Social Work Skills

First Meetings
Reflection of Feelings
Paraphrasing
Questioning
Clarification
Partializing
Summarizing
Silence
Prompts
Sharing Information
Confrontation
Attending Behaviors
Preparing for Client Meetings

Agency Decor
 Interviewing spaces should
be welcoming
 Interviewing spaces should
reflect the cultures of the
clients served
 Organizing the physical
environment
First Impressions are Lasting
Interview Settings
Preparing

 Preparing Skills
-Preparatory Reviewing
-Preparatory Exploring
-Preparatory Consulting
-Preparatory Arranging
-Preparatory Empathy
-Preparatory Self-Exploration
-Centering
Physical Proximity

 In what ways does

physical proximity
impact the client/SW
communication ?
 Prompts

 Encourages the client to say NONVERBAL PROMPTS

more  Leaning forward
 Verbal and nonverbal tactics  Maintaining eye contact
 Not asking directly for more  Nodding of the head
specific content  Hand Gestures
 Gesturing/Minimal
VERBAL PROMPTS
utterances often picking up
on the client’s last remarks “And then……?”
 Signals the SW’s close “Anything more….?”
following of the story and “Mm hmm.”
interest in details “Uh huh”
Skills in the Work Phase

 Contracting begins
with:
– Clarifying Purpose
– Clarifying Role
– Reaching for Client
Feedback
First Meetings

 Identify yourself
 Invite client to introduce
themselves
 Discuss time frame
 Explain the Limits of
Confidentiality
 Discuss purpose/roles
 Opening Lines
 Contracting/Developing a
Working Agreement

 Notice that the

conversation appears
relatively informal
 Does the SW clarify the
issues for work?
Reflection of Feelings

 An exploration of client’s
affective (feeling) responses
 Capturing the emotion
expressed and reflecting it
back
 Restating and exploring
client emotion
 Reflecting both verbal and
non verbal messages
Conveying Empathy
 Putting Oneself in the  Conveying Empathy
Client’s Shoes – Postures
 Understanding what the – Gestures
client is experiencing – Sounds/Words
– Behaviors
 Experiencing what the
client is feeling
Exploration
 Engaging client in a mutual
exploration of the person-
situation situation
 Encouraging the client to
share information, thoughts,
and feelings about
themselves
 Results in greater self-
exploration on the part of the
client
 Exploring the past, present,
& past status of the issue
 Skills for Exploration
– Asking questions
– Seeking clarification
– Reflecting content
– Reflecting Feelings &
Meanings
– Partializing
– Going beyond what is said
Exploration in Action

 Observe the manner in

which the SW gets Lily
to offer more detail
about her situation.
 Notice how the SW
uses the skill of
clarification
– “What makes them
perfect?”
– “Particular
Imperfections?”
Paraphrasing/Reflecting Content

 Rephrasing/restating client’s message

 Communicating an understanding of the
client’s message
 Allows client to hear the essence of his/her
statement
 Avoid repeated use of the same lead-in
phrases
– Example: “You’re saying that…..”
Questioning

 Closed-Ended
questions usually
answered in a few short
words
 Open-Ended questions
invite exploration from
client’s perspective
 Avoid “WHY” questions
and Double Questions
 Clarification

 Used when SW is unclear about what client

is saying
 Encourages client to be clear about what
they are truly feeling and expressing
 Clarifying a value or incomplete client
experiences, feelings, thoughts, or behaviors
Partializing
 A problem management skill
 Breaking down complex
problems into smaller more
manageable proportions in order
to address one part at a time
 Conveys to the client that
problems are manageable
 Accomplishing small step builds
client confidence
 Focuses on the work, not on
pathology that exists in the client
 Summarizing

 Identifying ideas, themes,

and patterns that have been
addressed or learned and
reflecting these back to the
client
 A form of reflection in which
the SW sums up what has
been discussed and reflects
these back to the client in a
condensed form
NonVerbal Communication

 Up to 65% of  Assessing the client

communication is emotion that is being
nonverbal communicated
 Reading between the INDIRECTLY
lines  Observe:
 Putting into words what – Physical appearance
the client is – Body posturing
Communicating but – Gestures & movements
NOT saying – Facial expressions
NonVerbal Communication Sends
Important Indirect Messages

 Communication without
using words
 Body language, behavior
(failing to take next steps,
missing appointments)
 How do you determine the
meaning behind the
indirect communication?
 NonVerbal Communication

 Observe Lily’s hand

gestures
 Notice the change when she
talks about a favorable
experience
What is Charles communicating
with his crossed arms?
Your thoughts about the SW’s
analysis?
Use of Silences

 The art of knowing

when to be quiet/ when
to break the silence
 The timing of being
silent as an intentional
response
 Identifying the meaning
behind the silence
 Attending Behaviors:
Physical & Psychological

 What do you notice

about the SW’s
physical posturing?
 What is the client
communicating with his
physical behaviors?
Sharing Information

 Relevant to client’s immediate

needs
 Not intended to “lead” clients
 Client should be free to
accept/reject the information
 Related to the working contract
 When sharing worker’s opinions,
identify these as your own
opinions, feelings, beliefs, values,
rather than fact
Information Sharing and
Rehearsing Action Steps

 Providing advice/
recommendations
 Empowering clients to
act on their own behalf
 Rehearsing the steps
 Disclosing Personal Information
to Clients

 Should the SW disclose

personal information?
 Should the SW share
personal feelings and
thoughts with clients?
 Is revealing oneself
“unprofessional”?
Self Disclosure

 When used properly, can strengthen

worker/client relationship
 Boundaries for sharing worker’s feelings
 Spontaneous and unchecked expression of
worker’s feeling should be avoided
 Some worker feelings should never be
expressed
Encouraging Specific Behaviors

 Influencing the client to do things differently

 Balancing client self-determination against
paternalism
 Confrontation/Reflecting

Discrepancies or Inconsistencies

 Effective within a trusting

relationship
 Addresses the illusion of
work
 Typical for client to be
unaware of discrepancies
until brought to their
attention
 Challenging client’s patterns of
inconsistent thinking and
behaving

 What was the benefit of

confronting Lily about
her intentions vs. actual
behavior?
 Observe how the SW
manages Charles’
defensiveness and
challenges
Indirect References/Moving from the
General to the Specific

 Issues raised indirectly

may need to be directly
discussed
 Reaching for specifics
behind general client
statements
 Making the connection
that the client alludes
to-- but is unable to
express directly
Affirming Client Strengths
Resistance
 Communicated verbally &
nonverbally
 Reading & exploring the
resistance
 Resistance to being helped
 Resistance to changing old
habits/holding on to what is
comfortable & known
 Can be a sign that the work
is going well
 Resistance to ending the
relationship
Termination and Endings

 Can be both Client  Reasons for

initiated and/or Worker
initiated
Terminating:
– Work completed
– Worker leaving agency
– Client moving
– Death of client/worker
– Lack of progress
– Financial reasons