typically are expected to simultaneously perform
­several social roles, including, for example, those of being a family member, parent,
spouse, ­student, patient, employee, neighbor, and citizen. Depending on the person’s gen-
der, ethnicity, culture, religion, abilities, occupation, and so on, these roles may be vague
or quite prescribed. Furthermore, they may change over time, leading to c­onfusion,
­tension, and conflict in families, at school, or at work. Thus, the concept of improving
social functioning includes the wide range of actions that social workers might take to
help clients strengthen the match or fit between an individual’s capacities to perform
these multiple social roles, and resolving the sometimes conflicting demands, expecta-
tions, resources, and opportunities within his or her social and economic environment.
Although the social work profession is concerned with the social functioning of all
people, it has traditionally prioritized the needs of the most vulnerable members of soci-
ety and those who experience social injustice, discrimination, and oppression. The most
vulnerable people in a society are often young children, the frail elderly, persons living
in poverty, persons with severe physical or mental disabilities, persons who are gay or
lesbian, and persons of minority ethnic/racial backgrounds.
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