Introduction To Social Work by Leonora Serafeca-De Guzman (Group 2)

Introduction to
SOCIAL
Work
Leonora Serafeca-De Guzma
1
THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION
SOCIAL WORK has become a profession because there exist people in poor as well as affluent societies
who for one reason or another cannot fulfill some basic human need or solve a problem without outside
help. It started centuries ago as charity work or almsgiving but with rapid urbanization and
industrialization the scene has gradually changed. The world according to McLuhan has become a
"global village" so much so that even nations affect each other. The complexity of modern society has
given rise to social problems affecting man and his environment. The descendants of the charity
workers, in their quest for more effective ways of helping people, finally evolved the profession known
as social work.
Social work is concerned not only with the person as a human being but with the person in situation or
the person in environment. This perspective arose from the experiences and observations of the
pioneers that person and environment affect each other in a cause and effect manner. With this in mind
they have regarded social work universally as the profession which helps individuals, families, groups
and communities to develop, improve, maintain, or restore their capability for coping with the demands
of their environment through the use of social work methods of intervention.
SOCIAL WORK DEFINED
Recognition of social work as a profession and not merely a a voluntary act of charity came in 1965
when the Philippine Congress enacted RA. 4373, otherwise known as the Social Work Law. It defined
social work as a profession that is "primarily concerned with organized social service activity aimed to
facilitate and strengthen basic relationships in the mutual adjustment between individuals and their
social environment for the good of the individual and society, and by the use of social work methods.1
In 1977, the Philippine Association of Social Workers came up with its own definition of social work as
"the profession which fosters, facilitates and strengthens basic social relationships in order to achieve
the full development of the individual and society by the use of social work methods "2
It will be noted that the second definition includes the term "fosters" and "full development" was
substituted for "mutual adjustment. Not that a mutual adjustment between the individual and society
is no longer needed. It is, but the phrase "full development of the individual and society" is believed to
be a bigger necessity as far as the Philippines is concerned. Still categorized as a developing country, not
only are its natural resources underdeveloped or their development sidetracked and neglected but its
people as a whole have yet to realize their potentials. At present the large majority are ignorant,
illiterate, poorly educated, afflicted by disease and ill-health, lacking in employment skills and are largely
dependent on the government and society for survival or subsistence instead of being self- reliant.
These people constitute the majority of social work clientele Because of these deplorable conditions,
social work has expanded its functions to bringing out the latent capacities and develop the potentials of
its clientele groups.
On the other hand the word "foster" was added to imply that there is a need to bring out and nurture
the human being's capacity for social relationships and to encourage its cultivation so that he can
interact positively with his environment. In particular, social work has in mind the marginal population,
the people who have not yet been assimilated into the main- stream of development, at which ever
level it happens to bebin the country's zigzag route to social equity and economic progress.
The Social Worker

According to the Social Work Law the social worker is a practitioner who by accepted standards of
training and social work professional experiences, possesses the skill to achieve the objectives as
defined and set by the social work profession through the use of the basic methods of casework, group
work and community organization. He has knowledge of techniques of social work which are designed
to enable individuals, groups and communities to meet their needs and solve their problems of
adjustment to changing patterns of society Through coordinated actions he can help improve economic
and social conditions, and he must be connected with an organized social work agency which is
supported partially and wholly with government or community- solicited funds.
To be able to practice the social work graduate, after finishing the Bachelor of Science in Social Work
(BSSW) degree must pass the examination annually given by the Board for Social Workers of the
Professional Regulation Commission, the government's overall regulating body for the professions
Social Work Practice

Social work practice as used in this book refers to "the activ ities carried out by the social worker in
varied institutional settings, communities and private practice. The workers address a full range of
human problems involving individuals, families and groups These settings are divided into two
categories: primary and secondary To the first belong those social agencies whose programs and
services are the direct purview or scope of social work, e.g. DSWD, CARITAS, Hospicio de San Jose. Those
belonging to the second category are agencies, institutions and
organizations whose primary function is to provide services other than social welfare but which employ
social workers to support, strengthen, or complement their own services such as hospitals, schools,
housing agencies, and even regional trial courts which include under their jurisdiction family, children
and youth affairs.
Generic Terms
There are at least three generic terms which are frequently used throughout this book. These are:
worker, help, and client.
Worker refers to the social worker, the person who, by sus- tained mental or physical efforts, performs
tasks and activities designed to help the client overcome an obstacle or difficulty and achieve a result or
an end.
Help is what the worker does to assist the client by giving him assistance or supplying what is needed so
that he can advance towards an objective or accomplish an end or a goal.
Client is the person or group of persons who engage the services or help of the worker, the individual,
family, group, or community There are certain terms which are often used in connection with social
work. These are social welfare, social services, and social development.
Social Welfare
Social welfare is the primary field of social work practice. The term itself has both broad and narrow
concepts. Affluent countries use the term to embrace a wide meaning. In many Third World countries,
on the other hand, the term is used to convey a narrower meaning.
There is a general agreement that social welfare is a set of institutions and agencies established by
society to provide various kinds of social support to people who may need them. These are established
either in response to society's wish to serve or in society's wish to help individuals to survive.
In the United States there is a common understanding that social welfare is an organized system of
social services and institutions designed to aid individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of life
and health and personal and social relationships which permit them to develop their full capacities, and
to promote their well-being in harmony with the needs of their families and communities. In brief, social
welfare denotes the wide range of activities which a society undertakes to insure the mutual support of
its members in the interest of the cohesion 6 and well-being of the community Viewed in this light,
social welfare includes the fields of health, education, welfare, housing. employment, community
development and other services that directly affect the social well-being of people.
In the Philippines and other countries similarly situated social welfare refers to an aggregation of
specialized programs, institutions and services intended to meet certain residual needs (like food,
shelter and clothing) not serviced by other types of sectoral action, and receiving some degree of
financial support, supervision or recognition from either the public or private sectors or both This is how
the term is understood in this country Its subsectors are family welfare, child and youth welfare,.
women's welfare, welfare of disabled persons, community welfare and emergency assistance.
The Social Welfare Act of 1968 which created the Department of Social Welfare (the word Development
added much later) is more specific. It states that the function of the DSW is "to provide a comprehensive
program of social services designed to ameliorate the living conditions of distressed Filipinos parti
cularly those who are handicapped by reason of poverty, youth, physical and mental disability, illness
and old age, victims of natural disasters including assistance to members of cultural communities to
facilitate their integration into the body politic.7 This is where social welfare stands today
NEEDS AND PROBLEMS
Social work's rationale for being is that many people are unable to meet their basic needs or solve
psychosocial problems without outside help. A need or a problem becomes social work's point of entry
into the life of another person or group of persons.
Need is defined as a condition or situation in which something necessary or desirable is required or

wanted. When a person's need has not been met or there are obstacles to its fulfillment so that the
person's capability to function satisfactorily is threatened or impaired, it becomes a problem." 8
Hepworth and Larsen once prepared a list of human needs and related loci of resources. In their listing
they started with positive self concept, followed by emotional needs, personal fulfillment needs and
finally, physical needs. In this book we have placed physical needs first because poverty is the problem
most frequently brought to the attention of social workers by their clients.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________
HUMAN NEEDS AND RELATED LOCI OF RESOURCES (Modified according to the Philippine experience)
Human Needs Loci of Resources
Physical Needs
Food, clothing, housing Economic, legal and health care

Health Care institutions, formal social welfare,
Safety law enforcement and disaster
Protection relief organizations.
Emotional Needs
Feeling needed and Parents, marital partner

valued by others friends, siblings
Companionship cultural reference groups
Sense of belonging social networks
Positive self-concept
Identity Nurturance, acceptance

Self-esteem love and positive feedback
Self-confidence provided by significant
others (parents, relatives, teachers, peer groups)
Personal Fulfillment
Educational Education
Recreation Educational, recreational
Accomplishment religious, employment
Esthetic satisfaction and other social institutions
Religion
"Hepworth & Larsen
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_________
From the above table it can be seen that human beings a extremely dependent upon the environment
for the fulfillment of a basic need. Social work practice is thus directed to interface between people and
their needs. are
PURPOSE AND PURVIEW
It is universally accepted that the underlying purpose of social work effort is to release all human power
in individuals for personal fulfillment and social good, and in order to create the kind of society, social
institutions and social policy which will make self-realization possible for all men. Human power is the
capacity to know, to love, to reason, and exercise free will.
Specifically, the purpose of social work is to enhance a person's social functioning, that is, the
improvement of his interaction between himself and his environment. It is the product of his activity as
he relates to his surroundings.
The environment is the totality of conditions or circumstances surrounding the individual. It consists of
a combination of external or intrinsic physical conditions as well as the complex of social and cultural
conditions that influence his growth and development as a human being; also his behavior, as he relates
to others in day-to-day living. The environment may disrupt his ability or prevent him from being socially
functional.
A person may be said to be socially functional when he is able to cope with social relations and tasks. It
can be seen in at least three ways:
1) The person is effective in the performance of his tasks; he accomplishes them well and good.
2) He is responsible to others. He is reliable and dependable; he is capable of making moral and rational
decisions on his own and also cares for the welfare of others. 3) He derives self-satisfaction from the
performance of his tasks and the fulfillment of his responsibilities 10
Scope of Social Work
The scope of social work, that is, the range, breadth, or opportunity within it can function flows
logically from its purpose. Brown listed five concerns of social work 11
First, social work provides material assistance to persons who are dependent, or in economic distress, or
simply belong to the bottom level of the population. This is the task from which social work originated
and will continue to perform in the future. This is true in all societies but the more so in underdeveloped
or developing countries where poverty is still a major problem.
Second, it helps persons whether as individuals, families, groups or communities to adjust, to improve,
and/or change for the their economic and social environment.
Third, it is concerned not only with material or economic problems but also with the psychosocial ones,
whether these problems be the cause or effect of poverty, illness or crime, or independently
Fourth, it seeks to provide the economically deprived with opportunities for improving their own
economic and social situation, including those amenities of life such as recreational, cultural, religious
activities which constitute an essential part of an standard of living.
Fifth, it seeks to develop the capability of persons to par ticipate in problem-solving and decision-
making, especially in matters directly affecting them, and helps provide the oppor
De Guzman added four more concerns relevant to the Philip. tunity to do so. pine condition. 12l Sixth, it
helps them to translate these decisions into action,
Seventh, it also works for the development of economically viable and socially developed communities
and of a edgeable, dynamic and self-reliant citizenry imbued with a sense of nationhood
Eighth, it sees to it that the clientele population has access to work and employment opportunities,
improved health services, and better education facilities
Ninth, where there exist conditions of dire economic p social injustice, violations of human rights and
human exploita tion, social work must join hands with others to achieve social reform and social change.
That reform must be directed towards more equitable distribution of the nation's wealth, income, and
economic opportunities and resources, a more realistic and decent living wage, better conditions of
work, protective legislation for women, children and special groups, medical care for those who cannot
afford it, housing for the homeless, and a more comprehensive social security program. To achieve
these ends social work may resort to people power, that is, social action of a nonviolent nature in
support of the population concerned.
Functions of Social Work
The enhancement of psychosocial functioning falls into three types: restorative, preventive, and
developmental.
The restorative function is aimed at rehabilitating clients whose functioning has been impaired by
physical, mental or social difficulties. It implies a temporary breakdown of normal functioning.
Restoration may be curative or rehabilitative.
It is curative when it identifies, controls and/or eliminates the factors in the interactional process that
have caused the break down or impairment of social relationships. It is rehabilitative when it attempts to
reconstruct and/or organize the pattern of interaction that has broken down, been changed, or build
new ones.
Restoration implies the presence of psychosocial pathology such as those found among substance
abusers, the emotionally disturbed, those under stress because of some traumatic experience, and
others in similar situations.
Social work is preventive when it goes through the early discovery, control and elimination of those
conditions which may impair psychosocial functioning. As a means of prevention social work undertakes
programs and services geared towards the prevention of social dysfunctioning. Among these are recrea-
tional and character building activities for children and youth, supplementary feeding, nurseries and
preschools for the very young, counseling and other social services for young adults as well as self-
awareness sessions for the youth, women and men.
Developmental social work is indigenous to the Philippines. Not only are the country's natural resources
underdeveloped, even the majority of its citizens are, in the sense that they lack access to opportunities
for self-advancement and the realization of their potentials Developmental social work then refers to
the provision of social assistance and services which will lead to the optimum development and
fulfillment of the client's potential. It is concerned with the building of strengths for self-realization, self-
fulfillment and self-actualization, and with ways of effectively coping with situations in life that may be
problematic, challenging, or stressful. It is applied to persons whose social functioning is more or less
normal or if impaired, it has been restored
Problems causing people much difficulty are not due to exclusively environmental or structural
deficiencies. In our country there are other factors that may impair the ability of some persons to utilize
available and accessible resources. This factor may be in the individual's own personality or character as
when he is withdrawn, reserved or shy and has difficulty in establishing social relationships. Or it may be
in certain values, belief or traditions which hinder the person from taking advantage of certain
opportunities which may be open to him.
Major Tasks of Social Work
To accomplish this purpose or major goal of social work certain tasks or objectives must be
accomplished. Pincus and Minahan once listed down four major objectives of the profession 13 Social
work.
1. Helps people enhance, improve their problem solving and coping abilities.
People who can manage by themselves, who have the ability to solve their problems or who are skilled
in coping with the stresses and difficulties encountered do not normally seek help from another person
or a social agency. People who are over- whelmed by their difficulties, who have exhausted their coping
resources or did not have any to start with are the ones who seek help from strangers or from a social
agency. This is a last resort for the Filipino client. He agrees to this step, if referred, or takes this decision
only when all other resources such as family and friends have failed to help him. The social worker helps
the client by enabling him to do things for himself. He helps him improve, increase his problem solving
and coping abilities. For even if the problem that he has brought to the agency is finally resolved, there
will be other difficulties that he will encounter as he goes through life. So the improvement of his
problem-solving capabilities is not only for the problem at hand but also for use in the future. The
experience, hopefully, will be an aid to future problem encounters
The social worker can accomplish this objective or task in many ways. 1) assisting the client to view his
problem from a different vantage point, considering several remedial alternatives or options, 2)
enhancing and fostering self-awareness so that he becomes aware of and recognizes his own strengths
and limitations which may be useful in solving his problem now or in the future; and 3) teaching
problem-solving strategies and interpersonal skills.
2. Links and helps people obtain resources
The social worker assumes the role of a case manager in the performance of this task, one who
directs, guides or supervises the delivery of relevant social services to the client so that he may solve
his problem, or one who simply links the client with the resources that he needs.
Oftentimes people, especially those who are in need of social services or certain resources do not
know whether such services exist or where they can be found. A young boy, a runaway from home
comes to the city and does not know where to go or whom to turn to; sooner or later he joins a group
of street children or out-of-school youth and is now initiated into the ways of the street children. Or a
pregnant teenager does not know whom to turn to for help and soon becomes prey to unscrupulous
persons who are in the black market for babies. They take care of the pregnant mother with the
assurance that everything will be all right, then the baby for sale, to foreign adoptive parents.
Families whose breadwinner is sick or unemployed, families without any income whatsoever, families
who wish to increase their income through livelihood projects; youth needing vocational or
employment skills, children needing educational aid to be able to go to school, preschoolers in need of
supplementary feeding, idle women who need to do something in order
to help their husbands increase the family income all these often do not know where to go. They can be
helped by the social worker pointing out the resources available, linking the client with the resource,
and seeing to it that the resource is obtained in a timely fashion and appropriate manner.
3. Makes the resource systems and organizations responsive to the people.
Resource organizations are usually founded with lofty ideals and vision. Enormous zeal is spent in
formulating a mission statement and defining objectives. Sometimes however, the policies that may
have been formulated may not be responsive to the needs of the clients or target population so that the
result is ineffective organization. For instance, policies that uphold discriminating religious practices, or
policies that stipulate the age limit when educational assistance to a child may be terminated even when
the need is still there, policies and procedures that unwittingly delay the delivery of assistance for a
livelihood project by as long as several months will certainly undermine the efficacy of the service. The
dehumanizing procedures c the demeaning experiences, the behavior of the agency staff p or even deter
clients from obtaining resources they need. It is the responsibility of the social worker to see to it that
these organizations and systems accomplish the purpose for which they have been set up. resource
4. Influences and contributes to the improvement and development of social policy.
Direct service practitioners can contribute to the im provement and development of social policy
through feedbacks and by sharing with their supervisors and others their observations and experiences
obtained in the course of their practice. They are witnesses to the social realities on people's ability to
attain a satisfactory life. They see the en vironmental and health conditions obtaining; clients share with
them their disappointments and frustrations regarding certain policies such as relocation and
resettlement, the lack of school buildings and free elementary textbooks, the lack of free medicines for
poor people in the public health centers and many others. All these aggravate or compound the clients'
personal problems. Most often there is a dearth of laws and policies that may at least ameliorate if not
entirely eliminate those envi ronmental problems. Problems of individuals, families, groups and
neighborhoods can be traced to the deplorable condi tions in which they live. Social workers therefore
should not limit themselves to service delivery but should bring these problems to the attention of
government authorities and policy makers.
Two major tasks of social workers were added by Hepworth and Larsen in 1986 14 Social workers:
5. Facilitates interaction between the individual and others in the environment
The quality of life for people is determined in large measure by the quality of their interaction with
people in their envi ronment 15 In highly urbanized and industrialized cities there are hardly any
contacts between neighbors whether rich or middle class. Neighborliness is missing and contacts
between and among neighbors is occasional or impersonal. This is true in the Philippines as well as in
New Industrializing Countries (NIC) or affluent countries of the West. While by and large the people in
these communities may not need social workers for assistance because they have their own resources,
there is a lot they can do to improve living conditions in their community. For the people living on the
fringes of the community, the marginal ones -almost every rich community has its own share of poor
people living nearby-so much can be done. In the slums and squatter areas people coming from the
same locality or area tend to congregate in the same place. Filipinos tend to be parochial and
fragmented, clinging to relatives and friendship ties from the province or town they come from. Rural
migrants coming from the same region or town settling in the same enclave but of different ethnic
groups may vie for leadership or political power and split the community into competing factions. Or
they remain indifferent to each other so that the people fail to develop a sense of oneness as a
community.
Social workers can accomplish this objective, the development of community consciousness by
performing any of the following functions: (1) enhancing communication among family members, (2)
organizing and coordinating groups in the community for purposes of improving themselves and the
community, (3) assisting groups to provide maximal support to members, (4) opening lines or creating
opportunities for communication among the various groups as well as among the helping agencies and
workers in the community; and (5) seeing to it that communication is not only horizontal but also
vertical
6. Influence interaction between organizations and institutions
In our country we have a term for this networking. It means coordination among people, groups or
organizations of various interests and orientation, working together as in a chain so as to function in a
specific manner, for instance child welfare network, groups and organizations concerned with the
various aspects of child welfare. 16
As a collaborative endeavor networking may mean different organizations and institutions working at
the community level to achieve a common goal or end, each doing its part of the bigger end As a
coordinating effort it means seeing to it that there is no duplication or overlapping of efforts or working
at cross purposes. This is often necessary when several agencies find themselves working in the same
spot or area especially in of emergencies as in natural disasters or calamities; also in areas where there
is conflict between government troops
and the underground and the victims have to be rescued and extended emergency assistance.
By now it should be quite clear what social work is all about-that it is not merely the giving of material
aid or dole. out which is the common perception held by many. The service is merely the means to an
end just as the doctor would pre- scribe a medicine for the patient. Whether the patient finally recovers
or not would depend to a considerable degree on his ability to recover, to bounce back, so to speak. In
the case of social work the service is but an aid to enable the client to do something about his difficulty;
his personal capability and how he uses it to help himself determine his success or failure, assuming that
the other factors or conditions are in place. How he is able to do this would also be partly determined by
the helper's application of the professional knowledge, skills and the values that he possesses. That is
why social work is said to be both a science and an art.
SOCIAL WORK AS A PROFESSION

There are so many workers performing tasks and activities similar to those performed by professional
social workers that as far as the general public is concerned these are social workers. A psychologist
doing counseling in a social work agency and the intake worker from another discipline are oftentimes
called social workers although belonging to other professions. Even community development workers
from other disciplines can hardly explain the difference between what they are doing and that of the
social workers who are doing community work or community organizing
Distinguishing Characteristics
Every social worker is taught right from the very start that the most unique or distinguishing
characteristic of social work is its focus on social relationships and the interaction between man and his
environment. Man is not alone by himself but always in context, the person in situation. Skidmore made
a detailed listing of these characteristics. 17 They are as follows:
1. The focus of social work is on the wholeness or totality of the person himself, his behavior, his
environment. This configuration is known as the "person in-situation."
2. Social work places importance on the family as a major factor in molding and influencing behavior
Hence the use of such approaches as "family based," "family centered," and/or "total family when
intervening in a problem
3. The social worker utilizes community resources in helping people Where these are nonexistent he
creates, taps and/or mobilizes resources
4. The aim in providing assistance is to enable the person to help himself to the degree that it is possible.
As a general rule workers do not do things for the client; they.work with the client.
5. The social worker intervenes between the client and his problem. The three primary methods of social
work intervention are casework, group work and community work/ community organization. The
helping process is generic in all three methods.
6. The 'social" in social work emphasizes stress or social inter- and the resultant social functioning or
dysfunc tioning
7. The social work process is based on a client worker helping relationship.
8. Social work places considerable emphasis on understand ing people and therefore is oriented to
relevant or pertinent psychiatric concepts.
9. Supervision is extensively used in order to guide and direct the work of inexperienced direct service
workers and the continuing growth of the experienced. 10. Social work has a unique professional
educational.
program based on a liberal arts course. Fieldwork is undertaken in selected social agencies
where agency supervisors teach the students how to deliver a service in the course of
learning the helping process. The school supervisor oversees the student's integration of
theory and practice, 18
The Professional Image

Many people still look with askance when told that social work is now considered a profession-a helping
one at that. Some even wonder why one has to have a college education when all one does is extend a
helping hand to needy people for that is all that they see of the social worker The knowledge he applies,
the skills he uses, the values he upholds are not quite evident to the layman, hence the question why
social work is a profession.
The same question was being asked of social workers in the United States where social work developed
into a profession during the early part of the twentieth century. In 1915, Dr Abraham Flexner attempted
to answer the question "Is Social Work a Profession?" during a National Conference of Charities and
Corrections. He listed down some characteristics which he felt a true profession should possess. He
explained that a profession
1) must involve essential intellectual aspirations accompanied by large individual responsibility;
2) is learned in nature and its members are constantly resorting to the laboratory and seminars for a
fresh supply of facts;
3) is not merely academic and theoretical but is definitely practical in its aims,
4) possesses a technique capable of communication through highly specialized educational discipline,
5) is self-organized with activities, duties and responsibilities which completely engage its members and
develop group consciousness; and 6) is likely to be more responsive to public interest than are
unorganized and isolated individuals and its members tend to become increasingly concerned with the
achievement of social work 19
At that time American social workers thought they were well on the way to becoming a profession as
they had already met these criteria to some extent. Fifty years later, in 1965, when the Philippine Social
Work Law was passed local social workers felt assured that they were indeed a profession because they
already possessed the five general attributes of a profession given below
A Systematic Body of Knowledge

All professions draw on a body of knowledge that serves as the basic foundation of its practice. Social
work knowledge is based largely on the liberal arts where general knowledge has been accumulated
through the years.
Professional or social work theory on the other hand is a combination of knowlege of the social and
behavioral sciences and knowledge gained through the years from practice experience. Thus, the
scientific base of social work consists of three types: tested knowledge, hypothetical knowledge and
assumptive knowledge Tested knowledge in the social and behavioral sciences is still somewhat limited
in so far as its application to local conditions is concerned. Such knowledge was tested in the West under
conditions different from those of a developing country. There is need to test them in our own setting.
In so doing the local social worker develops what is known as assumptive knowledge (practice
knowledge) which is the result of his own experiences in working with or helping clients. The worker
must be sensitive to and knowledgeable about himself-his values, beliefs, and intentions. The result of
tested knowledge combined with assumptive knowledge is knowledge-guided practice which makes for
effective practice. There is a growing body of knowledge being accumulated by Filipino social workers
which can be conceptualized into practice-guided knowledge but this still remains to be accomplished.
Social work knowledge is transformed into theory which serves as the base on which the professional
rationalizes his operation in concrete situations, and which underlies his professional skills. Social work
education embraces four curricular areas: human behavior and
social environment, social welfare policy, programs and services, social work methods of intervention
(theory), and field practice (fieldwork)
Professional Authority
A social work graduate who has successfully passed the licensure examination given by the Board for
Social Workers of the Professional Regulation Commission is considered professionally competent to
use any of his repertoire of social work intervention to help the client. Having passed the examinations,
he is registered, given a license to practice, and is now considered competent for the beginning practice
of the profession. He is expected to be more proficient with the passing of the years. Nowadays, he is
also required to pursue continuing professional education be it formal (graduate studies), or nonformal
such as seminars and workshops. He is required to renew his registration or license every three years,
one of the conditions for which he must show evidence that he has had some form of continuing
professional education during the period just passed.
There are certain limitations to the social worker's exercise of professional authority. He is prohibited
from doing any of the following
- prescribing guides for facets of the client's life where his competence does not apply;
- using his position of authority to exploit the client for his own personal gratification,
- using the professional relationship for the satisfaction of the professional's sexual need, the need to
manipulate others, or to live vicariously.
Sanction of the Community
The passage of the Social Work Law in 1965 marked the formal acceptance of social work as a profession
by the community.
This acceptance is manifested in the growing demand for social workers by the traditional agencies and
institutions and a host of other settings such as hospitals and medical clinics, court settings, community
development agencies, housing and resettlement agencies, industrial settings (to take care of
employee relations and social services), labor and overseas workers, offices concerned with manpower
development and employment, and even in the Philippine Congress where they serve as technical
assistants on social services.
The sanction of the community carries with it at least three professional privileges. The first is
confidentiality, second, im- munity, and third, specialized education.
First, the community considers as privileged or confidential the information communicated by the client
to the worker which may be released to others only for official reasons. Second, the social worker is
relatively immune from community judgment on professional, technical matters. Only his peers may
evaluate him. Third, the community recognizes that he needs specialized education in order to acquire
competence as a social worker.
Regulative Code of Ethics
Every profession must have a regulative code of ethics to guide the professional conduct of its members
and insure for itself the continued confidence of the community The code must be updated regularly to
meet new challenges and emerging social situations for which there are no provisions
Among others the code requires the professional member to provide service to whoever requests it,
irrespective of the client's age, income, kinship, race, religion, sex, political affiliation and social status. It
also specifies that the worker's relationship with colleagues should be cooperative, egalitarian, and
supportive.
The 1960 U.S. Code of Ethics provided among other things that the social worker should give
precedence to professional responsibility over personal interest, respect the privacy of clients, give
appropriate professional service in public emergen cies and contribute knowledge, skills and support to
programs of human welfare 20
In 1979 the Code was enriched further with some principles such as that the social worker should act to
prevent practices that are inhumane or discriminatory against any person or group of persons, he should
not divide a fee or accept or give anything of value for receiving or making a referral, and should under
no circumstances engage in sexual activities with clients 21
Charges against social workers brought before the Board for Social Workers, Professional Regulation
Commission are based on the Philippine Code of Ethics for Social Workers. The Code of Ethics will be
found in the next chapter.
Professional culture Social work has its own professional culture. It is reflected in the agencies where it
serves, in educational and research centers, and its professional association. Social workers use
professional jargon and maintain more or less the same profile and profes sional image. Social work has
a system of beliefs and values and an accepted form of interaction and relationships.
Social work is performed in agencies where competence to achieve the goal or purpose of the agency is
necessary. Social workers are now beginning to be employed not only as helping persons but for their
professional knowledge and know-how that qualify them as members of technical staffs in the executive
and legislative offices.
There are no human research centers for social work in the Philippines as yet. However, some schools of
social work and individuals are able to undertake research with special grants from some funding
institutions.
Its latest innovative approach is community outreach where- by an agency, organization or

institution targets or reaches out to a community or neighborhood in the belief that it needs and can
use the service or resources available in the agency.
This professional culture is bolstered by the Philippine Asso- ciation of Social Workers, Incorporated
(PASWI), which artico- lates and expresses the profession's concerns and works for the maintenance of
professional standards and the promotion of social work interests and aims.
2
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: HISTORY AND EVOLUTION
SOCIAL WORK as a profession evolved from charity work. Its sanction by the community and society as
such is barely a hundred years old. It was introduced as a professional activity in the Philippines during
the 1920s. Its full development as a profession is attributed to the Americans who pioneered in social
work practice and education Its conceptualization began with the charity organizations in England and
the United States.
RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION OF SOCIAL WORK
The established religions of the world have always maintained that it is obligatory for their followers to
have a compassionate concern for the needy and those in trouble; religious charity became an
institutionalized approach to the amelioration of social problems in many societies. For example, the
zakaat or the power tax was the practical expression of charity in Islam 1
Anyone who has been to Thailand or read its travel brochures must be familiar with the sight of
Buddhist monks in saffron robes with their ubiquitous begging bowls as an expression of their religion.
According to Gore, in India the religious approach to social problems is exemplified largely by individual
acts of charity such as giving out food, grain, or clothing 2 In Hinduism,.as in other religions, the act of
charity is thought to have favor. able consequences in after-life; earthly rewards are oftentimes
expected after acts of charity, a belief often shared by people of other religions. Moreover, public acts of
altruism bestow merit and increase the donor's standing in the community 3
Lastly but not the least are Judean and Christian teachings that emphasize help to the needy as a
religious duty Charity was used by both the Christians and Jewish churches as a moral force; it was a
means of satisfaction and hope to the giver and a welcome aid to the destitute and the community The
teachings of the prophets of Israel and some of the saints of the Roman Catholic Church gave the
recipient of the alms dignity and ennobled the giver. The early Christians helped one another when
facing poverty and persecution but the medieval Church entrusted the administration of charity to the
bishops, the local priests, and the deacons.
With the growing influence of the Church and the acceptance of Christianity as a state religion in
some countries in Europe, numerous institutions for the poor were established and men flourished. The
emphasis was on the giver's salvation and little thought was given to the recipient of alms, there was
little interest in the causes of suffering, it failed to deal with the causes of social problems. In those times
the economy of the European countries was largely based on agriculture. France, Spain, Portugal, and
England which then had colonized other less developed countries brought these beliefs to the colonized
people who emulated their colonial masters. They doled out relief and established institutions
By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries voluntary associations for charity were set up in England
and the United States. Both were rapidly industrializing countries soon besieged by the new social
problems spawned by industrialization and urbanization. Almsgiving and institutionalization were no
longer sufficient or adequate to meet the people's needs. Many of these organizations were originally
motivated by religious ideas but later on they assumed humanitarian ideals which were thought to be
broader than religious commitment.
INVESTIGATION THE BEGINNING OF SCIENTIFIC CHARITY
Since the conditions of the poor barely improved despite poor relief by the churches as well as the state,
some administrators decided to look for more effective ways of alleviating the conditions of the poor.
One of these was a Protestant parish minister, Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) of Scotland who orga-
nized a program of private charity based on neighborly aid
After four years of experimenting in the program, ie, neighborly aid, Chalmers announced his
findings. He reported that (1) the prevalent practice of public and church relief was wasteful,
demoralized the pauper and destroyed his will to support himself; (2) the practice eliminated the will of
his relatives, friends and neighbors to help, and (3) it failed to use the readiness of phil- antropists to aid
the poor
As a result of his findings Chalmers recommended that (1) each case of distress should be carefully
investigated, (2) the cause of destitution determined, and (3) the possibilities of self- maintenance of the
pauper be developed. By enunciating the philosophy of personal, parochial relief accompanied by
home visits he laid down part of the foundation of the very first method of social work casework. He
stressed a personal interest thus implying the client worker relationship as an essential component of
poor relief. As suggested by Chalmers, the volunteers would assume the role of friendly visitors who
would establish a friendly link with the needy and become a major model in dealing with the poor
Chalmers' ideas started the movement towards the professionalization of charity work, more specifi-
cally, social work.
EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Brieland traces the history of social work practice into three stages: 1) the shift from apprenticeship to
formal methods; 2) the movement towards a common framework of practice; 3) specialization on a
generalist base. 5
AMERICAN PIONEERING
From Apprenticeship to Formal Methods
Casework
Some fifty years after Chalmers' pioneering work, the London Charity Organization organized a program
of relief that was in the main, based on his ideas. The city was divided into districts and well-to-do
volunteers were recruited to take a strong personal Interest in poor families assigned to them. However,
the main emphasis of their work was to exert influence on the poor so that they would change their
lives. At that time the prevailing belief was that poverty was the poor's own fault, that they led idle,
shiftless, immoral lives hence they could not provide for or sup port themselves. To this concept may be
traced the broad purpose of social work: to enhance social functioning
As the Charity Organization Societies (COS) spread to other cities of England and North America the
direction of the work of the volunteers was entrusted to paid "agents" or workers. Friendly visiting
became a full-time job for which there were not enough volunteers. More paid workers were employed
and the volunteers gradually withdrew only to take up other matters affecting relief. They turned their
attention to and concentrated more on fund- raising and community planning.
Thus did the COS workers become the forerunners of modern casework. These societies considered
friendly visiting as a substi- tute for alms-giving using investigation, registration, cooperation and
coordination in the determination of what should constitute adequate relief.
COS stressed religious values based on love." Paid staff replaced most friendly visitors by the turn of the
twentieth century Moral superiority had not provided the basis for a satisfactory relationship between
middle-class volunteers and dependent citizens, the concept of superior inferior relationship was
discarded towards the end of the nineteenth century. The COS were instrumental in the development of
social casework, the very first method of modern social work to be instituted Mary Richmond's Social
Diagnosis which was published in 1917 provided
techniques for assessing the condi tions of the poor What Is Social Work (1922), her second book,
conceptualized casework treatment as involving the use of resources to facilitate the individual's
adjustment to social living. to assist clients to understand their needs and possibilities, and to help them
to work out their own programs."
Social Group Work
If the COS were the forerunners of casework the settlement movement is also said to have introduced
social group work but with a difference. The movement derived its name from the fact that the
volunteers and staff settled in specific areas where the working classes were to be found There they
lived in settlement houses which became the center of activities The settlement houses thus became the
prototype of today's community centers. Right from the start the settlement houses did not provide
charity Instead they sought to help immigrants in a geographic area with all the problems they faced
Staff was linked to the community because they lived there Hull House, the very first and best known of
the settlement houses in the US, was established by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889 in
Chicago
They served immigrants from nineteen countries with a variety of programs consisting of working girls'
home, a day nursery, a labor museum, a boys club, and a little theater Males participated in social
activities, females in group education, citizenship training was provided to adult males The settlement
workers also engaged in social reform, working with politicians in city hall for the improvement of
environmental sanitation, working conditions for women and children and the provisions of basic social
services These settlement movements, such as the Salvation Army and youth serving agencies
emphasized character-building so that the middle class became attracted to these programs and
activities.
Grace L. Coyle provided leadership in the development of group work as a social work method of
intervention By the middle-1930s group work placed more emphasis on the interaction of members
rather than on direct leadership and more oncooperative projects rather than competition. After World
War II group work was used extensively in working with war veterans in hospitals, in child guidance
clinics, in mental hospitals, etc. as a psychotherapeutic measure. Caseworkers and workers started
working together with individuals as well as with group families. During the 1960s the National
Association of Social Workers (NASW) came up with a statement of purpose for group work
Social group work maintains and improves the personal and social functioning of group members within
a range of purposes Groups may be used for corrective purposes when the problem involves the
behavior of the group mem bers, for prevention when there is the potential danger of dysfunctioning,
for normal growth, particularly at critical growth periods, for enhancement of the person, and for the
purpose of education and citizen participation. A group may be used for any one or all of these purposes
simultaneously and may change as the
particular needs of the client change. Group work has a treatment focus and thus became a key social
worker method 10
Community Organization
"Community organization" is gradually being replaced by the term "community work" although they are
still used interchangeably to refer to planning and activity in behalf of organi zations and neighborhood
groups. There is a growing belief particularly among community workers especially those found in the
countryside, in rural areas, and in grassroots communities that "community work" has broader
implications than community organization. The COS and settlement houses both engaged in community
work. The former emphasized rational order in welfare activities, including the requirement that
programs share information about clients/recipients. This was then known as the Social Service
Exchange. The social reformers in the settlements based their programs on political social legislation to
relieve distress among the working classes.
By 1908 community organization came to be regarded as involving the maintenance of the voluntary
welfare system. This was when it was decided that the local councils of social agencies provide planning
and coordination and set standards for the voluntary field.
During the 1940s some doubts were expressed as to whether community organization should be
considered as direct practice and therefore part of social work. Dunham highlighted the need for direct
practice with communities as well as for community planning, administration and coordination in social
work. 11
Ross identified the elements in community organization as identification of needs, ordering of needs,
finding the resources to meet the needs and taking actions through cooperative and collaborative
efforts. These elements essentially conform to the basic process in social work 12
In another development community planning in the 1960s began to include community residents, the
consumer of services -something that was unheard of before. The cause-oriented factions in the U.S.
had began to make their mark.
Today, community work accommodates both protest and advocacy (as is found in the Philippines at
present), causing some discomfort and controversy among practitioners. The civil rights movement in
the United States starting in the 1960s was spurred on by grassroots organizations that sought to
empower the minorities. 13 In the Philippines the plight of the urban poor and tenant farmers inspired
more and more idealistic workers to work with community-focused agencies.
In the U.S., as well as in the Philippines, current community work by social welfare agencies is
typified more by systems maintenance and planning than by activism. How long this trend will continue
or the focus remain in the Philippines will be determined by changes in the socioeconomic and political
systems. Definitely, community work can be an effective tool for social change when used by social
workers.
Towards a Common Framework
According to Brieland the second step in the development of social work practice was the striving
towards a common framework. This was imperative because before 1955 there were at least seven
social work organizations in the U.S. Among these were the American of Medical Social Workers
(1918), the National Association of School Social Workers (1919), and the American Association of Social
Workers. The members of these groups were grandfathered into the National Association of Social
Workers in 1955, that is, the members became automatically members of the NASW. One of its most
persistent concerns was to get an agreement or consensus on what constitutes social work. There was
need for unity because it was said that for many years social workers were still primarily loyal to the
agencies that employed them. Much of the work along this line was done by the Council of Social Work
Education (CSWE). A study commissioned by CSWE under the directive of Boehm determined social
work as having a single goal: the enhancement of social functioning Social functioning was defined as
involving the activities that individuals must carry out in the performance of their various roles as
members of social groups. 14
An offshoot of the casework method was the training and formal education of what would soon be
known as social workers. In 1897, Richmond delivered a compelling plea for what she envisioned as a
training school for applied philantrophy at the National Conference on Charities and Corrections. The
next year the first training school, the New York School of Applied Philantrophy (now the Columbia
University School of Social Work) was opened. The program began as a 6-week summer program. By
1919 there were 17 schools of social work in the United States; in 1923, 13 of these were affiliated with
univer- sities. Today, social work education in the U.S. is available at three levels: undergraduate,
graduate, and post graduate.
Curriculum Policy and Practice
In 1962 the CSWE issued a curriculum policy which stated that:
social work as a profession is concerned with the restoration, maintenance and enhancement of social
functioning. It contributes with other professions and disciplines, to the prevention, treatment and
control of problems in social functioning of individuals, groups, and communities.
(1918), the National Association of School Social Workers (1919), and the American Association of Social
Workers. The members of these groups were grandfathered into the National Association of Social
Workers in 1955, that is, the members became automatically members of the NASW. One of its most
persistent concerns was to get an agreement or consensus on what constitutes social work. There was
need for unity because it was said that for many years social workers were still primarily loyal to the
agencies that employed them. Much of the work along this line was done by the Council of Social Work
Education (CSWE). A study commissioned by CSWE under the directive of Boehm determined social
work as having a single goal: the enhancement of social functioning Social functioning was defined as
involving the activities that individuals must carry out in the performance of their various roles as
members of social groups. 14
An offshoot of the casework method was the training and formal education of what would soon be
known as social workers. In 1897, Richmond delivered a compelling plea for what she envisioned as a
training school for applied philantrophy at the National Conference on Charities and Corrections. The
next year the first training school, the New York School of Applied Philantrophy (now the Columbia
University School of Social Work) was opened. The program began as a 6-week summer program. By
1919 there were 17 schools of social work in the United States; in 1923, 13 of these were affiliated with
univer- sities. Today, social work education in the U.S. is available at three levels: undergraduate,
graduate, and post graduate.
Before that, in 1958, a Working Definition of Social Work Practice was issued by the NASW Commission
on Practice:
The social work method is the responsible, conscious and disciplined use of self in a relationships with
an individual or group. Through the relationship the practitioner facilitates interaction between the
individual and his social environment with a continuing awareness of the reciprocal effects of one upon
the other. It facilitates change: 1) within the individual in relation to his social environment, 2) of the
social environment in its effects upon the individual, and 3) of both the individual and the social
environment in their interaction
Up to this point in the 1960s there appeared to be a consensus that the generalist model of graduate
social work education should be built on a base of undergraduate social science knowledge extending to
at least two years of graduate education culminating in a master of social work (MSW) degree. Only
those holding an MSW were considered qualified to be called social workers. This attitude did not last
long
Federal studies during the period predicted the need for many more social workers in 1970s. Colleges
were developing undergraduate vocational and professional programs to place their graduates, and
tuition fees were going up. As a result the NASW and CSWE were constrained to sanction a professional
bachelor of social work (BSW) degree.
The Social Work Process
Despite the issues contending in the search for a common framework for social work practice six steps in
the social work processes could be distilled from the vast amount of social work literature amassed
through the years. These steps are considered as applicable to all methods, approaches, and fields. They
are:
1. intake and establishing contact,

2. assessment, diagnosis, and problem identification;
3. goal identification, service planning and basis for contract;
4. service, treatment and interventions;
5. evaluation of outcome through group and single systems techniques; and
6. feedback and application of results in future practice.
Specialization on a Generalist Base
In the US. the current approach to social work practice is a generalist-specialist hybrid and social work
education now tends to follow this concept. Agencies prefer social workers with specialist training
because they have more usable skills and experience than if they had been trained as generalists.
Consequently the CSWE's 1983 Coordinating Policy Statement and CSWE's 1984 accrediting standards
established a professional foundation that begins with a liberal arts base that puts particular emphasis
on the social sciences The BSW or the first year of the MSW program provides general preparation, the
BSW graduates are considered as having finished the first year of the MSW program hence the second
year of the MSW involves advanced practice and includes experience with concentration, ie,
specialization The second year includes a substantial fieldwork component, faculty members who teach,
practice or coordinate field instruction are required to have an MSW degree Schools are free to choose
concurrent or block placements for their students, with more days assigned for fieldwork than
classroom work
As envisioned, the generalist program must give attention not only to all social work methods but also to
advocacy and research including evaluation of one's own practice. However, one of the problems now
encountered in the US is the difficulty of finding placements for generalist practice Many agencies still
use casework almost exclusively
On the other hand the specialist concept is based on several criteria a) a population with a common
condition to be altered, b) competence and skill within social work to serve the popu lation, and c)
conditions complex enough to involve a substantial body of knowledge translatable with effective
intervention. In 15 1985 NASW created five practice commissions to study and devise ways and means
of responding to the practice interest of its commission
These are 1) physical and mental health, 2) family and primary associations, 3) education, 4)
employment/economic support, and 5) justice. 16
Fields of Practice
Social service was a principal activity of the COSs and the settlement houses. Today social workers are
found working in host agencies or what are more popularly known as secondary settings. Many social
workers still work in a family or children's agency, a neighborhood center or a mental health clinic.
Secon- dary settings, on the other hand, provide a variety of jobs in hospitals, in occupational settings, in
schools, in corrections, etc. Such a trend may require more of the social worker and may divert his
functions into other areas. Such a state will require joint effort for unity in the midst of diversity or to
the purpose and functions of social work so that it does not lose its professional identity.
THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE
The Spanish Period

The development of social work practice in the Philippines is relatively recent compared to that of the
United States. One might say that the practice was transplanted when it was already in full bloom in that
country, a development that was an off shoot of the Philippine historical experience. We became an
American colony at the turn of the twentieth century, a situation that lasted almost fifty years to be
broken briefly by three years of Japanese occupation. Americans transplanted what they thought would
be good for us: the beginnings of democracy and the establishment of social institutions for the public
good such as health, education, and welfare
Before that the Spaniards came very much earlier than the Americans. Magellan discovered the country
in 1521 but coloni zation in earnest started only in 1565 with the coming of Legaspi The principal
weapon used by the Spaniards was Christianiza- tion-the "natives were converted to Christianity. The
Church was so involved in the colonization of the country that it was sometimes said that the priests and
the missionaries were the real colonizers. They built roads and bridges, brought in new agr cultural
products like sugar and tobacco, taught and helped plant rice and corn, and of course, they baptized the
natives, taught catechism, and built churches as places for worship. One of their teachings which has
endured to this day is love for the poor and the unfortunate as expressed in charitable acts. Well-to-do
Filipinos engaged in charitable acts, in almsgiving and gave donations for and to charitable institutions.
This practice continued up to the coming of Americans at the start of the 20th century. During the
Spanish days the Filipinos did not progress to more systematic ways of caring for the
poor as the Europeans had done with the encouragement of the churches. The Phil- ippines as a Spanish
colony, was in a manner of speaking, closed to the rest of the world, except contacts with those
countries which were countenanced by Spain like Mexico, for example, because of the galleon trade.
Moreover, Spain was the seat of the counter reformation while Germany started and nurtured the
reformation. Consequently no new ideas about helping the poor were introduced into the country
Moreover, unlike the European countries which were industrializing, the Philippines remained an
agricultural one, free from the social problems and ills caused by industrialization, urbanization and the
influx of peasants and migrant workers into the cities. So the traditional ways of caring for the poor, the
orphans, the sick and the aged remained un- changed. The coming of the Americans opened up new
fields and ways of helping people.
The American Influence
Organized Charity
When the Americans arrived to stay, they found a number of residential institutions founded by the
religious orders existing such as the San Lazaro Hospital and the Hospicio de San Jose. In order to
coordinate and systematize these institutions the government created a Public Welfare Board in 1915
which gradually became, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the Bureau of Public Welfare of
the Department of Health and Public Welfare. As may be inferred from this development many of the
workers assigned to the Bureau of Public Welfare were nurses who under the leadership of the
Secretary of Health and Public Welfare, Dr. Jose Fabella, performed social work functions. Dr. Fabella
was seat abroad to observe and train in the fields of medicine and welfare and he became very much
interested in and enthusiastic about the latter 17
In the meantime, a group of American residents with the help of Filipinos organized the Associated
Charities of Manila in 1917. It was patterned after the Charity Organization Societies in the United
States. Manila was not only urbanizing, it was industrializing. Factories were being set up and workers
from the provinces were coming to the city for better job opportunities and a better life.
The Associated Charities devised a more systematic way of helping the poor. It employed "home visitors
who performed functions similar to their counterparts abroad. They visited the poor in their own houses
and prepared brief case studies. The main influence in what was to be eventually known as social work
were two Filipina pioneers who had received training from abroad. The first Filipina executive secretary
of the Associated Charities was Josefa Jara Martinez who in 1921 received a certificate in social work
from the New York School of Social Work. The second executive secretary was Asuncion A. Perez who
also studied abroad majoring
in sociology but who became very interested in social welfare work. The home visitors either had a
bachelor's degree in the social sciences or were college undergraduates.
Meanwhile, there was a growing belief that there were better ways of helping the poor, more scientific
and systematic ways, hence formal education was needed. The Catholic Women's League of the
Philippines was able to secure a fellowship for Felicidad Alvarez (Mrs. Silva) which enabled her to pursue
a master's degree with a in social services from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. in 1925. A
few others followed suit among them Minerva Guysayko-Laudico, Olympia Ubaldo-Lazaro, Flora Rios-
Palomar, Carmen Montinola-Luz, and Agapita Murillo. Upon her arrival in the Philippines shortly before
war's outbreak Guysayko introduced a few social work subjects in her alma mater, the Centro Escolar
University but not as a formal degree course. At that time there was as yet no formal education in social
work and even immediately after the war the few who managed to qualify for study grants or
scholarships had to go abroad for graduate studies in social work.
Introduction of Social Work Methods
Casework
The emergency brought on by the war led to the employment of relief workers in the government
service whose main function was to provide material relief. By this time the Associated Charities had
been taken over by the government, reorganized into a Division of Public Assistance of the Bureau of
Public Welfare. Later on, this was called the Social Welfare Commission, then Administration, and
became the forerunner of what is now known as the Department of Social Welfare and Devel- opment.
After World War II, the term "home visitor was dropped and the new appelation, "social worker" was
introduced. At the Division of Public Assistance the general term used was "social I worker At the War
Relief Office also under the SWA they were classified into two types: junior social worker or senior social
worker depending on the level of the Civil Service Examination which they passed. At the outset, the
nature of the work was emergency relief because of the post war conditions but even then the direct
service workers were required to make home visits and prepare case studies towards rehabilitation of
the recipients of relief.
This trend was partially reinforced by the United Nations Technical Assistance Program which sent two
social work consultants to the Philippines in 1948. Their main function was to conduct short-term
training for social workers called Institutes for Social Casework.
After the training the participants were required to take the Civil Service examination for social workers
in order to qualify for social work positions in the government. It was then the
biggest employer of workers. One did not have to be a college graduate to qualify as a social worker.
Community Work
In 1948 the President's Action Committee on Social Amelio- ration (PACSA) was organized by the
government to counteract social unrest among the peasants of Central Luzon. Social workers formed
part of the service force. However, instead of casework, they used, probably without realizing, the
community approach. Their main function was to evacuate families from the battle areas (government
troops versus the peasants turned communists), provide material aid and when possible resettle them
into new areas, mostly in Mindanao where they could start life anew as farmer owners, no longer as
tenants. The social workers were to help them settle in the new settlements.
Work in the rural areas fell under the category of rural development and for a brief period there was a
Division of Rural Welfare in the SWA but this did not last. By 1954 "community development became a
more popular term whose avowed purpose was to help communities become self-reliant so that they
could be integrated into the body politic-18 Social workers thought that this would be a new interesting
field of practice especially when the Presidential Assistant on Community Devel opment (PACD) was
established under the Office of the President of the Philippines. Unfortunately, it was not so, not in the
beginning. The would be community development workers would undergo training for six months but
to qualify for that training they must first pass a government examination. That was all right as far as the
social workers, about 95% of whom were women, were concerned Unexpectedly, women were barred
from taking the examination because according to the community development authorities, the work
would be full of difficulties and not safe for them, especially in the barrios. There was a loud protest
from the women who were interested in the job and some of whom were already working in the rural or
semirural areas. The Philippine Association of Social Workers, organized in 1948, officially protested with
the Civil Service Commission in 1956 19 Soon after that first examination the ban was lifted and women
were allowed to take the qualifying tests and train as community development workers.
Despite the lifting of the ban against women, however, very few ventured into the field. Male
community development workers dominated the scene, partly due to the services they offered physical
improvement like building of fences, fooder roads and irrigation ditches and the establishment of
livelihood projects such as poultry and piggery 20
Of interest during this period was that the knowledge, concepts, and processes being taught the would
be community development workers were being taken mainly from the books of Arthur Dunham and
Murray Ross, social work writers on com munity organization 21 Today social workers no longer claim to
be experts in community development. Formal education at the bachelor's and master's level in
community development as a distinct discipline from social
work is now available in a few schools, mostly in the state institutions. An example of this is the College
of Social Work and Community Development at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City
Before the community development thrust was introduced formally by the PACD social workers of the
government agency, the Social Welfare Administration were already involved in community work in
urban areas, in housing and resettlement programs for urban squatters. The first time such a program
was launched was the resettlement of squatters in what is now known as Bago Bantay in Quezon City
This was in 1951 A second major attempt was launched in 1964 when Manila authorities ordered the
relocation of the squatters in Intramuros, the old Walled City of Manila that had been reduced to rubble
in the liberation of the city. The squatters were transferred to Sapang Palay in the neighboring province
of Bulacan 22 This time the SWA came with a prepared program to develop this resettlement area into a
viable, self-reliant community Since then social workers at the DSWD and those of nongovernmental
organizations which have sprung up are now deeply involved in community work. This time they are
more concerned with working directly with the people to develop self-reliance rather than with the
coordination, networking of existing organizations in the community. This was to come much later.
Without so much as specifying it, community work to present day social workers has come to mean
reaching out to the communities they perceive to be in need of help, assisting them in meeting their
needs and improving their living conditions by facilitating their recognition and analysis, and assisting
them in ranking their problems and solving them with their own and/or external resources. Since the
focus is on people empowerment
using the improvement of the community as a means, commu nity work in now considered as direct
practice.
Social Group Work
During the years immediately following World War II, group work was mainly associated with recreation
and character- building programs mostly dealing with the youth. Group work as used by social workers
was started by the DSW in the 1960s in programs for children in institutions and out-of-school youth.
The nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) soon followed. It was also during this period that group
work as a form of therapy was introduced by social workers working with disabled persons, such as the
blind and the deaf, the physically disabled, the substance abusers, the mentally retarded, etc.
Today, social group work is used extensively with community groups such as street children, the youth,
women and other adults not only for purposes of rehabilitation or restoration of social functioning but
more for the development of a self-reliant and socially functioning personality
Formal Education
Formal education for social work in the United States started at the graduate level-a master's degree in
social work. Shortly before the war some of those who obtained graduate education abroad tried to
introduce a few courses at the bachelor's level where it remained until after the war presumably due to
a lack of a clear identity. These schools were the Centro Escolar University and University of the
Philippines.
After the war new attempts were made to introduce social work as a degree course but there were
some doubts as to whether it should be at the bachelor's or master's level. The latter was the pattern in
the United States. Since the local social work pioneers were educated abroad there was a tendency to
regard social work education as appropriate to the graduate level only. Thus was the very first school of
social work in the Philippines formally opened at the graduate level of the Philippine Women's
University in 1950 However, this was only a one-year course Following the example of the United States
which in 1944 set down eight "basic courses, this school offered the following subjects: case. work,
group work, community organization, public welfare, social administration, social research, medical
information, and psychiatric information. However the course led only to master's degree in social
administration, not social work. In June 1951 the course was expanded into a two-year program leading
to the master of social work degree. The two other schools who soon opened a similar program were
the Centro Escolar University and the University of the Philippines The program, however, had a major
drawback there were not enough students enrolling. The few who enrolled were already working in
social agencies or were elderly society matrons who were doing volunteer work in social and civic
agencies. There were not enough students in each school to maintain a graduate class.
The schools soon acknowledged that there would not be enough graduate students so almost
simultaneously these and a few other schools in Metro Manila opened a degree course at the bachelor's
level to attract young people to become social workers. It was an attractive prospect as the public image
projected by those involved in social or charity work then were those of the elite and the well-to-do.
This time the schools appeared to have hit the target. Many young people, daughters of the upper
middle and middle class families were soon enrolled in social work.
The founders of these schools of social work took care to stress that the bachelor's degree was a
preprofessional course, the professional training would be given at the master's level The degree offered
varied A.B in Social Welfare, A.B in Social Work or BSE major in Social Work. By the early 1960s at least
one school was offering a Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) degree. The course was largely
based on a liberal arts education with introductory courses on the social work methods in the upper
classes. Fieldwork was also included but it was largely observation concurrent with classroom
instruction. At the start and for many years after social work did not have its own college. It was usually
combined with the college of liberal arts and sciences, a situation which exists until today mainly
because the enrollment in these schools is
never big enough to maintain a single identity as a college. The number of colleges of social work
amounted to no more than ten. The majority are simply called departments or divisions or combined
with other degree programs like College of Social Work and Community Development or College of
Human Services.
Professionalizing Social Work

This was the situation when R.A 4373 otherwise known as the Social Work Law was passed in 1965. It
was sponsored by a woman senator, Maria Kalaw-Katigbak, who had taken up social work courses at the
graduate level at the University of the Philippines. The law recognized social work as a profession for
which an aspirant must possess the bachelor of science in social work degree and must pass the
licensure examination.
Besides the candidate's possessing a bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited institution as a
requirement for the licensure examination, he or she must have completed a minimum period of one
thousand case hours of practical training in an established social work agency under the direct
supervision of a fully-trained and qualified social worker.
A "social work agency" is defined in the law as a person, corporation or organization, private or
governmental, that engages mainly and generally, or represents itself to engage in social welfare work
whether casework, group work and community work, and obtains the finances, either totally or in part,
from any agency or instrumentality of the government and/or from the community by direct or indirect
private endorsement.
The law also created a board of examiners composed of five social workers (this was later reduced to
three) who would conduct the licensure examinations annually.
A Common Frame of Reference for Social

Work Education
RA. 4373 precipitated healthy changes particularly in the curricular content of the undergraduate
courses. Certain provisions became imperative such as the 1,000 hours for field practice. This actually
meant the application of theory learned in the classroom to actual work with clients. The constant
reference to the three basic methods of social work namely casework, group work, and community
organization implied that these are the major methods of social work for which the beginning social
worker must at least have some competence The focus was on direct social work practice. Field work
under the supervision of a trained social worker became an imperative. Since all the appli- cants for
licensing as social workers have to
take a common examination, the need for the schools of social work to have a common frame of
reference became urgent. In this they were assisted by the UNICEF assisted SWA Social Services Project.
The first National Workshop on Social Work Education was held in 1967 with thirteen schools
participating. These were the Asian Institute, Centro Escolar University, Philippine School of Social Work
of the Philippine Women's University, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Central
Philippines Uni- versity, Manila Central University, Philippine Christian College, Maryknoll College,
Philippine Women's University in Iloilo, Mindanao State University, Stella Maris College, and University
of Southern Philippines.
All in all three workshops on social work education were sponsored by the UNICEF-SWA Project 1967,
1968 and 1969 The first workshop focused on a formulation of the goals of social work education in the
Philippines, the second and third, on the core content of the bachelor's and the master's programs.
Among the conclusions reached were the following
1. Social work goals should be tied up with national development goals.
2. The undergraduate students should be prepared for beginning practice with competence in problem-
solving, in bringing needs and resources together and in documenting the level of services rendered
3. The main objective of graduate education is to prepare the students for specialization in any of these
areas: advanced direct practice, administration and supervision, research, policy formulation and
planning and teaching.
4. There will be four curricular areas in the BSSW curriculum human behavior and social environment;
social welfare policy, programs and services; social work methods; and field work. Each area will contain
pertinent subjects.
5. Those entering the graduate school with a bachelor's degree other than social work would be
required to take the undergraduate basic social work methods courses.
One of the major results of the very first workshop was the formation of an Ad-hoc Committee on Social
Work Education which recommended the organization of an association for social work education The
Schools of Social Work Association of the Philippines was formally organized in 1970 Since then the
SSWAP has been mainly responsible for holding the periodic national workshops for curriculum
development and for discussing and formulating policies on social work education. It is now known as
the National Association for Social Work Education, Incorporated (NASWED)
Continuing Professional Education
College preparation for the professions or disciplines except for a few like medicine and law usually
consist of just four years of formal education. Only a few students bother to go on to the graduate level
for further training. Yet it is admitted that the practitioner must strive to improve his competence
through the enrichment of his knowledge, strengthening of professional values, and improving
professional skills. In the mid-1980s as a partial solution to the problem of the professional status quo,
the Professional Regulation Commission, the licensing government agency, adopted the policy that
every registered professional wishing to renew his license to practice every three years must show
evidence that he has had some kind of continuing professional education during the period. Every
professional association is required to oversee the continuing education of its professionals. In the case
of social work it is the Philippine Association of Social Workers, Incorporated (PASWI) that is overseeing
the implementation of such a program for social workers.
For social workers this development reinforces the programs they have instituted years ago in terms of
seminars, workshops, institutes and all other forms of in-service training and staff development. Formal
graduate training would be ideal but few social workers would have the resources for this. Study grants
and sponsorships are very few and far between yet admittedly further training, formal or nonformal is
fast becoming a necessity. On the other hand, there is a proliferation of training programs, mostly on
the job. Just barely started, the implementation of the requirement for continuing professional
education would give a fresh impetus to the social workers' outlook and raise their self-esteem as a
result of increased self-confidence.
So as of today the beginning social worker must have at least four years of professional education, his
competence attested to by his having passed the licensure examination. There is hope for professional
improvement through continuing professional education. However if he aspires to a career in social
welfare or its related fields he has better chances if he possesses a master's degree in social work.
Appointing authorities expect no less.
3
PHILOSOPHY, VALUES AND ETHICS
PHILOSOPHICAL BASE OF SOCIAL WORK

THE PHILOSOPHICAL BASE of social work is an expression of its concern with the ultimate nature of the
world and man Man is the object of social work and it is man in relationship with his environment, how
he interacts with it. The social worker, in reaching out a helping hand to someone in need or distressed
must take into account the rest of that man's world.
Social work philosophy rests on the belief that man was created after the image of his creator, imbued
with inherent worth and dignity and endowed with the capacity to reason and the freedom to exercise
his will.
Religious roots
Pioneer social workers in the West contend that social work philosophy is derived from religion, and for
many it is rooted in Judeo-Christian teachings. This is quite significant for Filipino social workers since for
the last four hundred years or so a large majority of the people, about eighty-five percent, profess the
Christian faith. The more ancient Asian religions, i.e.,. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam also encouraged
aid for the poor but their approach is different particularly in the treatment of the individual self and
human life.
According to Gorospe, a well-known theologian, Western philosophy (originating from Christianity)

glorifies the individual self as the source of personhood, personal freedom, and respon sibility. The West
looks on this life as pleasurable and desirable and therefore human life must be prolonged as far as
possible! Social work adheres to this philosophy In contrast, the East looks on human life as suffering
and misery and therefore undesirable, the individual must be liberated from life in this world. "Nirvana
in Hinduism means the annihilation of the individual self and absorption into the Great Self; in
Buddhism, the fading out of suffering.
Western philosophy emphasizes belief in man's inherent worth and dignity as derived from Judeo-
Christian, teachings which many writers believe also include democratic and human itarian ideals. As he
was being created, man was also given the capacity to know and to love, and to carry on the work of
God in this world. To wit:
"Your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under your control. I am putting you in charge
of the fish, the birds and all the wild animals. I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for
you to eat. But for all the wild animals and all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food."
(Genesis 1 & 2)
Man became master of this earthly domain.

Filipino Perspectives
Social workers also believe in the value of the human com munity and the importance of this life and its
continuity with the next. This concept is reinforced by Filipino values. The Filipino looks at himself as a
self (kalooban) conscious of his dignity and freedom as an individual. The Filipino common man (too)
does not espouse flight from this world and its concerns; Filipino popular Christianity is mainly
concerned with practical solutions.to the problems of daily life. Despite this new outlook many Filipinos
still emphasize the importance of the tribe, the family, the group (sakop) over the individual, a value
which the social worker still frequently encounters in community work 5
Since man has been endowed with certain God-like attributes, social workers also believe in the capacity
of man to transcend himself, to create and fashion his environment in order to become a better human
being It is when man is unable to fulfill his potentials or achieve human fulfillment because of certain
obstacles that social work intervenes so that he may acquire the
true and the good, so that he may become more spiritual. Many social work clients come from the
marginalized popu lation the poor, deprived, exploited, dehumanized, etc. Poverty is a condition that
the Philippines shares with other Third World countries. It is not enough to simply strive for economic
development when the citizen does not have either the will nor the resources and the capability to
achieve it. Considering the deplorable conditions in this country at the present time, social work is
focusing more and more on the development of man as a human being so that he himself may exercise
his rights as such, achieve social justice and attain self fulfillment.
The process of conscientization, the arousing of man's positive self-concept does not start with his
surroundings or the environment. It starts with the person himself, with his own awareness and
recognition of self as a human being, deserving of respect and honor and worthy of being saved when
he cannot make it by himself unaided. It is not just enough for a person to be conscious of his self, his
personhood; he must strive to meet his fundamental needs: physically, emotionally, intellectually,
socially, and spiritually. And last but not least he must treat others as human beings and not reserve the
treatment for himself or only for those whom he likes. In short, an implied goal of social work in the
overall strivings to enhance social functioning is to endeavor to have the client see himself as a human
being, act like one, and treat others like himself, a human being. He must be a caring person.
VALUES
Values are beliefs, preferences or assumptions about what is good or bad for man. Being a belief, value
cannot be subjected to scientific investigation. It must be accepted in good faith. An individual may not
even be aware of the values he holds, he simply automatically applies or uses it when the situation calls
for a certain course of action to be performed or an important decision to be made. Nowadays in the
Philippines a rallying point among educators is "values inculcation" or "value clarification The former
may refer to the adoption of new values while the latter seeks the clarification or modification of one's
personal values but the saying that values are more caught than taught is also true, So the teacher must
demonstrate it, not only teach it.
Social Work Values

Social work practice is partly determined by the existing circumstances in each country but it embraces a
universal set of values central to the profession
The basic or major value premises of social work are derived from its philosophical base. Briefly these
are the beliefs that man
1) must be accorded due respect because of his inherent worth and dignity,
2) is a unique creature depending on other men for the fulfillment of his uniqueness; and
3) has the capacity for change, growth and betterment.
Because of these professional values social work cannot help being committed to the belief that "it is
good and desirable for man to fulfill his potential, to realize himself, and to balance this with equal effort
to help others do the same 6 This is called the value commitment of social work. It is the ideal which it
must
pursue. Besides the above there are other primary values to which our social workers are committed.
These are: human rights and human welfare, social justice, individual dignity, and equal opportunity
Some Relevant Filipino Traits

It is said that culture shapes the perception of its members. Culture means the system of symbols and
meanings people use to organize their ideas, interpret the experiences, make decisions, and ultimately
guide their actions. The aim of social work is to help the client achieve functionality through his own
efforts. The client worker relationship is the bridge through which help is extended to the person in
need. This relationship would be easier to achieve and maintain if the worker has knowledge and under-
standing of the client's behavior. According to the behavioral scientists three main traits highlight
Filipino behavior and decision-making. These are personaliam, familiam, and particu larism (or
popularism)
Personalism
Personalism has to do with the degree of emphasis Filipinos give to interpersonal relations, to face to
face encounters." Personalized techniques must be utilized in doing things. Clients are better motivated
to accomplish a desired goal if the social worker involved or other human service workers give the case a
personal touch.
Even successful leadership must have a tinge of personal touch. Social workers working with groups and
community leaders know for a fact that problem-solving is more effectively achieved if good personal
relations are applied rather than using only given deliberation, debate, and collegial reasoning. Filipinos
avoid controversy and conflict or open confrontation as much as possible. They resort to other ways
such as parinig (aside) instead of directly expressing an opinion especially when it is contrary or opposite
to another's idea or position. Even communication must be followed through or personally attended to
by the person concerned for it to reach the intended receiver.
Familiam
We often say that social work is family-oriented and social workers are enjoined to use the total family
approach. Familism is a fact of life in the Philippines unlike in the Western countries where the cultural
trait of individualism is highly prized. Family in the Filipino context is not just husband, wife and children.
It includes not only the couple and children but also the family of both spouses, grandparents, in-laws,
sometimes even distant relatives. It is an extended family,
seldom a nuclear one. The social worker must always bear this in mind specially when it comes to
problem-solving and making decisions.
In this country, much emphasis is given to the welfare and interest of the family over the welfare and
interest of the community. Filipinos are family-centered but individually and not sometimes, as a family
group or system. Brothers and sisters and their respective families compete for political power or
business enterprises. This may be observed in the doings through media of the oligarchs and the
politicians, a characteristic which is carried down to the grassroots by their followers. Sometimes we
find them on opposite sides of a public or community issue, either for or against.
The social worker is also well advised to remember that the family is the basis of group action. Helping
an individual member of the family is often undertaken with the help of the other members. In group
work consultations are often held with the family by the individual member of the group before he can
participate in a group activity or take a stand on an issue. The result of a discussion is often a consensus
rather than an agreement because formal votes are seldom taken.
Within the neighborhood it is the family, not the individual member which decides on the resolution of
important matters The interest of the family is paramount to that of the individuals composing it. 10
Andres, a well-known authority on Filipino values has this to say:
The pervasive influence of the family on the individual and group behavior as reinforced by the highly
person- alistic emphasis on social interactions, gives rise to heightened emphasis on particularistic
tendencies. He likes to stay close to the scene of battle between government troops and the rebels but
is not interested in their causes, I only on their leavings. Each individual appears to strive hard to
promote his own and his family's interest over the larger community interest. To be popular is the
highest complement a Filipino can receive from his kinsmen, neighbors and acquaintances. Conformity
to codes of proper conduct is rewarded with cooperation and assistance and nonconformity is
punished with withdrawal of support. 11
Particularism (or Popularism)
The Filipino is said to be particularistic in that he tends to belong, to associate with only one person,
group, thing, or category He does not bother with the general or the universal. He keeps his yard
scrupulously clean but does not hesitate to throw his garbage over the fence. She may take a piece of
candy while in the jeepney but helps litter the street with candy wrappers. On the other hand he likes to
be widely liked or appreciated by friends, peers and associates, or even acquaintances.
The Westerner tends to be individualistic, to be self-reliant because he knows he is alone and must fend
for himself The Filipino on the other hand relies on intimately human per- transaction. The Filipino
places a high value on affilia tion rather than achievement, he tends to view things even the general or
universal from a personal perspective. He is very subjective rather than objective. His behavior, the
decisions he makes if at all are coloured by his feelings and cultural traits. He is hesitant to be held
responsible for decisions or to be assiduously identified in the decision making process. 12 Thus the
client may expect the worker to decide for him no matter that he is repeatedly told that ultimately he
must make the decision, not the social worker. This is partly because he is not sure or does not want to
weigh the consequences of his decisions and is afraid or not used to making decisions.
This penchant for particularism or popularism, is emphasized by some well known Filipino values such as
pakikiramay or going out of one's way to assist even without being asked, pakikisama or going along
with certain persons whom one may not want to displease for various reasons, bayanihan or being a
hero by giving assistance without compensation, paggalang or giving respect to the opinion of those
who are older, in authority or are peers during deliberations of important matters. The Filipino may be
loyal to the point of being strongly committed to the sakop, or in-group. He may find fulfillment in the
sakop, undertaking reciprocal action which may eventually lead to his being well-accepted and popular.
The sakop can be a person's peers, teammates, classmates, relatives, officemates, etc. The foregoing are
the ethical and normative behavior of Filipinos which the social worker is likely to encounter in the
course of his work. Aside from these major ones are the supportive norms or rules of conduct specific
to given situations. They are so well known even to the layman that they do not need explanation here.
However, they are being listed, mentioned here as they are most likely manifested by the client in the
course of being helped. These are the emotional imperatives such as hiya, the moral, an example of
which is pananagutan, and relationship, exemplified by pakikisama.
ETHICS
Ethics is the science of moral duty, it is concerned with the science of ideal human character and deals
with moral principles, quality, or practice. Every profession has its own code of ethics which more or less
prescribes the professional's rule of conduct. In this section we are presenting in brief first, the American
Code of Ethics, followed by the Code of Ethics for Filipino Social Workers.
CODE OF ETHICS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS
Summary of Major Articles
1. The Social Worker's Conduct and Comportment as Social Worker
A Propriety. The social worker should maintain high standards of personal conduct in his capacity or
identity as a social worker
B Competence and Professional Development. The social I worker should strive to become and remain
proficient in professional practice and the performance of professional functions.
C. Service. The social worker should regard as primary the service obligation of the social work
profession
D. Integrity. The social worker should act in accordance with the highest standards of professional
integrity
E. Scholarship and Research. The social worker in study and research should be guided by the
conventions of scholarly inquiry
2. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Clients
F. Primacy of Client's Interests. The social worker's primary responsibility is to clients.
G. Rights and Prerogatives of Client The social worker should make every effort to foster maximum
self-determination on the part of clients.
H. Confidentiality and Privacy. The social worker should respect the privacy of clients and hold in
confidence all information obtained in the course of professional service.
I. Fees. When setting fees, the social worker should ensure that they are fair, reasonable, considerate,
and commen- surate with the service performed and with due regard for the client's ability to pay
3. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Colleagues
J. Respect, Fairness and Courtesy. The social worker shouldtreat colleagues with respect, courtesy,
fairness and good faith
K. Dealing with Colleagues' Clients. The social worker has the responsibility to relate to the clients or
colleagues with full professional consideration.
4. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Employees and Employing Organizations
L. Commitments to Employing Organisations. The social worker should adhere to commitments made to
the employing organization.
5. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to the Social Work Profession
M. Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession. The social worker should uphold and advance the values,
ethics, knowledge and mission of the profession
N. Community Service. The social worker should assist the profession in making social services available
to thegeneral public.
O. Development of Knowledge. The social worker should take responsibility for identifying, developing,
and fully utilizing knowledge for professional practice.
6. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Society

P. Promoting the General Welfare The social worker should promote the general welfare of society.
The (American) Code of Ethics spells out in detail many of the rules of conduct already observed by
Filipino social workers although not specified in its Code of Ethics.
Propriety frequently brought out in seminars and workshops, competence and professional
development, scholarships and research are imperatives in continuing professional education (CPE), now
a requirement of the Professional Regulation Com- mission. Community service is our own "community
outreach" and the promotion of the general welfare of society has always been a "must" especially
where the poor and the deprived are concerned. Work on the code is far from being finished; details
have to be spelled out, new rules of conduct included. There has always been concern about the social
worker's professional conduct and relationship with clients. Fees are of concern only in clinical settings
and these are generally prescribed in relation to the other service professions. The Code of Ethics of the
Filipino social workers is coached in abstract terms most probably because of the emerging social unrest
and ideological conflicts at the time the code was for mulated. Martial law (1972) had just been imposed
and
social workers were then concerned (and are still so today) with the then existing conditions and the
aspirations and goals of the Fill- pino people. The Code contains at least six fundamental beliefs and six
guiding principles of conduct.
THE PHILIPPINE CODE OF ETHICS FOR SOCIAL WORKERS
1. We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of man 14
A social worker should accept and treat the client as a human being entitled to his human rights, the
enforcement of social justice, and the freedom to reason and exercise free will. The social worker has a
moral obligation to uphold the person's human dignity above all other considerations and to respect
other persons be they clients, colleagues, employees, or other people.
2. We believe that every man has natural and social rights, capacities and responsibilities to develop
his full potentials as a human being.
The social worker should make available to the client theresources and opportunities that will help him
and contribute to his development and self-fulfillment.
3. We believe that the government and the people have a joint responsibility to promote social justice,
and to ensure the economic and social well-being of the people.
Social workers must help people realize that while government has a responsibility for their welfare
they too have an equal responsibility to create and promote the conditions for a just and humane
society, including the establishment of social measures and provisions to care for and protect the citizen
when he cannot do so without outside assistance.
4. We believe in free men living freely in a free society where pover ty is neither a fate nor a
punishment but a condition that can and must be changed.
This provision was included to erase an old belief among our people that poverty is fate, God's will, or a
form of punishment for one's or an ancestor's sins. The present poverty is attributed largely to the
political, economic, and social structures that prevent a man from rising above his poor situation rather
than a defect or deficiency in his character. Freedom in this context refers to freedom to be a human
being rather than be a captive of exploitation and injustice.
5. We are committed to the development of highly fulfilled human beings in an atmosphere of social
equity and economic prosperity
Almost twenty years after this Code was adopted by the PASW, social and economic conditions
worsened rather than improved and the battle to raise the people's living conditions continues,
sometimes under aggravating and dehumanizing conditions. While other sectors continue to struggle for
social and economic progress, social workers must work for social change and social transformation for
there can be no enduring change if man himself does not change. In the final analysis it is he himself
who must transform society and its defective structures.
6. We are committed to seek a high quality of life for our people.
Social workers are committed to help the poor to rise above their level of poverty without bringing
down the rich. There should be a sharing of opportunities and wealth but it must be earned honestly,
not a dole-out but the benefits of hard work and production, justly earned. The poor should be enabled
to live as. human beings should, in peace and tranquility, not having to worry about the next meal, nor a
roof over their heads.
In order to pursue the above goals the social worker binds himself to the following rules of conduct. He
shall:
1) endeavor to contribute his utmost to nation-building;
2) give paramount importance to the well-being of thosewhom he helps;

3) accept with respect and understanding clients, colleagues, and all those who come within his sphere
of professional activity:
4) engage in social action which according to his convictions will further the interests of the people and
the country
5) create, and/or avail of opportunities for continuing professional growth so that he may better serve
the clients; and 6) at all times conduct himself in accordance with the standards of the social work
profession
THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL WORK
The guiding principles of social work were initially introduced in 1961 by F Biestek as attributes or
characteristics of the client-worker relationship in casework Later day writers started to call them
instrumental values as they logically form the value assumptions of social
work. They found them to be applicable whether one is working with individuals, families, groups, or
communities. Others refer to them as the "generic" principles of social work as they more or less govern
the manner with which social workers deal with their clients; they guide the practitioner and promote
the profession with a unitary methodology 15
Seven guiding principles have been identified so far. These are: acceptance, individualization,
nonjudgmental attitude, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement,
confidentiality, and self-determination.
Acceptance
The very first of the generic principles of social work is acceptance. It is the starting point of the client-
worker relationship, of the helping process. It is based on the belief that every human being is born with
inherent worth and dignity, that he is intrinsically good and naturally virtuous and therefore should be
treated as such. Clients are accepted for what they are irrespective of what they have done or failed to
do. Nevertheless clients are held accountable for their actions and must behave responsibly towards
others.
The principle of acceptance requires that the social worker unconditional love to those seeking his help.
Love in this of the person's failures and weaknesses; it is love because in spite of the recognition of the
person's human weaknesses and frailties the worker proceeds to help the client solve his problem so
that he may become a better human being. The Greeks call this kind of love "agape"; to the Latins it is
"caritas"; to the Spaniards it is "caridad"
Love in this moral sense is more an act of the will rather than an emotional impulse. It sees the person
as a human being, strong in certain qualities but with his own limitations; it does not include acceptance
of antisocial attitudes and behavior. The worker separates the individual from his deeds; he must be
viewed independently of his acts.
Acceptance is the first principle that must be observed so as to put the client at ease. The client who
senses that he is being accepted will soon let down his defenses and reveal himself without any
inhibition as he participates in the problem-solving process.
Individualization
Individualization is a basic tenet of social work practice as it springs from the profession's philosophical
belief that each man is imbued with inherent worth and dignity, the same as every other individual yet
with a difference. No two persons are alike because each personality is the product of genetics and the
environment. Man is thus the product of nature and nurture. Each
individual has the right to be his own person, separate and distinct from others, and to be treated and
regarded as such.
Kluckholm and Murray described this phenomenon succinct- ly when they wrote that: Every man is in
certain respects a) like all other men, b) like some men, c) like no other man. 17 This also recognizes that
each human situation is unique in that the situation or problem may fall under a general category: one-
parent family, abandoned child, physically disabled, etc., but the principal characteristics involved
and/or the events or factors that created the present difficulty may be distinguished from such similar
situations. Each case will be unique in itself. Individualization governs all three primary methods of social
work and translates it into different ways. It is an imperative in casework where the object of help is the
individual but it is also applicable to groups and communities where differences may be found among
the different groups and/or communities as evidenced by the ways or the manner they regard
themselves or execute their tasks. Group work may be concerned with group activities but its ultimate
purpose is, from the point of view of the profession and as presently practiced in the Philippines, the
adjustment and development of the members of the group through voluntary group associations. In this
country much of group work is done with the marginalized population: eg, out- of-school youth, street
children, disadvantaged women, disabled persons, etc. The ultimate aim is the growth and development
of each and every individual member of the group. The same may be said of community work where
social workers seek to mobilize and coordinate community resources ostensibly for the good and
improvement of the community by enabling and empowering the people to the maximum possible to
meet their own needs The principle of individualization implies that the social worker must be skilled in
differential diagnosis so that the kind of help he will render to each and every client meets the particular
needs of each specific case or situation, using as much as possible the client's own resources, i e, his
capacities and capabilities.
Nonjudgmental Attitude?
The principle of acceptance implies a nonjudgmental stance on the part of the social worker which may
be expressed in his attitude of neutrality The worker does not use derogatory labels to identify his
clients like prostitute, thief, retarded, murderer, etc. He may not even assume a condemnatory attitude
towards the client's attitudes and behavior, his values, standards and actions, even his lifestyle. He may
not assign guilt or innocence on the client. This is not his job, there are others tasked to do this. He may
not even say outright that the client caused or created his problem; his skills and the techniques he uses
should bring the client to the point of self-discovery, or self-awareness, of self- recognition of his own
failings or innocence.
Purposeful expression of feelings
Controlled emotional involvement
These principles are like the two sides of a coin. The first refers to the client, the second, to the social
worker. Emotional expression on the part of the client enables him to release, express his pent-up
feelings. Only then can he view more objectively his problem, his situation and his own place in the mix-
up. The client's expression of feelings enables the social worker to gain deeper insights in the client's
problem and become more sensitive to his needs. It is purposeful because the worker by interposing
relevant questions or encouraging observations provides the direction which will enable him to acquire
better understanding and more knowledge of the situation. The client should be able to share his private
thoughts and feelings freely, especially the negative ones. These shared feelings should be those that
reflect his own authentic needs and not as a response to what he thinks the worker is looking for or
wants to hear.
The need for free expression and for the sharing of experiences is a pertinent dynamic in the client-
worker relationship, or in any warm human relationship for that matter. The need for expression and
affection are two of man's basic psychological needs as are those for participation and the sharing of
experiences. Verily, the need for man to express his feelings is a strong factor in the solution of the
difficulty he is encountering.
The other side of the coin, controlled emotional involvement, or better still, professional
noninvolvement refers to the social worker's way of reacting to the client's purposeful expression of
feelings. It implies professional detachment. It means that although the worker must be sympathetic
and understanding he must guard against becoming emotionally involved with his client. Becoming
emotionally involved is likely to color what should be an objective viewpoint; he is likely to take sides,
usually that of the client. The worker therefore is advised to remain neutral but sensitive, understanding
and responsive.
Sensitivity refers to the ability to perceive or respond to the client's expressed feelings, attitudes or
behavior. The worker must understand the meaning of these feelings and behavior in relation to the
client and his problem. He should also respond in appropriate ways to the client's feelings. This response
on the feeling level could be the most important psychological element in the client-worker relationship.
It is a response of attitude and feeling guided by the worker's knowledge and purpose. In order to avoid
the client's talking on and on without any direction, sometimes repetitiously, the worker should
encourage the expression of only those emotions that are relevant to the problem at hand. Revelations
about the past should only be those that will help in a better understanding of the present or of
diagnosis of the problem. Irrelevant revelations might only result in the worker's getting a vicarious
experience from it without helping the client.
Self-determination
Self-determination is a derivative of the inherent worth and dignity of man, of the belief that he is
endowed with a reason and a free will.
Client's self determination refers to the right and need of the client to make his own choices and
decisions in the process of receiving help The worker has a corresponding duty to respect that right,
recognize that need and help activate the person's potential for self direction.
In the Philippines, client self determination is often easier said than done Most clients especially among
the poor expect the social worker or higher authorities, oftentimes local government officials and
political leaders to make decisions for them. This is a distinct trait that has been passed down by
generations where the landlords and tribal chiefs simply made decisions for their subordinates or
members to follow or implement.
In such cases when the client is unable to make or come to a decision the worker has to take him
through the process of decision-making. He sees to it that the client knows what the options open to
him are, helps him see the disadvantages or advantages of each alternative course of action thus
developing his ability to make a wise and sound decision as to what course to take, and to be sure to
know what the possible consequences of the action he wants to take are, and to be responsible for his
decision
At this point one is reminded of the often told story of the client who was given transportation aid so
that he could go home to the province and stay there for good. Three months later he came back and
was again asking for help. The irate worker said, more than asked: "O, nandito ka na naman. Hindi ba
umuwi ka na? (Here you are again. You've gone home, haven't you?) To which the client after some
hesitation meekly replied "Kayo ho ang may gusto, eh." (You were the one who wanted me to go.) Many
social workers are aware of this difficulty. Oftentimes, burdened as they are with heavy caseloads, they
tend to make decisions for the client even as to the kind of service he could use, depending on agency
policy and the services available. Sometimes a service like family planning is imposed on the client-
couple as agency policy.
The right to self determination does not mean that the client can trample on the rights of others. The
person's right to self- determination is limited by his capacity for positive and construe- tive decision-
making, by the framework of civil and moral law, and by the function of the agency.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is another generic principle which governs social work practice. Like the doctors, lawyers
and the priests who treat intimate information confidentially, social workers believe that the clients
have a right to keep their past behavior and present troubles private Confidentiality refers to the
preservation of secret information concerning the client which is disclosed in a professional
relationship.
Every human being has a right to keep secret some aspect of his life which he does not want the rest of
the world to know. Secrets in this context refer to those feelings, events and aspects of his life to which
he attaches particular importance and which he values as reflections of his identity. For instance, a
young woman will not want it to be known that she was once an unwed teenager parent who had to
give up her child for adoption. To pass on her secret would be a violation of her personal rights. Secrets
include those feelings, events and aspects of a person's life whose revelation might be so embarrassing
to the point of making him vulnerable to the loss of self-esteem, or the public image he wants to project.
It has been noted that Filipino clients while waiting to be interviewed like to share with each other their
problems which may be common or similar to others. Generally, these problems are about poverty,
unemployment, poor health, low education, poor housing, the peace and order situation, etc. However,
they avoid talking about those personal problems, often very private in nature which may lower
themselves in the esteem of others. An exception to confidentiality is when certain information has to
be shared with other helping persons within the agency or other agencies so that they may be able to
help the client. A social worker shares only that piece of information which is necessary or will
contribute to the alleviation or solution of the problem.
NEW VALUES
The preceding principles are universally applied and accepted. However there are other values which
are upheld by social workers and considered as necessary and relevant to their particular society
because of the prevailing geopolitical and socioeconomic conditions. In the United States for instance, at
the beginning of the 20th century, social workers, influenced in part by the methods of the charity
workers frequently viewed client's problems as evidence of flawed communities that did not respond
adequately to human needs. 18 As a result caseworkers tended to focus on the goal which was to
inspire the clients to lead morally upright, prudent lives. The client's poverty was attributed to a
character flaw on his part rather than society's failure to provide for and ensure the well-being of the
sectors of its population who needed help.
As the years passed and certain changes took place, social workers became gradually aware of the ways
in which environmental factors shape individuals and limit their appointments. The Era, the settlement
house movement, and the Great Depression of the 1930s for example, helped turn the social workers
attention to social and economic problems that contributed substantially to the misery suffered by
many who lived during years. As a result of this increased sensitivity, concern about client's personal
morality waned while concern about the need for social change and the enhancement of opportunities
increased 19 From hereon social workers have continuously stressed the need to attend not only to the
needs of individual clients but also to the ways in which the broader community and society respond to
these needs. Filipino social workers, no less than their foreign counter parts have now awakened to the
fact that at present the cause of poverty is the faulty structure of the economy and the geopolitical
situation rather than that it is simply fate or God's will. The professional practice of social work evolved
in the Philippines after World War II. In the beginning the main preoccupation was emergency relief as
may be expected because of the war. It was said that next to Poland the Philippines was heavily
devastated because of the battle of liberation. The emergency period was followed by one of
rehabilitation and reconstruction. Social workers were mainly concerned with helping clients to survive
and earn a living. There had been social unrest even before the war, among the peasants and tenant
farmers in Central Luzon where huge haciendas were to be found. It was then considered the rice
granary of the country. When the peasants rose in rebellion against the government the social workers
of the government's welfare agency had their roles and tasks cut out for them. They became involved in
the resettlement of farmers and urban squatters. They were provider of resources and it is doubtful if
anyone among them at that time saw or understood the implications of the social crises gradually
unfolding.
Their real awakening may have actually started at the beginning of the 1970s when the concept of
effective community organization as involving controversy and conflict was introduced by some foreign
workers. The younger generation of social workers was quick to pick up this concept and as they became
conscientized, they began to adopt other values as well. The dis content with the status quo increased
during the martial law years (1972-1985) as the young people took to activism and participated in teach-
ins. A few social workers became radicalized and a handful were detained by the military but the values
that emerged or evolved during this period were imbibed by many social workers, even the older ones.
The three major values that have been the rallying points up to this time most probably because they
are the ones most prominently violated are human rights, social justice and people's participation.
Human Rights
Social workers believe that man possesses basic human rights endowed on him by God which are
natural, inalienable, and universal Among these rights are the right to life, liberty, and the security of the
person, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, of opinion and expression, of peaceful
assembly and association, and the right to equal protection of the law. Other rights include the right to
own property, to work, to get an education, and the right to a standard of living adequate for the health
and well-being of himself and his family It includes the right to acquire food, clothing, housing and
medical care and other necessary social services in cases of disability, widowhood, old age and the lack
of livelihood due to circumstances beyond the person's control 20 The citizen's civil rights and civil
liberties emanate from his human rights.
Social Justice
For social workers, simply stated, social justice means the equitable distribution of the national wealth
and income and the equality of access to opportunities for the full development of every citizen as a
human being, the humanization of laws and the equalization of social and economic forces by the state
so that justice in its rational meaning and objective secular conception may at least be approximated 21
Social work is in effect an instrument of social justice through the provision of social services so that man
may fulfill himself
In brief, social justice involves the principle of equality of opportunities, equality before the law, and the
equitable distribution of the fruits of production.
People's Participation
People's participation refers to voluntary involvement in self-determined change. The key words here
are 'voluntary in volvement" and "self-determined" change. The development of people, the
enhancement of social functioning, the avowed purpose of social work requires that as much as possible
the client participates in the process of his development and in the formulation of a stated goal. For
local social workers this is quite important; anyone familiar with Filipino traits and attitudes will readily
understand the thrust towards people's participation. After four hundred years of colonization, first by
the Spaniards, then the Americans and finally, occupation by the Japanese, our people have developed
an attitude where they will carry out orders in which they have had no part in its formulation. In the past
majority of the working classes and the rural poor used to execute orders affecting them without
previous consultation or even prior knowledge. The effect of such a condition is still apparent today.
Many people still wait for decisions to be made for them. Social work clients to a large extent are
dependent not only on the higher or local authorities but on their social worker. The practitioner is quite
familiar with the client's typical answer when asked for his opinion or what he intends to do: "Kayo na
po ang bahala" (It's up to you). Oftentimes one finds it difficult for groups or even community leaders to
go through the democratic process, or even to come to some agreement or reach a consensus. Many
community workers often experience difficulty in getting people to participate voluntarily and make
their own decisions. Hence the drive towards people's participation as a strategy for people
development and grassroots democracy.
There are at least three levels of participation: 1) direct par ticipation in policy-making and program
development usually at the local level; 2) participation through representation usually at the national
level; and 3) participation in mutual self-help programs at the neighborhood level. The direct service
worker's focus is on the third level,
4
THE COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
TRAINED OR PROFESSIONAL social workers often find it difficult to explain to the public or even to their
friends and families what they do and what social work practice is all about. They are often most visible
during crises or emergencies and are seen monitoring or giving out material aid. It is therefore not
surprising at all that the public image of a social worker is that of a charity worker handing dole-outs. So
in this chapter the components of social work practice will be discussed in order to provide a clearer
understanding of social work as a profession for which one must posesses basic scientific knowledge,
appropriate values, and the skills necessary for helping people in distress.
To begin with, there are four major components of social work practice: the client, the problem, the
agency, and the helping process. Helen Harris Perlman, an American author, refers to these as the "4
Ps," meaning the person, the problem, the place, and the process.1
In the following sections reference will always be made to the client as an individual. However, these
social concepts, theories and principles are applicable to the client whether as an individual, a family, a
small group, or a community.
THE CLIENT
The client is an individual (man, woman, or child), a family, small group or community who finds himself
or is found to be in need of help in some aspects of his economic, social and emotional living. In a Third
World country the major or most serious problems facing the client are the lack of material resources
and the inadequacy of social services. These impede or affect his psychosocial functioning, that is, his
ability to maintain social relationships which involve psychological factors such as his own behavior and
those around him. The moment the process to help him is set in motion he becomes a client of the
assisting social agency, and specifically, of the individual social worker who has been assigned to help
him.
The dictionary defines a client as "one for whom professional services are rendered" or "cne dependent
on the patronage (protection) of another Therefore the client is not necessarily subordinate to the
worker in their relationship. It is a kind of partnership where one, the client, is in need of a service and
the other, the worker, has the competence and resources to provide it. To meet the need or solve the
problem both worker and client must join hands, the former providing the external resources and the
latter the internal resources, that is, his motivations, innate capacities and acquired abilities.
Sometimes, the client is referred to as a "case. "When this term is used it refers not only to the person
or persons involved, it includes the state of affairs or the situation in which they are the principal
characters.
Each person is a biopsychosocial being; so is the client. Every person is a living organism, capable of
mental processes and acting or reacting in certain ways under specific circumstances and lives and
interacts socially with other persons or groups. Knowing or being aware of the fact that the client is a
biopsychosocial being, the worker therefore studies not only the person or client by himself but the
person in his element. This approach is now known as studying the "person in situation" or the "total
person in-situation. "2 It must be stressed that whatever the client is, child, youth, or adult, his inner self
as well as his outer environment, his past and present experiences "conspire" to make him what he is.
In the days when social work was just evolving as a profession in the Western countries it was generally
assumed that most clients had impaired psychosocial functioning. These countries were then
industrializing and it seemed unthinkable then that there were still poor people to be found in the land
of plenty This situation, added to the fact that the Americans had adopted the English view that poverty
was the fault of the individual, led them to the conclusion that poverty was the result of the individual's
own moral failure to take care of himself 3 Hence the emerging focus of social work was to enhance the
person's impaired social functioning based on the assumption that dysfunctioning was his fault, he
lacked the moral fiber to improve himself and his situation in life. However, this basic assumption was
later modified when pioneer social workers themselves undertook researches which proved this
assumption incorrect. The environment or the economic and social structures prevailing in the country
may contain the factors that create the problems for individuals leading them to dysfunctioning These
may be due to lack of material resources, of job livelihood opportunities or the inaccessibility to the
individual of services essential to improving his situation in life. This is characteristic of the Third World
countries like the Philippines. And so the overall purpose of social work is now stated as "to enhance the
person's psychosocial functioning" be this impaired, endangered or in need of improvement.
In our country majority of the social welfare clients belong to the urban or semi-urban poor Any signs of
dysfunctioning is often due to the economic and social environment and the lack or inadequacy of
resources. In a sense their failure to cope with their problems is partly due to stunted growth and
development as persons physically, economically, socially, intellectually, and even spiritually because
they were deprived of the resources they needed as these were either unavailable or inaccessible. Their
need therefore is to "have more in order to be more." Social work in the Philippines therefore addresses
itself not only to the restoration of impaired psychosocial functioning, but much more to the prevention
of dysfunctioning, and to the development of the person's inner resources so that he can live more
decently as a human being should An emerging term frequently used nowadays is "client system. It
refers to all entities, person, family, group,
organization or community that receive or command the attention of the social worker. It includes or
covers such terms as client, target population, change target, and the like. "System" implies that the
entities are acting like units of one collective entity and are interacting in an interrelated and
interdependent manner with each other. 5
The bulk of social work clients are the poor, the destitute, homeless, disabled or handicapped of many
Third World cities, orphaned, neglected, abused and abandoned children, or disadvantaged women
who have been deserted by their husbands and left without any means of support. Many social workers
deal with out-of-school youth, with beggars and vagrants apprehended by the police, and with young
offenders placed under their supervision by the courts. The Philippines is often struck by natural
disasters as it is situated in the so-called "typhoon belt hence relief operations by the government's
welfare agency is a regular occurrence.
In the last two or three decades armed conflicts here and abroad have left in their wake many people
who became physically disabled, mentally disoriented, or emotionally traumatized resulting in the
impairment of their coping mechanisms. Their number has swelled social work's target population.
THE PROBLEM
A problem is a question or situation that presents uncer tainty, perplexity, or difficulty. The problem
arises when the individual's need has not been met or there are obstacles to its fulfillment. A need is a
condition or situation in which something necessary or desirable is wanted or required so that the
person may function satisfactorily. The basic needs of every human being are food, shelter, and clothing.
For many social welfare clients in the Philippines these are the problems they bring to the social agency
when requesting for help because they are unable to meet these needs satisfactorily without assistance.
This inability to take care of one's self, or to at least meet one's basic needs may cause the person to
experience frustrations and disappointments. Then he becomes maladjusted or simply gives up and so
his effectiveness to deal with it is diminished.
For a situation to be problematic the person experiencing it must feel discomfort about it. It could be
material, physical, social or even emotional. It may not be the major or real problem or the basic cause
or factor of the client's present difficulty as later explorations may reveal. However, at the moment it is
a problem in so far as the client is concerned because it disturbs or hurts him in some way and he would
like to mitigate it or at best, get rid of it.
Listed below are the problems most often presented to social workers in the Philippines.
Economic, Intellectual, and Physical Problems.
1. Lack of economic and social resources
This is the major problem often found in many Third World countries. Specifically, it refers to the total
lack of income or a very inadequate one. It means lack of the basic necessities of life: food, shelter, and
clothing because the person has no means of livelihood, work or a job which would assure him of an
adequate and stable income. Beyond the family unit there are other problems in the environment which
compound the lack of income. There may be scarcity of social resources such as health, education,
welfare and recreational services. Also, the lack of potable water, electricity, good roads and
transportation. Housing is also a major problem in urban and semi-urban areas.
These prevailing conditions are worsened by the poor people's awareness that there is a big gap
between the rich and the poor, by income inequalities, and the lack of job or work opportunities. These
deficiencies in tangible means and resources restrict and thwart the ambitions of people and limit their
abilities to relate to others, they are unable to achieve satisfactory human relationships. Poverty may
eventually lead to an impairment of the individual's psychosocial functioning.
2. Lack of education and skills, knowledge and experience
Lack of education and employment skills close the door to better job opportunities for many Filipinos.
We are not referring to the lack of a college education but rather to the lack of a high school education
and more so to the lack of an elementary education. The quality of education is such that sometimes
those who finish six years of basic formal education can hardly read or write; those who drop out after
two or three years forget later the rudiments of reading and writing. This lack of education prevents
them from moving on to better job opportunities which require semiskilled or skilled manpower. Many
vocational or technical education programs require a high school education. A skilled mechanic or
electrician must at least be a high school graduate. Factories employ only those who can read and write
so that at least they can read, understand and follow or obey instructions. Vocational training for
domestic helpers offered by nongovern mental or voluntary organizations require the trainees to be
able
to read and write for obvious reasons. Lack of an appropriate education may prevent an individual from
acquiring better employment skills which in turn will be an obstacle to his landing better job
opportunities.
This is a problem often encountered in their clients by social workers. How to help them find outside
employment or even self employment when they lack education and skills is a perennial problem.
Deficiency in knowledge and experiences also influence the nature and quality of relationships. Social
workers are all too familiar with the story of how an individual comes to the big city in hopes of better
opportunities thinking that he will be met at the railroad or bus station or at the pier by a relative or
friend who, alas, does not show up at all. Or he was given the address but does not know what ride to
take or where or has lost the little piece of paper in which it was written. So if in Manila, he lands in the
big park by the seaside called the Luneta where he tries to find sleeping space along with hundred
others including migrant youth and street children. He is fortunate if he is picked up by the police or the
street social workers who roam the park and streets of the big city at night. At least he will be brought to
a transient or half-way house where the social workers will help him find his way out of the dilemma.
These are the cases or instances which often call public attention but there are the more common
instances with which social workers are all too familiar. In times of crisis like when the family head dies
and the widow does not know what to do; or a family member or child becomes sick and is no money
for medicine or hospitalization; or a teenage daughter has run away-such occasions call for crisis
intervention because the person most affected by the crisis does not know what to do. Sometimes it is
also a matter of giving information or directing the individual to the service that he needs.
3. Lack of love, care, and protection
Adults also encounter these problems and may become alienated from their families and significant
others but more so with children and teenagers who face these problems. In the Philippines more than
one-half of the population belong to the age range 0-17 years.
We are not simply thinking of the orphaned, abandoned and neglected children but also of the
endangered ones, those who are exploited or abused by their families, by employers or by outsiders
who meet them on the streets or hangouts, those who are subjected to cruelty and violence so that
they are compelled to run away from home, those turned out from the house by their own parents. Left
to themselves, they are constantly exposed to danger and harm, their well-being is imperilled.
Today the problem of street children and migrant youth has assumed such big proportions that they
have become the concerns not only of social workers but also of society and the government.
4. Illness and disability

Various social, emotional, and economic stresses accompany and physical illness and handicaps which in
turn, often threaten interpersonal relationships. They also affect the person's ability to take care of
himself, to be at least self-reliant. a the psychosocial implications of disability, both for the patient and
his family. When a person is ill, especially with a chronic illness or crippling disease there is a tendency
to withdraw, to revert to one's self, to conceal secret feelings of helplessness, loneliness, or even
hopelessness so that interpersonal relationships with sig nificant others becomes threatened or severely
weakened. Problems in interpersonal relations may also arise between parents and siblings of children
with developmental disabilities at various phases of the life cycle.
Physical or mental disabilities, on the other hand, have be come an increasing concern for the social
worker not only for the psychosocial aspects but because in a Third World country it implies a disability
or incapacity to earn a living and this is a major problem. Social welfare offers vocational training
programs for the disabled but very few find employment because they have to compete with the able-
bodied and job openings are very few For the aging, also considered disabled because their normal
physical and mental abilities are now reduced, the policy is to keep them busy and productive, at home,
in a center or in an institution so as to reassure them that they are still useful and needed. This service
keeps their self-esteem and dignity intact.
5. Lack of opportunities or access to resources
To this group belong the idle men and employable youth but we are singling out the disadvantaged
women of whom there is a big number-women who are subjected to severe economic and social
disadvantages. They are denied access to services that would improve their lives because of certain
values, beliefs and culture.
The women constitute half of the population and if properly harnessed can contribute very much to
improving the economy of the country. Although women's welfare has improved consider- ably in
recent years, discrimination and inequalities are varie- gated and widespread, and ingrained in some
sectors of the society. Many of them are illiterate, overburdened by frequent child-bearing while
simultaneously eking out a living to help in crease the family income. They are poverty-stricken, often
also malnourished and in poor health but neither fully participating in or sharing equally with the men
the benefits of economic and social progress. As a result they hardly benefit from their productive work
in the farms or in the application of their entrepreneural skills in blighted urban areas. In some cultures
the woman is denied access to higher education or opportunities for broadening her social and cultural
horizons. In other sectors she is relegated to a lower status than the husband with no legal voice in the
determination of the family size, family acquisition and expenditures, and the future roles of the
children. The husband has unquestioned authority to subordinate his wife and children to his will-this
by tradition
These are some of the major problems confronting Philippine society today much of which stem from
widespread poverty As a result many social work activities have to do with people who are in dire need
of material assistance or who require other tangible and immediate solutions to their problems. The
demands made upon social workers are so many and varied that their potential for playing
psychotherapeutic roles are severely limited or even curtailed especially in times of crisis such as natural
calamities and disasters, relocation because of urban renewal or conflict between groups struggling for
power and control. Yet it is difficult to dissociate the client's psychosocial dysfunctioning from these
problems because his emotions are affected by his problem and so are his social relationships. Here we
will mention a few problems that are likely to arise as a result of material destitution and disadvantages.
These are: emotional reaction to stress, loss of relationships, interpersonal conflict, culture conflict, and
maladaptive group functioning. These problems must be resolved alongside the material ones because
their resolution is essential to the complete well-being of the individual, a biopsychosocial being.
Psychosocial Problems
1. Emotional reaction to stress
In social work the worker deals with two kinds of stress: developmental and situational. As individuals
grow and develop each phase in the life cycle posits new demands and new opportunities. This may
result in developmental stress. Stress often accompanies the transition from one phase in the life cycle
to the next one. This may happen at the onset of adolescence, that is, from puberty, from adoles cence
to adulthood, or at the end of the life cycle--old age. This phase is often accompanied by changes in vital
roles, social relationships, and economic resources about which people have anxiety.
A second type, situational stress, includes reactions to hazardous events or circumstances in the life of
an individual, family, or group, often of a crisis nature. This may be an acci dent, prolonged or terminal
separation or loss of a loved one, unemployment, loss of a job, failure in school, natural disasters and
calamities, and at present in the Philippines, the insurgency war or pocket rebellions. The extent to
which the new expec tations are met or the crisis is resolved depends partly on the availability of
resources and people who can support the person or family through this difficult period.
2. Loss of relationship
Separation from some significant relationship or set of relationships with particular others is a source
of many difficulties. Children often suffer much when they lose a parent due to death, separation,
broken home or abandonment. In the present context when many men and women have to work
overseas because of the scarcity of jobs in this country the remaining parent and children often suffer
emotionally from the separation. If the parent working overseas happens to be the wife and mother the
husband or father encounters great difficulty in assuming the new roles formerly performed by his wife.
Loss of a parent due to separation may become traumatic for the young children when they know that
the father has set up another family especially if his new home is in the same neighborhood.
The most devastating form of separation of course is the death of a loved one, at whatever phase in the
life cycle it occurs. It is particularly traumatic when the loved one is the family breadwinner. The
intense feelings of loneliness, grief and depression are compounded by the realization that there will be
changes in the family's economic and possibly social circumstances, 10
3. Interpersonal conflict
Problems of interpersonal conflict are bound to crop up in problems dealing with economic support.
This problem may also arise out of the relationship between two individuals where the behavior of one
is not acceptable to or irritates the other but neither can withdraw readily from the relationship. The
most common conflicts under this classification are those within the family-between husband and wife,
parent and child, between siblings, grandparents and parents, daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law and
other types of close family relationships.
Conflicts between husband and wife may stem from sex and money matters, child rearing practices,
and in the Philippine context, even relatives, especially if the latter are living with the family Parent-child
dissatisfaction and conflict may revolve around norms of dress, school performance, money, sex, drugs,
and choice of friends or barkada. Between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law it may stem from
disagreements about child rearing practices, housekeeping chores, tasks and standards, also money, and
others.
Whatever the difficulty is between the two individuals, the personality characteristics, role expectations,
and needs of the individuals concerned must be understood by the social worker.
4. Culture conflict
In Philippine society there is often conflict among persons and between groups based on cultural
differences, prejudice, discrimination or even language For example, each region has its own language,
e.g., Tagalog, Ilocano, Bicol, Pangasinan, Cebuano, Ilonggo, etc. Each is so attached to its own indigenous
language that there is extreme difficulty in imposing or adapting a national language based on one of the
regional languages. This is only one example.
For the most part culture conflict arises from cultural dif ferences. Some ethnic groups may have values
which may not be understood by others, creating problems for their members in making choices and
adapting effectively to their environment. This may be one reason why migrant groups from the
provinces when settling in slums and squatter areas prefer to live in the same area where their
provincemates are to be found. Social workers working with depressed communities become familiar
with the values and beliefs of closed communities, closed in the sense that only those from the same
region, province or community, are tacitly allowed to settle there. Differences in values may be
expressed in attitudes toward time, material possessions, work, role expectations of men and women,
dress, courtship, etc. In one cultural community for instance, the female social workers were initially
rejected, ignored by the indigenous leaders and residents because they were women. It was only after
they demonstrated what they could do for the community that they were accepted.
To be more specific, members of different cultures are often confronted with decisions which may
require them to hold on to or violate norms regarding food preferences (ex: no pork), customs and
traditions (rituals, prayers at least three to five times a day), family planning (natural method or
artificial), divorce (only separation is allowed), number of wives (one culture allows three to four as long
as the man can afford to support each family), and so forth. Even social workers may be confronted with
this conflict when a client comes from a culture whose value system conflicts with the worker's own
value system. Social workers therefore must understand the value system of the client in order to make
the necessary adaptation Then they can be effective in helping clients with different if not conflicting
values, beliefs, and traditions.
5. Maladaptive group functioning
Group workers and community workers are often faced with this problem. When this happens the client
group may be unable to move towards its objective or goal.
Maladaptive group functioning may be due to any one or a combination of the following factors: faulty
group composition, missing or confused roles, faulty patterns of verbal and nonverbal communication,
and inadequate mechanism for making 11 decisions and solving problems. There is usually faulty group
composition when the group is composed of community leaders who come from opposing political
parties. Politics is an integral part of Filipino community life and it permeates all levels even to the
grassroots. Mixing the adults with the youth can also be a problem when the young are not given the
opportunity to express their minds and the elders monopolize the processes of problem- solving and
making decisions, assuming all the while that the youth will do as they say.
In the case of the family a new stepmother or stepfather may cause rifts within the family circle. The
same may happen when two families with young children headed by two "solo" (single) parents decide
to set up a family together each bringing along his/her children into the new family group. This can be
an extremely difficult situation to handle.
The roles in the group may contribute to inadequate group functioning. In a formed group certain
members may not be content with or happy about the roles, tasks and activities assigned them so that
they may neglect or totally reject them. Or the individual assignments may have failed to take into con-
sideration the capability of the person accomplish the role him. Some roles may be regarded as of higher
esteem or status than the others. This is bound to create discontent.
Within the family this may happen when there is mis- understanding and confusion of roles among its
members. This happened in a case where after three girls, a boy was born into the family ten years after
the youngest girl. The boy tended to model himself after the behavior of the girls to the consternation of
the parents. It vexed the father so much he became stern and demanding when trying to get the little
boy to imitate him. In so doing he antagonized the little boy instead.
In traditional families authoritarianism is still practiced and the children from childhood to adulthood
just keep quiet in order to keep the peace in the household. Children are given little choice or none at all
to be themselves, a pattern which may be carried on even into their adult lives. They have not learned
to express themselves, to communicate verbally, even at work or in small social groups. In the extreme
it may be carried to the level of the family, when they finally have their own. Dissent is not expressed,
much more appreciation for another person. Problem-solving and decision-making can be one-sided and
this may lead to confusion and conflict between husband and wife.
Many factors enter into maladaptive group functioning and the social worker should be alert for the
signs so something can be done about them.
There are other problems not listed here which may be intertwined with a client's problem like
dissatisfaction in social relationships, or conflicts with formal organizations. At present these are rarely
brought to the attention of social workers. Problems involving severe impairment of psychosocial fune
tioning are usually brought to a psychiatrist. It is the latter who brings in the social worker when his
services are needed. The listing presented here are those found within the contemporary Philippine
setting and reality.
THE AGENCY (PLACE)

The social welfare agency is the structured framework within which the administrative tasks are carried
out. It is the instru ment of society established through government or voluntary efforts to achieve a
social goal. 12 According to Drucker a simple social welfare agency comes into being when several
people see an unmet need, want to meet that need, get community permission to meet that need, and
accept legal responsibility for seeing that the resources are secured, or made available, are used for the
specific purpose for which they are given rather than for some other purpose. 13
The agency is a human service instrumentality which has been set up to help human beings who are
experiencing some difficulty in the management of their own affairs either as individuals, families,
groups or communities. It is the provider of the resources that the client needs to alleviate or solve his
problem. It employs professionally trained social workers for the scientific approach to helping people; it
also hires workers from other disciplines and professions to provide support services to the social
worker's efforts.
A social welfare agency is the operational translation of a social policy which has been set up by the
founders and/or organizers, or by the government itself. It may be an open organization or an
institution. The policy usually states the purpose of the agency and its target population, that is, the
sector or category of persons to be served. This overall policy is further translated into operational or
implementing procedures which
serve as the agency's guidelines in how to accomplish its purpose. Agencies who have to secure their
funding from the private or voluntary sector must be incorporated and registered with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, a government agency, and accredited and registered to operate by the
government's pri mary welfare agency, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, 14
Types of Agencies
Agencies differ from one another principally in their principal sources of support, source of professional
authority and special function and area of concern.
An agency may be classified according to its source of support as governmental (public),
nongovernmental (private) or semigovernmental. An agency like the DSWD is funded mainly by the
government, hence it is considered a public agency A private agency derives its support primarily from
private contributions and donations of individuals, groups and even private funding organizations. There
are many such organi zations in the country among which are the Christian Chil dren's Fund, Foster
Parents Plan, Inc., CARITAS, Inc., and the Education and Research Development Agency (ERDA) The
oldest among the institutions is the Hospicio de San Jose for which was founded in 1810 It still exists
today, operated by the Daughters of Charity Of late because of the distressing economic and social
conditions, more and more private agencies or nongovernmental organizations are being set up to
extend immediate assistance to those in need. Among these are shelters and street schools for street
children and half-way homes for migrant youth and the handicapped, to name a few. An example of a
semiprivate agency is the Philippine National Red Cross. It derives its funding from private sources
through fund campaigns but it is supported by the government when its funds are insufficient to operate
massive relief operations.
A public agency derives its professional authority by law as in the case of the DSWD which was created
by Republic Act 5416 in 1968. Private agencies are first incorporated and registered with SEC then
accredited by DSWD and allowed tooperate as such. One may also identify agencies by the category of
clients they serve. The DSWD is a multifunctional agency because it serves all types of clients: families,
children and youth, the disabled, disadvantaged women, victims of natural calamities and disasters and
the social disorder whether as individuals, families, groups, or communities. Many private agencies
serve only one category of clients so that they are known sometimes as a family welfare agency, child
welfare agency, youth welfare agency, etc.
Programs and Services

In view of the prevailing economic and social conditions in the country social welfare agencies do not
limit themselves to material and financial assistance. Many agencies offer other types of services to
meet emerging needs. Counseling is an integral part of these programs.
The self employment assistance program is a scheme which provides small capital loans instead of poor
relief to needy families; under this plan they are helped to establish income- generating projects which
should lead to financial self-sufficiency Practical skills training and job placement provide vocational
training to help needy individuals to become self-employed or find jobs as wage earners.
Emergency assistance not only means immediate material aid but it includes a "food for work" scheme
to support communities seeking to repair damage caused by natural calamities and disasters.
Day care and supplemental feeding is a very popular program among the NGOs. It utilizes the
baranganic approach. Local com munities are encouraged to set up their own centers and nursery
schools supervised by a social worker and an assistant. Support services are provided by local volunteers
like the children's own mothers undertaking the chores that have to do with child rearing, cooking,
feeding or housekeeping.
Responsible parenthood is concerned with parent education as well as the promotion of family planning
Special social services refers to adoption and foster care, probation of youth offenders, residential
services, rehabilitation of the paychologically disturbed, drug addicts and others with paychosocial
problems.
And last but not least is alternative education which has been introduced recently in connection with
street children whose increase in number in the major cities of the country has reached alarming
proportions. Alternative education is any form of educational activity which responds directly to the
needs of street children: the need to know how to count money, how to sell newspapers, how to jump
off the bus while selling newspapers, warning him of the dangers lurking in the street and what he
should do instead, how to find shelter on the streets or how to avoid drug pushers and other mean
characters. Value development and socialization are provided through various program media. The
4Rs-reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic, and reasoning are also taught to prepare them for integration into the
formal schooling system. These programs are part of the social services that the client may avail of They
are actually operated and implemented by nonsocial workers but the social worker retains overall
responsibility for their use or application in any of the cases. Every staff member of the agency speaks
and acts for some part of the agency's function. The social worker represents the agency in the problem
solving or helping phase. However, although he may be representing the agency which employs him he
must not forget that he is first and foremost a representative of his profession embodying the
knowledge, values, and skills of the profession Regardless of what the agency's purpose and policies are,
it is in itself an instrument of the social work profession.
THE HELPING PROCESS
The last and most important component of social work practice is the helping process. It is the means
through which an agency's purpose is achieved; it is the phase through whichtreatment is applied to
attain a change in behavior or in the environment, or a problem is alleviated or resolved. Because of its
importance and significance as it introduces the scientific social work process of helping people, the next
chapter will be devoted entirely to this phase. treatment is applied to attain a change in behavior or in
the environment, or a problem is alleviated or resolved. Because of its importance and significance as it
introduces the scientific social work process of helping people, the next chapter will be devoted entirely
to this phase.
5
THE HELPING PROCESS
CONTRARY to the general impression, there is much more to work than the doling out of relief goods in
times of need although this is a part of its broader function. Social work's main concern is people and
how they are interacting with their environment. It is the objective of the profession and the scientific
helping process that it uses that give it significance and meaning.
HELPING OBJECTIVES
The main objective of social work is to help people improve the quality of their lives, to assist them cope
more effec- Lively with the problems of living so that they will gain or regain their equilibrium and
achieve growth in coping capacity. Its target population are individuals, couples, families, groups or even
communities who are impelled to secure social work services because of the disequilibrium in their lives
that stems from unsuccessful coping with problems. It is the coping capacity that is endangered or
imperilled hence the avowed purpose of social work is to enhance psychosocial functioning," meaning
the improvement of the interaction between man and his environment. This it tries to achieve by
tapping, mobilizing, creating and using resources, external as well as internal, in ways that reduce
tensions and stress and achieve mastery of the problem. The helping process that it applies in a
problem-solving one which in based on professional knowledge, values and skills, and makes use of a
variety of methods, tools and techniques, resources and services. In pursuance of its avowed purpose
the goals of the helping process are to:
1) help individuals, families, groups and communities to cope with problems they find difficulty in
solving or in meeting their basic needs in such a way that they will make use of their conscious efforts,
choices, and competencies; and 2) engage the client in ways of coping that may be of use to him in
dealing with new other problems that he may encounter now and then as long as he lives. 1
Thus it can be said that the social work helping process aims to achieve two things: to help the client
so that he may meet his need or solve a problem, and in the process, to provide him with fruitful coping
experiences which he may use later in meeting other needs and solving difficulties as he goes through
life.
PROCESS
Different writers use different terms to describe the steps in the helping process. The American
pioneers, notably Mary Richmond in 1921, divided the steps into three: study, diagnosis, and treatment.
Naomi Brill (1973) enumerated nine steps: engagement, assessment, definition of the problem, setting
of goals, selection of alternative methods of intervention, establishment of a contract, action leading
toward the desired goal, evaluation, and continuation or termination.3
Pincus and Minahan start with problem assessment followed by data collection. Helen Northen (1982),
starts with assessment which includes problem identification, data-gathering, and planning the
intervention. In 1986 Hepworth and Larsen came up with their own version dividing the process into
three major phases. These are:
Phase 1- Exploration, assessment and planning
Phase II-Implementation and goal attainment
Phase III- Termination and evaluation.
In presenting these variations the aim is to show that although the steps are expressed in different ways
they more or less follow the same pattern. They either start with data-gathering or problem
identification, followed by assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation and termination. For the
beginning social worker this may now be simplified into the following steps:
1. Identification of the presenting proble
2. Data gathering
3. Diagnosis assessment
4. Planning the intervention
5. Implementation/Intervention
6. Evaluation
7. Continuation or termination
Identification of the Presenting Problem
The presenting problem is elicited at the very start because this is where data-gathering begins. The
worker uses the problem as the starting point of his search for vital information to guide the subsequent
steps he will take. Sometimes the presenting problem may just be an immediate or precipitating one
causing the present difficulty and a deeper or underlying problem may emerge later but at least it is
something tangible to start with. Knowing the presenting problem enables the worker to start with the
present and the relevant, working backwards if and when necessary
Intake. This is where the process starts. Whether the client is a walk-in, has been referred, or reached
out to as one who needs or could use social services, the process begins with the intake. It is the first
contact of the client with a social agency through its representative, the social worker The major
purposes of the intake are to:
1. record identifying data about the client such as name, age, civil status, address, family composition,
etc., and the nature of his request. Every agency has an intake sheet or a prescribed form for this
purpose.
2. identify the presenting problem-that which is causing the most difficulty, so much so that the client
was impelled to ask for help or has been referred.
3. determine the client's presumptive eligibility and motivation to use a service. If his need cannot be
met then be is referred or redirected to another agency which can help him.
The intake sheet should include a statement of the problem as presented by the client, the interviewer's
initial impression to the nature of the problem, followed by some assessment of the situation and ends
with some recommendation as to what next action should be taken.
Data-Gathering
Data-gathering is a critical process because it entails the gathering of comprehensive information about
all the dimen sions of a problem so that the interaction of its components can be understood. The
purpose is to understand and determine the nature of the problem and what resources will be
required for it.
Data and information may be secured primarily from the client himself, then from the significant people
in his life like the members of his immediate family, observation and records, and test reports, studies
and evaluation of various kinds. The as- sembling of information may be done through the interviewing
process in some situations, group actions and interactions in others and even through remote channels
of communication.
Data gathering is also an occasion for beginning exploration (studying, examining) by attending to the
emotional state and immediate concern manifested by the client. Gradually the prac titioner broadens
the exploration to encompass relevant systems (individual, interpersonal and and explores depth
aspects of the problem that appear salient. During the press of exploration the practitioner is also alert
to and highlights strengths manifested by the client, realizing that these strengths represent a vital
resource to be identified and tapped later during the goal attainment phase.
Case Illustration
The family consists of Mr. Ricardo Perez (Mang Rick), his wife Carmela (Aling Mel), and five children:
Ricardo Junior (Jun-Jun), Jose (Joey), Isabel (Beth), Reynaldo (Rey) and Gabriel (Gabby).
The client came to ask for assistance for medicines and treatment for his illness and to supplement the
meager income of the family.
Principal client: Mang Rick, 38 years old, works as a stevedore at the North Harbor. He has not been
working regularly for the past two months because he is suffering from weak lungs. At present the
family is depending on the earnings of three of the children. They make barely enough to meet their
daily needs, there is no money at all to buy medicine for the father. A compadre advised him to request
for aid from a agency.
Mang Rick finished Grade 5 and hails from Leyte. His mother was a widow who married again. He has
two step- sisters. He ran away from home because of a cruel stepfather. When he was 14 years old he
stowed away in a boat and came to the city. He has not gone home since then and has lost contact with
his mother. The family lives in a small hut in a squatter area peopled by his provincemates, squatters and
laborers like him.
Aling Mel, his wife, is 34 years old. She finished Grade 5 but stopped schooling when her father Her
mother sent her to the city to live with an aunt so that she would have less children to feed. She helped
her aunt as a street vendor selling 'kakanin' (native cakes). That is how she met Mang Rick who would
sometimes stop by to buy rice cakes from her. They got married at City Hail when she was 18 and he, 22
years old. During the early years of their married life she tried to continue cooking and selling native
cakes but had to give it up to take care of the children and attend to household chores. She hails from
Ilocos Sur and hears from her mother once in a while through relatives.
Children:
Jun-Jun-15 years-finished Grade 6, scavenger, earns 20-30 pesos a day, half of which he gives to his
mother. Joey-13-finished Grade 5, part-time scavenger, does not contribute at all to the family upkeep.
Beth-11-Grade 4, sampaguita vendor. She goes to school in the morning and sells sampaguita garlands
in the afternoon until nightfall. She earns from P20-P30 a day and turns over all her earnings to her
mother.
Rey-10-years old-Grade 4, goes to school in the afternoon but hangs around in the market in the
morning as an errand boy Earns P10-P15 a day and turns over some of the money to his mother. Gabby-
5 years old-stays at home.
Additional information
Mang Rick used to earn a minimum of P50 a day, sometimes more on busy days. If he works on
Sundays his income reaches P1,500 a month. They own the house where they are staying but pay P10 a
month for the water and P50 for the one electric light that they have. The remainder of his earnings go
to buy basic necessities, most of it for food which is never enough.
The doctor at the health center advised him to stop working as he needs rest. An X-ray of his lungs had
already been taken. Medicines have been prescribed but there is no money to buy these.
Aling Mel has been a plain housewife these many years because she had to look after their children.
Although the four older children now move about on their own the youngest child, Gabby, is only five
years old and can hardly be left alone by himself When her husband was told to stop working so as not
to aggravate his illness she thought of reviving her rice cake business but did not have the necessary
capital to start it.
The client wants to go back to work as soon as possible so that his family will not go hungry. Neither
does he want the two younger children to stop schooling so that they will not end up "like me." He
wants a better future for them. He would also like the two older boys to go back to school. He expressed
anxiety over the two boys who often go out with their 'barkada at night, they might get into trouble
someday He has been so busy working, too tired at night to mind them so that they have been left to
their own devices. If his illness gets worse he does not know what will happen to the family
Data-gathering runs throughout the entire process, not just at the beginning of the helping process.
The worker starts data- gathering with the presenting problem asking pertinent questions about it, so
as to be able to determine what the problem is, which becomes the focus of his and the client's efforts
(diagnosis), what factors are causing and contributing to it (analysis), so that he will be able to
determine what resources to use and are Available and what intervention procedures or activities to
apply (assessment). At the start of the helping process understanding of the problem may be tentative
but becomes firmer around the middle phase as more data come to light. Sometimes when there is
need for prompt action as in the case of an emergency situation, intervention may be applied right there
and then even when there is not enough data to go on. Here the worker is expected to exercise sound
judgment recognizing that his assessment is tentative at this point. The collection, testing and
assessment of pertinent data simultaneously.
Diagnostic Assessment
Essentially, diagnosis is the worker's professional opinion as to the nature of the need or problem which
the client presents. The purpose of assessment, on the other hand, is to evalu ate the individual's
capacity and motivation to use help and his relationship to his family and its environment or to
understand a family or other small groups in its social context. It is a means of Individualizing the
person-altuation configuration, an ongoing process in which the client participates. Assessment starts at
intake although it is limited to what is necessary to make a tentative decision or some interventive
action which is necessary. Assessment should be based on the case study I which starts with the
presenting problem. It is, however, a continuous process throughout treatment to guide the worker's
Interventions at any given time. Assessment takes into account the nature of the problem, the factors
that precipitated it, the client's capacities and the extent of his motivation and his strengths to work on
the problem.
Case Illustration
Mang Rick seems to have managed all these years despite his low income. Were it not for the fact that
he is suffering from TB, he probably would have never sought assistance. He appears to be self-reliant
and wants to do something about his present difficulty.
He will need to work at a much lighter job after he gets well. The possibilities will be explored with him.
In the meantime he must undergo medical treatment. It appears that he is the only one trying to solve
the problem. The wife must be seriously involved as well as the older boys
The wife can cook. The possibility of turning this apti- tude into a small business venture will be taken up
with her The 5-year old child can be placed in a day-care center while his mother is at work.
The two boys could go to work provided they undergo some kind of vocational or prevocational
training Beth and Rey can continue schooling with assistance from some funding organization like those
for street children
An assessment should show what the immediate problem is, that which is causing the present difficulty,
the underlying problem, the overall situation which tends to perpetuate the immediate problem, and
the working problem composed of those contributory factors that stand in the way of both remedy and
prevention which must be dealt with if change is to take place. 10
Illustration
The immediate problem of Mang Rick is the need for some kind of material assistance until he recovers
from his illness and is able to work again. The underlying problem is that there is a lack of work
opportunities for people like him and his wife who have only a low level of education and practically no
vocational skills.
The working problem is that even if he gets eventually cured he will not be able to work again as a
stevedore Moreover, he may find difficulty in finding another kind of work because he has no other
employment skills
Planning the intervention
Planning the intervention involves goal and specific objectives setting and the determination of
strategies to be used. Plans may be immediate, near future, or long range.
Goal Setting
nThe first step in the planning of the problem resolution is to set up the end goal. A goal is needed to
provide direction to the efforts of both the worker and the client.
The goal must be related to the problem and stated clearly and precisely, not broadly. Thus when
dealing with poverty it would be better to say that the goal is to enable the family or family head to have
an income or means of livelihood rather than merely saying "to improve the family's economic situation.
Enabling the family to have a stable means of income or livelihood becomes the indicator. It is specific
and more quantifiable than "to improve the family's economic situation. For instance, in the case of a
young substance abuser it is better to state what specific attitudes and behavior will be changed within a
given period rather than simply saying "to enhance his psychosocial functioning. It is easier to determine
whether the client is moving towards the desired change or not when the attitudes or behavior to be
changed are specified. The goal then becomes the indicator of success or failure in the evaluation of
outcomes.
Specific Objectives
Besides the overall or end goal a series of progressive sub- sidiary goals is set up to lend focus and
direction to the ongoing work at stage of the helping process. These subgoals are in reality specific
objectives which must be accomplished in order to achieve or reach the goal. As each specific objective
is realized, the next one is brought into focus and so on until the end goal is achieved.
Clearly stated specific objectives can also be used as indicators of success or failure to reach the goal.
For instance the failure of the wife to have some means of daily income may affect the husband in such
a way that he is forced to work despite his poor health condition, forego the medical treatment and the
oppor tunity to learn some lighter employment skills.
Case Illustration
In Mang Rick's case the goal is to enable the family to have a means of livelihood at the end of the
treatment period. To be able to do that the client's illness must be treated so that eventually he will be
able to go back to work or have another means of livelihood, one appropriate to his condition, no longer
that of a stevedore. In the meantime the wife will be helped to engage in some form of self-
employment like cooking and vending "kakanin" (native cakes). At least she has had some experience
along this line. While the mother is thus busy, the youngest child will be placed in the nearest day-care
center where he could also enjoy supplementary feeding. Some kind of work training will be provided
the two older boys so that they can be assisted later to find jobs or engage in some self-employment
project. The children going to school will be referred to a social agency which provides educational aid
and other resources which may meet the material needs of the family in the meantime.
Goal setting also works in short-term treatment or intervention.

Case Illustration11
This is the case of a psychiatric patient which was referred to a social worker because the family,
especially the parents, were finding it more and more difficult to handle the situation. The patient, a
young girl, went in and out of hospitals which was becoming a financial burden. When at home
however, she would upset her mother and siblings, the mother on the other hand, unable to handle the
situation, would call up her husband who was a businessman and the latter would rush home to
intervene or mediate. Only when the father came home would the young girl finally quiet down. The
social worker diagnosed the problem as the inability of the parents to handle the situation; their coping
capacities were inadequate at this point. However, she found strengths in the father and mother who
were both college educated and open to further exploration of the problem. So the worker and the
parents set up a goal: to change the couple's ways of handling the daughter's tantrums. The mother
would cope with the situation all by herself and the father would not rush home anymore.
A weekly series of family sessions were held first, to enable the parents to recognize the weaknesses of
their present efforts, i.e., bring out some self-recognition or awareness, and to explore and devise new
nonthreatening Ways of handling the problem. Confrontation was also used by the worker to the point
of bringing in the patient to thresh out the difficulty with her parents. Four weekly sessions were held
after which the parents felt that they would now be able to cope. The couple recognized that it was their
manner of handling the problem that aggravated it. The mother's coping behavior was to panic, so much
that she had to call up her husband at his office for assistance. The father in response to his wife's call
would rush home to intervene. Self-awareness made them realize that they would have to change their
way of reacting to their daughter's behavior. They then decided that from now on they would handle it
differently. The mother would attend to the tantrums all by herself with the under standing that the
father would provide emotional support and encouragement. The wife would not call him up anymore
and even if the daughter did he would not rush home but advise her to heed her mother. The father
even warned the daughter that if she refused to cooperate at home they would have her confined in the
hospital again. The parents were assured that they could avail again of the worker's services should they
feel it necessary to do so.
Selection of Strategies and Approaches
Once the nature of the problem has been defined and understood, the goal set and the resources
available or accessible have been ascertained, the next step is to explore the various ways, strategies
and approaches for accomplishing the goal. Final selection should be based as the following criteria
according to Brill 12
1. Maximum feasibility-this strategy or approach possesses the greatest chance of producing the desired
result. In the first case, Mang Rick and the members of his family are capable of following the plan and
can be motivated with the father's guidance.
2. Availability of resources-the external resources needed are available and accessible; the family is
willing to try these out. The main agencies to be involved are the Philippine Tuberculosis Society, the
government's welfare agency and a foundation for children.
3. Workability-the plan will work; Mang Rick and his family were involved in the planning and are fully
aware of what is expected of them, the tasks and responsibility assigned to each which they will carry
out.
In the planning process the worker considers which needs or problems of the client are appropriate
within the profession's purpose and the organization's functions, policies and facilities. He considers also
which problems are amenable to intervention through direct service practice as differentiated from
those which are beyond the social worker's authority such as providing financial assistance or securing a
new law. In such instances the role of the worker is one of referral agent or resource consultant. Within
these parameters the worker and the client together identify those needs or problems that will serve as
an initial focus of their work. 13
Intervention or treatment plans take into consideration the expressed wishes of the client and what in
the worker's professional judgment is appropriate and achievable. In the process the respective tasks
and responsibilities of the client and worker are defined. Sometimes, it may be necessary to discuss
alternative courses of action instead of only a single plan. Plans are oftentimes carried out in
collaboration with other professionals, groups or organizations.
Despite well laid out plans, alternative courses of action may be necessary to reach the goal For
instance, in Mang Rick's case the medical treatment may take longer than initially estimated. Since he
cannot work until he is well enough to do so, some other means must be sought to augment the wife's
daily income or other sources for subsistence explored.
Plan Implementation
The kind of action that may be needed to reach the goal will be determined by the specific ways of
accomplishing the roles and tasks that have been defined. The emphasis is on working with rather than
for people and the test of the effectiveness of the ongoing work between the worker and the client is on
the actions the latter is able to take in relation to his problem.
Types of Assistance
The worker offers two types of assistance: the material and other tangible resources that the client may
need including those with which he is linked, and a therapeutic-educative experience which he may find
useful to apply when faced with other problems even when no longer in contact with the social worker
Therapy is chiefly addressed to the person's motivational drives and directions; education is chiefly
addressed to his mental powers. The worker must not omit the provision of the therapeutic educational
experience for in the long run this is what will improve the person's coping capacity and not merely the
provision of material resources-that he can possibly get from others, but not necessarily the experience.
The worker makes use not only of agency and society resources but also of the interpersonal and
intrapersonal ones.
Specifically, during this period besides helping the clients to meet their needs and cope with their
problems the worker, in order to provide the client with the therapeutic-educative experience:
1. engages the client in the process of reflective thinking and makes contributions to the client's
understanding of his current situation, the patterns and dynamics of his behavior, and aspects of the
past experiences that are relevant to the present,
2. assists the client to make, implement and evaluate individual, family or group decisions that will be
satisfactory to him, to them and to other people who will be affected by the decision;
3. uses activities that develop social competence so that changes in understanding of self and others and
decision- making are translated into more effective behavior and enable the client to reduce or
eliminate obstacles in the environment, or he acts in behalf of clients to change environmental
situations or interventions.14
The worker monitors progress by:
1 evaluating the effectiveness of change strategies and interventions; 2. guiding clients' efforts toward
goal attainment;
2. guiding clients' effort toward goal attainments;
3. keeping abreast of clients' reactions to progress or lack of it; and
4 enhancing e process. clients' motivation and confidence in the helping
To the above we must add that the worker must be able to successfully communicate and inculcate
values to the client per tinent to his own self, to others, to the community, and to the nation. The
Philippines is undergoing what euphemistically may be called a transition period; the old values are
slowly being eroded and are being replaced by new ones which may undermine or weaken the human
being's concept of his own personhood.
Case Management
Implementation also requires the worker's skill in case management, ie, the delivery of social services.
To manage a case is to see to it that what needs to be done, eg the rehabilitation plan, is actually carried
out, 16
In the United States social workers are assisted by so-called case managers who are the ones who link
the client to the maze of direct service providers. However, the case manager does not undertake direct
treatment responsibilities. The diagnosis, assessment, planning of the treatment and evaluation are the
prerogatives of the social worker In the Philippines however, because of the shortage of social welfare
manpower, case management in many cases is undertaken by the worker himself. This, coupled with
other tasks inherent in social treatment and heavy caseloads imposes a heavy burden on the social
worker
Effective case management requires knowledge of the available resources, skill in utilizing these
resources, in the modification of existing ones or the establishment or creation of new ones. It also
necessitates the structuring or systematic use of the support system needed to render a high quality of
service, e.g day-care centers, health clinics, schools, community centers, barangay councils, etc. Social
treatment or plan implementation may also involve collaborative work with other professions both in
tapping their knowledge and skills for the benefit of the clientele and in contributing social work
knowledge and skill to their understanding of and work with their clientele.
Case Illustration
1. Mang Rick was referred to the Philippine Tuberculosis Society for medical assistance.
2. His wife, Aling Mel, was extended a capital loan under the host agency's Self- Employment Assistance
Program
3. The youngest child is now enrolled in the nearest day-care center where he will be cared for while his
mother is attending to her small business enterprise.
4. The two older boys are now attending a vocational training program conducted by a private
organization for out-of-school youth. Afterwards they will be helped to find jobs where they can apply
their training. Each of the boys receives food and transportation allowances from the sponsor while
undergoing training. The course is for 3 months.
5. Beth is now receiving school aid which she manages to share with Rey.
Duration of service
In both work with individuals, families and with groups there is a general tendency to perceive
service as ongoing without planned termination This is particularly true in this country where social work
is mostly directed to the poor, the disad vantaged and the disabled who have multiple problems which
may include the need for continuous material or financial assistance. Social agencies are not in a
position, for instance, to provide job or employment opportunities or a decent means of livelihood for
their clients, nor adequate housing or shelter for the dislocated and displaced, nor afford continuous
educational aid for the children. In the latter case school aid may last for only as long as there is a
sponsor or donor, after which even a bright and promising student may leave school even without
finishing elementary grades. Oftentimes the duration of the service is left to the worker's professional
judgment.
Setting a time limit to the service within which the desired change may be achieved is possible largely in
secondary settings where the social work service is used to complement or support the agency's main
services such as in medical or psychiatric settings, court settings (in the case of juvenile offenders) and
schools where a school child or youth may be having a learning problem because of environmental
problems such as those posed by his family. In such instances the helping phase may be set by the
exigencies of the case as determined by the doctor, the psychiatrist, the judge, the school authority or
teacher concerned.
Evaluation
To evaluate is to measure the impact of the social worker's intervention. refers to the difference
between the pre- intervention situation and/or behavior, and the post-intervention situation and/or
behavior If there was no change at all or only a very minor one the conclusion may be reached that the
intervention hardly produced a change or none at all. The desired change may be formulated in
behavioral or situational terms, e g "the child now attends school regularly", "the family head now earns
a regular income, these may be used as the indicators of change or progress Evaluation should be based
on the objectives to be achieved which have been set up jointly by the worker and the client.
Evaluation encompasses these sets of activities:
1. the identification and specification of objectives for the interventive actions in terms of desired
effects;
2. obtaining information as to what effects or changes were achieved; and
3. comparing the achieved with the effects so as to determine how far or sufficiently the objectives were
achievedd 17
Evaluation usually takes place after every major step in the treatment or intervention phase. It enables
the worker to determine the progress and readiness of the client, the quality of the service and the
client's view of it. The result may require a modification or revision of plans or a change of strategy or
approach. The task involves a capacity to make sound judgments in 18 This relation to the agreed upon
goals. The worker seeks to know how far or to what extent the client has made positive changes toward
the goal and the specific objectives that were set with him. The progress or retrogression of a client
appropriately made la relation to his particular characteristica, background, problems and needs rather
than in relation to fixed standards. principle is in accordance with the belief that every person is unique
human being, a diversity in the midst of commonality.
There is always the possibility for error by either the worker or the client or both in the helping phase. It
is the former's responsibility to see to it that a part of the helping process is an evaluation of what is
happening. Thus the worker and the client will be able to see the results of what has been done so far in
terms of movement towards the immediate objectives and the ultimate goal.
Case Illustration
Thus far the client and his family are participating wholeheartedly in the implementation of the plan
Mang Rick is still undergoing treatment but has started to consider what type of work to look for.
The wife's outlook is now brighter than it used to be Sheis now cooking and vending 'kakanin' but is
looking forward to setting up a barbecue stand at the corner of the street nearby, where jeepneys
unload and pick up passengers.
The two teenage boys are now employed by a cooperative which manufactures Christmas lanterns for
export. They turn over their earnings to their mother who in turn gives them their weekly allowances.
The two children attending school have received good grades.
The wife and the older children now participate in family discussions, problem-solving and decision-
making thus relieving Mang Rick of many worries.
Termination or Continuation
The case may be terminated when:
1. the service has been completed and the goal achieved;
2. nothing further is to be gained by continuing.

3. the client requests termination;
4. referral has been made to another source for help; and 5. the change has been stabilized and
maintained and from here on the client can manage by himself.
The case may be continued when the results of the action indicate that some progress or movement
has been made but not enough to satisfy either the worker or the client.
Illustration
In the case of Mang Rick the changes achieved so far need to be stabilized before the case is terminated.
The case will be continued until he is very much better and he will be helped to look for the kind of work
suitable to his health condition, as he wants very much to earn a living.
In the Philippines under the present socioeconomic conditions the resources needed to stabilize and
maintain the client's condition may not be available or accessible, as when there is lack of employment
or livelihood opportunities. In such instances the case is left pending or open ended and the client may
come in now and then for advice or to find out if there are any job openings or other resources that he
can avail of.
However, it is easier to terminate a case in secondary settings where the duration of the social service
depends on the pre- determined period set by the host agency or the professional handling the case. A
medical patient may be expected to stay in the hospital for only about a month, a juvenile offender will
be on probation for six months and so on. The social worker sets the helping process within this period.
Sometimes a client does not come back for sometime only to surface again after six months so that the
worker reopens his case if it has been closed. The reality however is that many workers continue to
carry the cases which are held as "pend ing. There is hardly any contact between the worker and the
client especially if the latter does not show up to follow his case.
Such are the social realities in this country Ideally, or in theory, there should really be an occasion for
honest-to-goodness termination. The worker uses the last con tacts with the client to help him:
1. acknowledge the positive and negative feelings and resolve his ambivalence about leaving the
relationship with the worker, and in the case of formed groups, with the other members;
2. evaluate the progress he and the client have made, admit the realistic loses and gains, and accept the
fact that the experience is ending,.
3. set priorities for work on unfinished problems or tasks that seem central to the client's progress so
that the gains made may be stabilized or even strengthened, and 4. to apply the social work experience
directly to his life tasks and relationships so that he can make the transition towards new experiences 19
Termination after a relatively long relationship as in thera peutic cases can be made easier according to
Hamilton
"The painful aspects of terminating relationship are diminished by the client's own growing sense of
strength, by a comforting feeling of improvement because of the channeling of activities into ego-
building and enlarged social activities and interests with the realization of the worker's continuing good
will and the fact that he can return to the agency if necessary "20
6
THE HELPING RELATIONSHIP
THE HELPING RELATIONSHIP is an integral part of the helping process. It is the bridge, the channel
through which help is extended to the client, it is the anchor which holds the helping process in place.
The direct social work methods of intervention, casework, group work, and community work or
community organization are all alike grounded in the art and science of relationships because the
behavior of the worker will naturally interact with the behavior of the client.
NATURE OF RELATIONSHIP
Perlman defines a relationship as a condition in which two persons with some common interest
between them, long term or temporary, interact with feeling It is not made up, as is sometimes
assumed, of merely being together in time and place, or of a pleasant and comfortable
intercommunication or a long term proximity or acquaintance between two persons. A relationship
exists when there is an emotionally charged interaction between two people; the feeling is that of being
at one or at odds with another person; some ritual or concern is temporarily or continuously shared
between the two of them, or for both or for one of them, it is emotionally charged. A daily commuter to
work for instance, may take the same bus as his neighbor. They recognize each other, probably nod to
each other and many even sit side by side occasionally in the bus but that is all there is to it. There is no
communication between the two, no common interest or concern that they share. There is no
relationship. Then something happens in the barangay in which they both reside. The barangay council
is planning to adopt a policy, a program which will necessitate a voluntary tax from the residents. A
meeting with the barangay residents was held the previous evening. Both commuters attended the
meeting In the bus ride the next day they start talking about the informal meeting, how best to resolve
the issue and what the residents can do about it. Each expresses an opinion, sometimes concurring, at
other times dissenting. They plan to get together with other neighbors to explore the matter further
Thus they may be said to have started a friendly relationship. They may not always totally agree with
each other but it is quite obvious that some kind of feeling is expressed between them, they share an
emotionally charged situation. In real life there is said to be a relationship where there is acceptance,
concern and caring for each other.
Purpose
In social work there is a need for such a relationship because it is a means of communication between
the client and the worker albeit it is a professional one. It is the channel for the delivery of services. The
helping relationship in social work has a professional purpose: to help another person using one's
professional knowledge, values and skills. This then is the distinguishing mark of a professional
relationship in social work that it is a conscious, deliberate alliance of the worker and the client, formed
and maintained to achieve a goal recognized by both participants and this is, to resolve the client's
difficulty. It ends when the purpose has been achieved or is judged to be unachievable. The worker
endows the relationship with professionalism because he pos sesses the knowledge, competence and
authorization necessary and essential to be of help. It also requires the self-awareness, objectivity, and
discipline of the worker.
Rapport
When does such a relationship start or when can it be said that it exists? Hamilton once wrote that it is
only when a rapport is created for a professional purpose that it may be said that the person asking for
help is a client. The implication is that in this relationship two participants are involved the worker and
the client. In social work, rapport is said to exist when there is a comfortable, warm and close
relationship between the helper and the helpee ensuring their working together to solve or alleviate the
latter's difficulty Among the latter day writers Brill wrote that interaction begins when the
communication between the two first takes place, usually during the first interview 3
Sometimes there may be interaction but rapport is nowhere to be found. Some clients may be easier to
reach such as those who voluntarily come for assistance like the urban poor Some are. not. They refuse
to cooperate, like the street children picked up in the streets, who prefer to remain there in a happy-go-
lucky fashion than stay in institutions. In any case there may be some communication somehow but
rapport which means a warm and positive relationship may still have to be worked on by the worker It
may begin during the initial phase of the relationship but cemented, firmly established during the
middle phase. The ideal relationship is characterized by warmth, acceptance and understanding.
The initial establishment of this relationship may start the moment the client asks for help and indicates
that he is ready to use it and the worker assumes a attitude and makes "professional use of self" He
guides the relationship towards a therapeutically positive communication so as to maintain, nurture or
enhance the client's inner security or self-esteem, mobilize his inner and outer resources and achieve a
realistic level of relationship. In this way he promotes the person's growth and development so as to
achieve better adjustment between himself and his environment. The relationship should facilitate the
client's efforts to express himself and to think about his problems in relation to the services and
resources which he seeks and enlist his participation in what needs to be done.
Characteristics of a Good Relationship
A positive and effective relationship has the following characteristics: it is accepting, dynamic,
emotional, purposeful, time limited and unequal, honest, realistic and responsible, and exercises
judgment. It should be a meaningful relationship
Accepting
A relationship is accepting when the worker accepts the individual or client by recognizing his right to
existence, importance and value. Acceptance of this right is the basis of any relationship. It involves
respect for the individual because of his inherent worth and dignity, a recognition of his uniqueness as
an individual, that there are inherent differences between him and another person, and that impaired or
underdeveloped as his psychosocial functioning may be, he still possesses the capacity to change, to
grow and to be better.
As a person needing help, the client has the right to cry or to laugh, to be happy or angry, to participate
in making decisions for his own welfare.
People should be accepted not only for what they are but for what they are capable of becoming. The
latter should be based on reality. The worker should show acceptance by demonstrating warmth and
understanding and not by paying only lip service to it
Dynamic
A relationship is said to be dynamic when it is forceful and energetic, in constant motion, advancing the
movement to change. When there is hardly any change or progress towards the stated goal then the
relationship may be considered as static, having no motion at all A dynamic relationship therefore
requires the active participation of worker and client in the problem-solving process, and not only one of
them. Change must be integrated in both participants in order for it to grow. For 8 relationship to
continue, the worker must invest it with social work skills and techniques, selecting those that are most
appropriate or considered as effective and changing tactics or strategy when the occasion calls for it.
Emotional
The essence of this relationship is more emotional than intellectual. It is the give and take of attitudes
and feelings that build a relationship which may meet the emotional needs of the client and serve as the
channel through which the ideas are imparted and reached for rational consideration. The worker must
be a person with a genuine warmth and a gift for intimacy In today's popular lingo he must have "vibes"
ie., be able to arouse in the client vibrations to the extent professionally necessary. He must be willing
and able to enter into the feeling experience of another, willing to listen to the client's view of his
problem, and willing to go patiently with him in his struggles for solution.
Purposeful, Time Limited, Unequal
The helping relationship is purposeful because it has a purpose; it is directed towards achieving a goal,
which is, to help the client achieve an improved degree in his psychosocial functioning. This is the main
reason for the establishment of the helping relationship. However, the degree of functioning must be
weighed in the light of the client's individual potential and social possibility. No one is ever totally self-
sufficient. It is also time limited because once the goal is reached the case is closed and the relationship
terminated. Although the relationship is also sometimes called a partnership it is in reality unequal
because the participants assume unequal roles. The worker extends help while the client receives and
uses it. It is directed to meet the needs of one participant through the provision of needed help by the
other. However, the responsibility for achieving rests on both.
Sometimes in his zealousness to help the client, the worker may think that everything he is doing is for
the client. In most cases this is true. However, once in a while one comes across a direct service worker
who exudes enthusiasm over what he is doing, oblivious of the fact that he has overextended himself in
order to meet his own personal needs. On some rare occasion a worker says proudly: "I did this for the
client." Or, If it were not for me the client would have gotten worse." In this case the worker has
forgotten that his own efforts would not have succeeded without some degree of response and
participation from the client. In such cases the worker is said to be meeting his own need to be needed.
To obviate this possibility the worker must possess self-knowledge, a self-awareness that enables him to
assess himself realistically with his strengths and weaknesses so that he will know and be aware of the
limitations or boundaries of the professional use of self.
Honest, Realistic and Responsible
This means that the worker must have honor, integrity, sincerity and probity (uprightness). To be
honorable is to be respected and regarded as creditable, to possess integrity is to adhere to a kind of
behavior which could command respect and belief in the worker. To be upright means that the worker
holds certain values that guide him in the right direction. He is realistic because he knows himself for
what he really is with his own unique combination of personality characteristics and is guided by this
knowledge in his professional actuations. He must also perceive what reality is in terms of people and
situations so that his decisions or professional judgment will take these matters into consideration. He
must be responsible, ie., legally and ethically accountable for his actions.
Exercising Judgment
Any professional judgment that the worker makes should be based on reality. There are two sides to it:
reality as it is, and reality as the client sees it to be. Both sides must be fully comprehended before the
worker can make a valid judgment.
There are two other perspectives to reality: the narrow side, and the broad one. The narrow side refers
to reality as the worker and the client see it. It is their combined opinion or consensus that this is it. The
broader side is when the worker perceives the person in-situation with all its ramifications. He must
understand the meaning of the client and his behavior in the interrelationships or the total situation.
Only then can he make an objective, valid and professional judgment.
Phases of the Helping Relationship
Social work practitioners agree that there are three phases to the helping relationship the beginning, the
middle, and the ending.
The Beginning
In terms of relationship this is the period when the client and worker start to know, to "size up each
other It is the testing period during which the worker tries to determine the client as a needing help; the
latter to see whether the worker can be of help. It is marked by uncertainty and exploration.
This is the phase during which the worker starts establishing a helping or client-worker relationship, i.e.,
to successfully engage the client in the problem-solving process. It means establishing rapport which
involves reducing the level of threat and gaining the confidence of the client in the practitioner's intent
to help him. One of the conditions of rapport is that the client must perceive the worker as
understanding and genuinely interested in his well-being and trusts him
This is also the period for the beginning exploration of the problem. The establishment of rapport and
problem exploration are processes which mutually reinforce each other. Careful and astute problem
exploration which involves data gathering and a diagnostic assessment are likely to inspire the
confidence of the client in the worker. The client may even reach the conclusion after a tentative
assessment by the worker that: "Hindi ko naisip 'yon" (I did not think of that). Emphatic communication
on the worker's part, that is, conveying to the client by his questions and responses that he can
understand what the latter is thinking of and feeling about his situation or problem not only foster
rapport but also elicit expanded expressions of feeling from the client thereby enabling the worker to
evaluate the extent to which emotions play an important part or affect further their difficulty The
process of relationship building and problem exploration not only proceed concurrently but also overlap
to some extent.
During this period meaningful communication starts, rules are defined and needs are expressed,
acknowledged and re- sponded to. This is also the period when the worker starts to motivate a client to
want to use an appropriate service especially when the client manifests ambivalence and resistance
The beginning phase ends when the worker and client reach an unspoken agreement to work on the
problem together The goal and specific objectives to be achieved are stated clearly, relevant strategies
have been selected, roles and responsibilities of the participants have been defined, practical
arrangements have been made and other factors brought out, discussed, and thoroughly examined in so
far as they will affect problem resolutions. This is the end of the initial phase and the middle phase now
starts from here
The Middle
This is the working period when the worker and the client play their respective roles and perform their
tasks to solve or alleviate the problem. They will be sharing, feeling, thinking and experiencing together
Changes will be taking place and there will be constant adaptation and readaptation to change. This is
the implementation and goal attainment period.
This phase involves the translation into action of the plan that has been agreed upon in the beginning
phase. The worker and the client now undertake the tasks and activities that they have negotiated at
the start of the helping process. They also strive to attain the subgoals or specific objectives in order to
reach the end goal.
While all these are going on, the worker must not ignore the importance of feelings in the relationship
As previously indicated, the exchange of feelings and attitudes must serve two purposes: to meet the
needs of the client, and to provide a channel through which the work can take place. This is the period
during which changes should be taking place, both in the feeling balance between the worker and the
client and in the reality situation with which they are dealing There is a constant process of adaptation
and readaptation to changes with the underlying characteristics of honesty and acceptance always being
present. The relationship may be redefined now and then but to make it more meaningful, it must be
made against the background of knowledge of self and the other, and of shared feelings, thinking. and
experience.
The helping relationship should also result in positive changes in the client's pattern of behavior This is
quite important for the possibility is great that he will continue to behave in this manner in later life
even when he is no longer under the influence and guidance of the worker Northen wrote.
If the clients are able to develop meaningful relationships with the worker and often with other partici
pants, it is expected that they will carry these attitudes to other vital relationships If they can sustain
motivation to work toward their individual and collective goals, the source of hope and successful effort
will be carried with them as they leave the social work situation Similarly, if they have been able to
modify their role behaviors and communication more effectively within the helping system, those gains
may be transferred to other social situations. Thus the worker in paying attention to the maintenance
and development of a system, is simultaneously intervening to help clients meet their needs and solve
their problems of psychosocial functioning 8
The Ending
This is the termination phase of the relationship If the goal has been achieved both worker and client
may be feeling a degree of satisfaction. The latter may be so satisfied with the experience that he has
very few anxieties or none at all that the social worker I will no longer be there to help him In most
secondary or therapeutic settings where the client knows that assistance will be given him only for a
limited period he may expect it or even take it for granted. But in a primary setting the circumstances
may be different so that termination may be temporary or just a transition where the client might try to
flex his wings, so to speak, may and venture on his own. Social work with the poor and the deprived, the
disabled and the handicapped may be of long duration or off and on because the resources that the
client need may not be available at all in a poor or Third World country Consequently, there is always
the possibility that he may come back someday or visit the social worker sometimes for consul tation,
for referral, or for guidance. The very fact that he shows up once or twice or now and then is an
indication that the relationship had been a satisfying experience for him. What is important at this point
is to note that the client's self-esteem, bis self-respect has improved, his outlook is much better than
when he first came in to ask for help. Even if he has been referred to another agency, the client may
rightly feel that the worker has brought him a few steps nearer the goal.
Social Work Roles
In the course of helping people the social worker assumes a variety of roles depending on the service to
be provided which in turn is determined by the problem or situation. A social worker's role may be
gleaned from the behavior he assumes in relationship with the client. These roles may be categorized as
general or specific. With regards to the latter, some roles affect the client directly, some indirectly but
eventually benefit people in need.
General Roles
The term catalyst or catalyzer was one of the earliest terms used to describe the social worker's role. As
such he was expected to enhance the client's psychosocial functioning by inducing or facilitating some
change in his attitudes and behavior, or in his environment, or both. As a catalyst the worker is not
personally involved in the change. His role is a professional one.
Another worker's role is that of an enabler. He supplies, provides or links the client with the means, the
knowledge or the opportunity to be or to do something. By so doing he enables the client to effect the
change needed.
Still another role is that of change agent, In this instance the worker becomes the instrument of some
transformation that has been planned at a higher or national level. An example is when he introduces
family planning concepts to the clients as a means to Improve family life. In this case the desired change,
smaller familles, has been set up as the goal. It is also a means of changing values, from having many
children to an affordable few because many of our people especially those in the small villages and
towns still attach a high value to having many children for economic and sociocultural reasons. This goal,
now subsumed under the broader program of responsible parenthood is pursued directly and not as an
offshoot of the other ends in the helping process. Whenever the worker introduces some planned
change into a community he assumes the role of a change agent or more appropriately, agent of
change.
Nowadays one often hears the term activist to refer to those opting or working for change. This is not to
refer to social workers in the pejorative sense; it is a matter of using what is now the more common
term-a current usage. In the days of the settlement house movement in the United States during the
latter part of the nineteenth century social workers, those who worked and rallied for better living and
working conditions were called social reformers. Today they are activists. In the Philippines an activist is
one who seeks basic institutional and structural changes For the young social worker (most activists are
young and idealistic) the main objective nowadays is empowerment, a transfer or sharing of power and
the equitable allocation of resources to a disadvantaged group. He seeks to empower the client system,
that is, invest the people with power to do things for themselves by giving them the opportunity to
reach out and avail of basic resources which for one reason or another are not within their reach.
These general roles of catalyst, enabler, change agent, activist (or social reformer) are not really very
different from each other. Each delineates or reflects the general role of the social worker who
intervenes in the life of another person or persons at some specific time in a given situation in order to
enhance his capability to interact with his environment. As catalyst, he is the necessary ingredient
change to take place; as enabler, he supplies the client with the knowledge and the resources needed so
that change will happen; as change agent he must be able to mobilize the client system to achieve some
planned change; and as like the social reformers of old he participates in a broad a to preserve human
and spiritual values in an age of turmoil social and moral disorder battered by the forces of increased
urbanization, industrialization and national and global fractions.
Specific Roles
The specific roles are those that touch the client directly or those which require the performance of
specific tasks, The worker is a direct provider of resources, case manager, mediator-broker or
intercessor, facilitator, therapist, clinician, mobilizer-organizer, advocate, and last but not the least, role
model.
As direct provider of resources the worker provides the tan gible aid that may be needed by the client to
eliminate or reduce situational deficiencies. For instance, a child who cannot go to school on account of
poverty is extended material or financial aid so that he can acquire at least some basic education.
The case manager is responsible for overseeing the delivery of social services such as linking the client
with the provider of the resources that he needs. Where there is available manpower, the actual
provision or linking with other resources may be done by other workers such as the welfare aide or
assistant. However, in many cases there is lack of social welfare personnel so that the worker not only
assumes responsibility for diagnostic assessment and treatment but also for ensuring the delivery of
social services as well, in the course of plan implementation.
The mediator or broker or intercessor on the other hand acts in behalf of the client scouting for the
resources that he needs, procuring this for him, and interceding for him if need be. An example of this
role is when a worker secures free hospitalization and medical services for a sick client.
The term facilitator has become in social work, associated in recent years with working with poor,
disadvantaged, and disabled groups. The worker as facilitator helps remove the obstacles to the exercise
of rational thinking or learning by the use of nonformal adult teaching and learning strategies and
methodologies. worker helps formulate new perspectives toward issues of problems confronting a
group by creating a climate of trust, self-confidence and respect favorable to or conducive to the
creation of new ideas. The social worker as therapist is concerned with the treatment of client's illness,
disability or some disorder, usually a pathological condition. In this setup he is a member of a team,
sometimes the others being the psychiatrist, the paychologist, the Vocational rehabilitation worker or
some such other type of worker as may be needed Group or family therapy are two of the most
commonly used strategies wherein the social worker plays a leading role.
Direct service practice is now commonly known as the clinical mode of social work practice in the United
States. However, in the Philippines, the clinical model, because of the term's association with the
medical profession is still associated with clinical disorder. It is in the latter sense that the term clinician
is used here. As far as local social workers are concerned the clinician is the worker who seeks to
restore, maintain or enhance the client's adaptive capacity and facilitates his optional adjustment to
current social reality. This is the role that the worker assumes when working with drug dependents,
recovered mental patients, and the emotionally and socially handicapped or disabled, and others in
similar circumstances.
As mobilizer the worker assembles and energizes existing groups, organizations, and resources or create
new ones so as to bring them to bear on a current or incipient problem. Or he assembles and prepares
or puts into operation a plan for an emergency or contingency
The worker as advocate seeks some change in a policy or program for the benefit of his clients. He
assumes a partisan position as he serves exclusively the interest of a client or a citizens' group. He brings
to the attention of the proper authorities or community leaders the clients' human needs or problems
so that something can be done about it. For instance, the worker may propose a delay in the ejection of
urban squatters to enable them to make more concrete and feasible plans for relocating themselves,
especially if there are no job or work opportunities in the site to which they will be transferred. The
change is pursued through consensual and nonconsensual approaches. The aim is to insure the rights
and dignity of the people being helped.
The worker as a role model for the client is often overlooked, perhaps not recognized, or taken for
granted. This often happens although both the worker and the client may not be aware of it The worker
may fail to recognize the signs, neither does the client However, when the worker and the client belong
to the same age group, are of the same gender, if there is rapport and mutual respect, if the client has
come to admire the worker he will copy some mannerisms or behavior of the worker. A young girl
whose caseworker is just a little bit older may start patterning herself after the image of the worker. This
is how she would like to be seen or regarded some day. It may start with fixing her hair, the way walks,
the movement of her hands, and even the way she talks. She tries to emulate the worker. It may also
happen in the case of a young man working with a teenage group of boys. His clean-cut untarnished
image impresses some of them and they soon try to imitate how he dresses himself, the way he walks,
the way he talks and even the tone of his voice.
7
SOCIAL WORK METHODS OF INTERVENTION
THE PRECEDING THREE CHAPTERS were devoted to the generic practice of social work, its components
and processes. Its application becomes specific depending on the type of client and the nature of the
problem, the resulting social work practice is called a social work method of intervention or simply
"method" By intervention is meant the process of coming into a situation as an influencing factor to
modify, settle, prevent its worsening or seek an improvement. It does not mean interference because
normally, the client himself has voluntarily sought the help of the social worker, may have been referred
for assistance by those concerned with his welfare, or the worker has reached out to the client, that is,
the person, family, group or community whom he perceived as needing help and has offered his
assistance and the resources of the agency he represents. An agreement has been reached between the
worker and the client at the start of the helping process. The social work method of intervention
therefore refers to the application of a helping repertoire of the methods and processes of differential,
influential, planned action taken by a social worker to sustain selected helping purposes. These are
change-inducing and resource-providing actions.1
These methods are classified into primary or direct, and secondary or indirect. In the primary method
the social worker is engaged in direct work with individuals and groups hence this kind of practice is now
more popularly known as "direct practice," sometimes as "micro social work practice. The primary or
direct practice methods are casework, group work, and community organization. The last is now
becoming more popularly known 'community work."
PRIMARY METHODS
Social Casework
Social casework is an individualized form of helping people cope with personal problems, essentially on
a one-to-one basis These problems usually involve a deficiency, an impairment, or breakdown in
psychosocial functioning.
Social casework consists of those processes which develop personality through adjustments consciously
effected, individual by individual, between men and their environment? Richmond's concept of
casework treatment involved the use of resources to facilitate the individual's adjustment to social
living, to assist clients to understand their needs and possibilities, and to help them work out their own
programs.
Casework has three fundamental characteristics which distinguishes it from the other social work
methods, ie, group work and community work. These characteristics may also be found in the other
methods but to a lesser degree. These are: individualization, the client-worker relationship, and social
treatment.
Individualization
Casework is focused on the problems of individuals and social work efforts are directed chiefly at helping
them and the immediate members of their families who are affected. Mary Richmond conceived the aim
of casework as the betterment of individuals and their families, one by one (underscoring supplied) as
distinguished from their betterment in the main. This method has for its philosophical base the right of
human beings to be treated not just as human but as this human being with his personal differences, 5
Social workers in the United States have developed four areas of casework specialization. These are
family casework, medical social work, psychiatric social work, and school social work. In the Philippines
we find social workers in these settings but except for family casework, to a very lesser extent. Much of
our casework is with individuals and their families whose basic need is to survive or improve their
economic status. This is because most of the immediate problems presented by casework clients are
precipitated by poverty and the struggle oftentimes for life itself, does not leave enough room for long-
term treatment to solve underlying problems. The need is immediate and urgent. On top of this, social
workers are so burdened with heavy caseloads they seldom have sufficient time to establish effective
interpersonal relationships with their clients. In the affluent countries where material needs of the poor
can be easily met with government aid or private donations and contributions, the casework's focus is
on the psychosocial functioning of the client, why he can barely survive in a world of plenty. In Third
World countries like ours the scale of poverty is such that there is hardly enough time for professional
counseling, if at all. At best all the worker can do is aim for a small objective, some change in the
personal characteristics of the client that can be achieved and which has a bearing on the problem at
hand.
Client-worker Relationship
This is also called the helping relationship. A good har- monious relationship between the client and the
worker is essential in casework because dealings with the client are on a one-to-one basis, quite
personal and to face, unlike in group work and community work where contacts with the clients are on
group basis except on certain occasions and sometimes, even perfunctorily. Relationships with
individuals and their families must be close, sympathetic and meaningful. Filipino clients put a great
value on personal relationships, a dominant cultural trait. It is easier for them to enter into a working
partnership with the worker when they feel that they have been accepted on the basis of their
personhood-pagkatao. In casework a good relationship is necessary not only for the perfection, but also
for the essence of the casework service.7
Social treatment
The word "treatment" refers to the sum of all the activities and services the social worker uses to help
individuals with their problems. In group work and community work one simply uses the term
"program" or "intervention." It was first used by Mary Richmond in connection with what was then at
the beginning concept of casework, that is, its purpose, to effect changes in the individual who was then
seen as personally responsible for his failures. Medical and psychiatric casework came close on the heels
of family casework as an aftermath of World War I when many veterans were being treated for medical
injuries or psychiatric disorders. It was also a time when Freudian concepts were starting to wield a
heavy influence in the fields of medicine, psychiatry and psychology, and so for lack of a better term
"treatment" was used and it has stuck to this day. It implies a therapeutic relationship which is not
always so in the Philippines where the immediate cause of the client's difficulty is poverty and all its
attendant ills.
For treatment to be effective caseworkers must not only be knowledgeable in the social work methods
and processes and skillful in the use of social work tools and techniques but they must also possess a
scientific knowledge of human behavior and social environment so as to know and understand the client
better in stressful situations. Even if the need is only for a specific service like material assistance it is still
possible, as the casework relationship matures, to help the client gain insights into his own actions and
emotions, gain self-confidence and encouraged to deal with his problems through his own efforts. This is
possible with only brief sessions of counseling if it is interpersed in the delivery of social services.
Social Group Work

Social group work is a method through which individuals and groups are helped by a social worker to
relate themselves to people and to experience growth opportunities in accordance with their needs and
capacities.
Social group work in based on the premise that human beings have a common need to participate in
group life which is not satisfied by contemporary, industrial society Group work attempts to develop
individuals as human beings, strengthen their personalities and generally, improve their social relation
ships. Group workers encourage people not only to participate in group life, but to do so meaningfully
10
Just as casework is distinguished by its one-to-one approach, Social group work in characterized by its
emphasis on group relations its inevitable identification with the interacting process between group
members-consciously stimulated and directed by a worker Casework was evolved by the friendly visitors
of the Charity Organization Societies in the United States. The start of group work and community
organization is attributed to the settlement movement in the same country which dedicated itself to the
upliftment of the working classes, especially the immigrants. The movement and its subsequent
organizations established neighborhood centers and operated programs such as citizenship training for
the adults, literacy programs since many of the immigrants could neither read, write nor speak English,
group activities for the women, nurseries and preschools for children, information and education on
health and sanitation, leisure time and character-building activities for the youth. Today, in its updated
concept group work includes the develop ment of personality, the fostering of creative self-expression,
the building of character, and the improvement of interpersonal skills.
During the years before World War II and immediately after, much of group work in the Philippines
was used in programs for the youth mainly for recreation and character building activities such as those
operated by youth-serving organizations, the boy scouts and girl scouts organizations of the Philippines,
and for adults, the young men and young women's Christian associations. Starting in the 1970s group
work by social workers began to be used extensively in social agencies in education and work related
programs for youth and adults, and for women and children. Such progress may be attributed in part to
the growing conscientization of social workers, who now aim to reach more people than possible in
casework, so as to work towards the development of people many of whom are marginalized, and
where pressing problems stem mainly from the defective structure of the economy rather than from
personal pathology Group work goals as practiced in our country now include nonformal education, the
sequisition of work skills, velse inculcation and the democratie processes, the creation of people
cooperatives for livelihood projects, participation in community life and affairs, the mobilisation of
cultural traite like sig borliness for the building of community consciousness and development
Although its practice is still limited, therapeutic group work as a model of group work has made some
inroads into the local practice of social work it is used mainly in medical and psychiatric settings, child
guidance clinics and correctional work, and with disabled persons such as substance abusers.
At present much of local social group work is concerned with preventive and developmental goals. Work
with street childres could be both therapeutic and developmental, with out-of-school youth preventive
and developmental, with the adults, disadvan taged mothers and wives, developmental, the same with
idle husbands and fathers whose main problem is livelihood or lack of employment skills.
As in social casework the group worker must possess a solid combination of knowledge and skills. He
must have knowledge of how individuals behave in groups, understand the causes of group conflict and
have thorough knowledge of the scientific principles which govern group dynamics. The worker must
know how to help individuals with different personalities participate effectively, the diffident are
encouraged to be more assertive while the self- confident are taught to be more democratic. 17 To
achieve inte 12 gration the worker must play different roles at different times sometimes assuming
leadership in order to stimulate greater interaction. He emphasizes self-help so that ultimately the
group operates independently and makes its own decisions.
Community Organization/Work
Arthur Dunham defined this method as the process of bringing about and maintaining adjustment
between social welfare resources and social welfare needs within the geographic area or specifie held
of service The term "community organi tation' originated in the United States where it meant the
coordination of existing social services through joint planning and and rating. Then in the 1980s apeial
workers began to involve local citizens, even the ellents themselves in the promotion of community
welfare. This marked the beginning use of community 'work' instead of 'organization."
Community organization and community work are terms often used interchangeably. For the modality
of social work practice used in the Philippines which is focused on the develop ment of the communities
through the efforts of the people themselves "community work" seems more appropriate. The term in
primarily concerned with the development of the people themselves using community projects or the
Improvement of the community as the means to that end. Bociologists tell us that Filipinos have yet to
learn to work together as a community so that oftentimes the development of community
consciousness becomes one of the initial objectives of the community worker before he can target the
development of a self-reliant and viable community His target in not only social welfare needs and
resources; he may be equally concerned with social goals. These may include the mobilization of
resources for improved health and sanitation, housing and resettlement, irrigation ditches and drainage,
and he may even be concerned with the organization of barangay councils and/or community welfare
councils.
Community work in this country, as in other parts of the world, is also associated with social planning,
advocacy, social action, community development and social change. The Philip- pines is particularly
proud of the fact that it introduced in 1980 people power which from the social workers' point of view is
social action on a large scale: nonviolent but it achieved political and social change, the shift from
authoritarianism to democracy. People power refers to the capacity of people in groups or multitudes,
moving as one, to influence the course of events or attain specific objectives for the good of the majority
14 What distinguishes people power from other forms of social or civic action is that first, its objective is
for the good of the majority and second, it is nonviolent. People power derives its power from its moral
suasion.
Like their counterparts, the case workers and the group workers, community workers need specialized
knowledge and skills. They must possess theoretical knowledge of the sociology of communities to
obtain specific information about the localities in which they work, they must know the cultural beliefs
and attitudes of the people so as to understand their behavior better and to be able to establish rapport
with them, especially with the leaders. Fact-finding or a good scientific survey should provide the worker
with adequate knowledge about the demographie, political and economic characteristics of the
community, under stand its social structure and be able to undertake research into community needs.
Community workers motivate people to participate in socioeconomic and welfare activities, to develop
a feeling of oneness as a community, and foster an attitude of concern and responsibility for it. Workers
assist community leaders to make decisions effectively but dramatically and must be able to deal with
prob lems and conflicts which arise in ways that do not cause resentment.
SECONDARY METHODS
The secondary methods are those applied in "indirect practice" or "macro practice." They do not deal
directly with clients but they require the performance of certain tasks and activities which facilitate an
agency's operation and service and are required to enhance social work practice. These methods are
administration and research
Administration
Administration is accepted as one of the important methods of social work practice because what it
does, the policies it enunciates, the plans it develops, the projects it undertakes ultimately affect the
client's welfare. Broadly conceived, it includes responsibility for goal attainment and organizational
maintenance activities in social welfare, 15 Administration is a cumulative responsibility shared by all
organizational members, and its key function is to enable individuals and groups within the social agency
to maximize their participation and contribution to the organization voluntarily, 1R
In more simple terms administration refers to the process by which the objectives of a social welfare
agency or organization are achieved through the efficient utilization of men, money, materials,
machine, methods, time and space. 17 The overriding purpose is to sustain the function of the agency,
keeping it clearly defined to the public while seeing to it that the services it offers meet a public or
societal demand and the staff is efficient and dynamic.
A broad definition of social work administration wouild include all the processes involved in
administration:
1. formulation of policy and its translation into operative goals; 2. program design and implementation;
3. funding and resource allocation;
4. management of internal and interorganizational operations;
5. personnel direction and supervision; 6. organizational representation and public relations;7.

community education, and
8. monitoring, evaluation and innovation to improve organi-zational productivity 18
In the above listing management is included in administration; others treat them separately. In social
work literature the role of the manager is expanded to include responsibility for resource development,
public relations, and community representation.
Management as a part of administration should not be confused with case management. The latter is a
part of the broader meaning of the former. Management from the admin- istrator's point of view is
overseeing the use of agency resources. Case management refers to the actual delivery to the client, of
such resources.
Research
Research refers to systematic investigation, inquiry, and already existing ones in a form that is
communicable and study of a problem for the purpose of adding more verifiable. The purpose of social
work research is to produce knowledge for social work use, application, and practice. Accord ing to Reid,
research in social work has at least three functions. First, the perspectives and methods of science can
provide a framework for practice activities-a practitioner can make use of a scientific orientation in
striving to obtain the best results possible. Second, research helps to build knowledge for practice. It can
generate and refine concepts, determine the evidence for generalization and theories, and ascertain the
effectiveness of practice methods. Third, research serves the practical function of providing situation-
specific data to inform such action as prac tice decisions, program operation or efforts at social change
19 The main strategy of social work research is the study of phenomena by naturalistic methods, that is,
without experi- mental manipulation.
For social work research to have a meaningful function it must be utilized by practitioners who are
responsible for planning, administering and implementing social work programs. In the Philippines the
most popular form of social work research is the case study but even these are very few and far
between. One reason could be the lack of incentives to do research work which could be time-
consuming, taxing and complicated. However, one need not embark on large scale research. The
practitioner from his observations and experiences can put a few things together, draw tentative
conclusions and test his own recommendations to improve his practice, share it with others similarly
interested and concerned, and perhaps formulate a new concept or revise an existing one. This at least
the direct practitioner can do on his own.
PRACTICE APPROACHES
Social work practice refers to the activity carried out by social workers in varied institutional settings,
communities and private practice. These workers address a full range of human problems involving
individuals, families, and groups, 20 The use of the term "social work practice" is relatively new going
back to the 1970s. Before that social workers in the United States described their practice by
methodology: casework, group work, or community organization or by settings: family service, child
welfare, medical social work, psychiatric social work, or corrections, or by pops- lation or problem
groups such as the poor, the physically or mentally ill or mentally retarded, neglected, abandoned
children, etc. Such practice is further differentiated by the approach used.
An approach in social work refers to the means or the manner by which a social worker comes closer to
the client or the client system. 23
Generalist Approach
A generalist is a social worker who provides services to clients with problems or in where expert or
specialized interventions are not needed. Most of our social workers belong to this category. The
practitioner must have the capability to apply a variety of change efforts to help people achieve the
desired change. He may not have great depth in any one social problem area, knowledge base or
practice techniques. However, he has the capacity to spot a problem or situation which will require the
intervention of a specialist or another helping person and make the necessary referral to the
appropriate agency or worker.
Ripple stressed that the social worker with a generalist perspective is more of a versatile worker who
has a general understanding of people, situations, resources, etc. and who has the basic skills of
observation, communication, problem-solving, ete 24
the client or the client system and the environment so that he can The generalist approach requires the
social worker to study determine the appropriate method of intervention to use. In the Philippines a
client seeking assistance may not need food to survive but he may need a more stable means of
livelihood to sustain himself and his family in better circumstances. While not neglecting his basic needs
the worker may refer the client for a self-employment project or for skills training. A housewife eager to
supplement her husband's meager income could be referred for training in some cottage industry; idle
youth could be provided opportunities for nonformal education; community leaders could be helped to
assume responsibility for the development of the community, etc. So it is possible for a worker assisting
a client on A one-to-one basis to move him on to getting involved with a small group or with community
volunteers or leaders. The worker does not apply only one method of intervention on a client, he gives
or enables him to experience other opportunities for change, growth and development.
The social worker out in the field suits a practice modality appropriate to the client's need and
satisfaction.
Specialization
Specialization is social work practice in a certain area or field which requires expert knowledge and skills.
It may be focused according to the population served such as family wel fare, or focal problems-child
exploitation, or practice setting- hospital, medical setting or method used: caseworker, group worker or
community worker. A specialist therefore has a special interest, eg, a child welfare specialist, or method:
case worker. The specialist exercises considerable independent judgment and initiative.
Clinical social work
Clinical social work is a direct service to people. It is a practice modality of casework. Its purpose is the
maintenance and enhancement of the psychosocial functioning of individuals families, and small groups
by maximizing the availability of needed interpersonal, intrapersonal, and societal resources. It focuses
on the biopsychosocial configuration, not on social pathology Its primary concern is the social context
within which the individual or family problems occur or are altered. A start has already been made along
these lines by practitioners working with street children or drug addicts. A few social workers are now
working abroad with overseas workers. It is very probable under the prevailing circumstances that many
practitioners in the field are now performing clinical social work without so much as attaching a label to
it.
Clinical social work or what is sometimes called advanced direct practice is now emerging as an area of
specialization The country is through a series of crises which is adversely affecting the psychosocial
functioning of people from all walks of life. We are intermittently besieged by typhoons, floods,
droughts and big earthquakes Over and above these are the man made disasters that have been going
on for years the underground movements, insurrections and rebellion, coups de etat, etc, resulting in
armed conflict and the displacement of innocent victims. Add to this the plight of many of our overseas
workers, the problems they encounter, the suffering and pain they go through These natural and man
made disasters affect thousands of people in such a way that many of them suffer emotional damage
wrought by shock and trauma. They display anxious moods and continuing fatigue Social work is now
reaching out to help these people to cope emotionally with continuing depression. Clinical social work
could be the most appropriate approach to the problem.
Crisis Intervention
Crisis intervention is a recognized and accepted form of social work practice in direct work with
individuals, families, and groups in a wide range of primary and secondary settings. It is a rated form of
first line intervention with clients in stress. 26 The aim is to prevent psychosocial stress from becoming
debilitative 27
Its goals are 1) to reduce the immediate harmful effects of the stressful events, and 2) to help mobilize
the latent capacities and capabilities of those directly affected, as well as agency and community
resources so that they can cope more effectively with the effects of the crisis.
The person is in a state of crisis because his equilibirum is acutely upset due to exposure to a hazardous
event. The cipitating event may be a threatening experience such as stranded or lost in a big city without
any friends, hospitaliza tion, death of a loved one or separation; natural calamities such as fires,
typhoons, floods, volcanic eruptions or earthquakes or man-made disasters such as insurgency,
revolutions, or armed conflict. Social workers in our country are all too familiar with these events. pre-
being
Crisis intervention is a form of short-term intervention as long as the person's reaction to the stress is
not pathological Other forms of intervention or approaches may be introduced after the crisis if a need
is indicated.
In the Philippines the most common approaches are the "total family approach," the "baranganic
approach" and "community outreach
Total Family Approach
The total family approach refers to the discovery and utili zation of the strengths within the family, that
is, among its individual members to solve individual and family problems. It is the most popular
approach used in this country not only because family welfare is a basic concept in social work but
because of our close family ties, one of the most dominant sociocultural traits of the Filipinos. This
approach is a reaffirmation of the great value we place on the family particularly when social changes
now threaten to reduce the strength, solidarity, and cohesiveness of the family as the basic social unit.
This approach is geared to the revitalization and enhancement of family life.
The total family approach gives importance to the natural ties of love that bind the members of the
family. The high regard given to the closeness of the Filipino family is founded on familial concerns,
ideals and aspirations that are shared. Pressures or problems encountered by individual members are
more often than not contained within the family system, sometimes like an open secret. Open because
known to family members and significant others but secret because it is not openly discussed or talked
about with outsiders although they may know it. There may be safety valves provided within the family
by the strong family members and the very group togetherness created by the atin (our) psychology.
This family bond is the very essence of the total family concept. This kind of relationships and strengths
can certainly be located within the family and used to help the member suffering from some kind of
problem
The worker must try to locate these strengths even before the needed service is delivered. It should be
done at the beginning as it is a determinant in how the client makes effective use of the service. Helping
an individual member regain strength should result in the development of communal and social values.
The fountain or source of these desirable social values required to prepare people for personal and
national development are nurtured first within the family system It follows that 28 whatever services
are provided individuals these should be seen within the context of total family life.
Baranganic Approach
The baranganic approach refers to the application of the community method using the barangay council
or a similar structure as a point of entry to gain access to or come closer to the community. This
approach was introduced by the government's social welfare agency, now the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD). Social workers found it necessary to innovate this approach when a
presidential decree issued during the 1970s revived the concept of the barangay as the smallest political
unit in the country Barangay councils were then set up in almost every nook of the country or wherever
the people were settled as a community.
The baranganic approach as used by social workers is based on and actually uses the community
organization method and process in the development of depressed barangays with em phasis on citizen
participation and self-reliance. The baranganic approach seeks to develop the people's capacity at the gr
for problem-solving, planning and decision-making by sing existing barangay councils to identify their
own domanity problems, needs and aspirations, and implementing their ow plans and evaluating their
projects. Buccess is much more likely to be achieved when there is people or citizens participation they
can rightfully claim the plans and projects and the ss66654 achieved as their own achievement.
Community Outreach
Community outreach refers to the efforts of a social agency to make available the social services it has
to offer to a community who it believes, can use some assistance without waiting for the people to
come to the agency to ask for help. The agency, throngs its social workers reaches out a helping hand to
the people. Th is an important approach because many citizens do not know whom to approach or
where to go in times of need. Sometimes they do not even realize that they need outside help to
become self-reliant community or they wait for the government or their politicians to come out and
improve their community for them Community outreach is an approach to the problem. It is a term used
not only by social workers but by other helping teams or disciplines who reach out to communities to
help them improve in some aspects of their community life.
Integrated Practice
The integrated practice of social work incorporates what is common or generic all three primary
methods of social work Intervention towards creating a better environment and maximizing
opportunities for developing individual potential. It refers to the use of the direct practice methods
singly, serially, or in combination.
Thus far social work practice in the Philippines, following the earlier examples of the Americans has
been well delineated into types: primary methods, now referred to as direct service; and secondary
methods or indirect service. Plantilla positions or job designations for direct service workers generally
carry the title "social worker leaving him free to use the modality of practice appropriate to his
assignment. However, depending on the nature of their work, social workers eventually think of
themselves as doing casework, group work, or community work. Work in behalf of clients in the
community is considered an integral part of direct service practice. It is noted nonetheless that social
workers, without realizing it, often use two or more modalities of practice in a given case or situation.
Caseworkers for instance use group work knowledge and skills in understanding and dealing with
families using concepts concerning the dynamics and structure of small groups. Community workers use
group work skills in dealing with community leaders.
In the Philippines especially in agencies extending direct services to individuals, families and groups,
work with family units is often a part of a broader plan for service. It is dependent upon the needs of the
individual and the family system. There may be livelihood or employment assistance for either the
father or mother or some employable member of the family, supplementary feeding for young children
and educational or school aid for those who are schooling Mothers of children in a day-care center may
be organized into a support group providing cooking and feeding services for the children.
Group workers on the other hand find it desirable and often necessary to have personal interviews with
individual members of their group.
Since it appears that the social workers generally use the same values, knowledge, principles and skills
when using any of the three methods of direct practice, social work educators in the United States
began during the early 1980s to refer to this modality as the generic, generalist, or integrated practice of
social work. Such practice however does not exclude the particular or specific application of the generic
base as determined by the need, problem and characteristics of clients and by the organizational
auspice in which practice takes place. 30 The implication is that one must still be knowledgeable and
skilled in the use of the specified casework, group work, or community work methods. Based on an
adequate assessment of the individual or family in its situation, the social worker should have the ability
to use individual, family, group, and community context in a purposeful and planned way. The needs or
problems of the client should determine the modes of intervention or service. This is the integrated
practice in so far as direct service is concerned
However, in the broader context there are many activities that are not carried out in the same agencies
that provide direct service to people. It is the organizational auspice that determines the methods to be
used. Thus class advocacy, political action, social reform, legislative formulation, planning and
coordination on services are carried on in many cases by agencies or divisions departments in the
agency not providing direct services. This is the actual situation in the Philippines.
8
TOOLS AND SKILLS
THE DICTIONARY DEFINES a tool as "anything regarded as necessary in the carrying out of one's
occupation or profession." Thus it may be said of the writer that "words are the tools of his trade. For
the social worker who works directly with people his main tools are interviewing, discussion, and
referral. Almost everyone uses these tools to communicate with others but the social worker uses these
three as they are needed for a special purpose to enhance the psychosocial functioning of a person
facing some difficulty. These tools require expertise in their application to be effective. They must be
used with skill which in turn requires further the liberal use of social work techniques. Case recording
complements these tools as it records the progress of a case just as the doctor uses a patient's medical
chart or record for purposes of diagnostic assessment and evaluation.
Interviewing, discussion and referral are necessary to the establishment and maintenance of human
relationships. Where there is no communication at all, or it is used sparingly one can hardly say that a
relationship exists.
TOOLS
Interviewing
Interviewing is the main tool used in social work practice. It in a set of verbal and nonverbal interactions
which is usually conducted between two people although two or three others may he present and
participating now and then. Its main purpose is to gather information in order to decide on a course of
Ita other purposes are to provide therapy, resolve a disagreement, consider a joint undertaking, and so
forth. As this is the worker's main tool he bears the major responsibility of establishing com munication
and seeing, hearing and being sensitive to the client and his need. The worker's activity or passivity will
be dictated by the practice theory he adopts and the needs of the client. He must be alert in observing
the nonverbal cues as he listens to the verbal ones and relate his speech and action to what he is seeing,
hearing and sensing."
An interview must have its own structure a beginning, a middle, and an ending. In evaluating the
interview the worker must be able to determine whether the relationship has moved towards the
ultimate goal, as well as how it met the immediate one. This would be easy enough if the worker bears
in mind the goal to which the client and he must be moving, and the specific objective of each interview
to give information or to obtain it, to clarify certain points, to consider a decision, the necessary steps to
take, or to give therapy.
The purpose of the initial interviews is to obtain information from the client or significant others in his
life. Here the worker should be guided by the intake sheet or the case study which contains the
presenting problem. This is where he starts. The questions that he will ask are those that elicit, clarify or
elaborate the problem; facts and data gathered must be those that will enable him to make a diagnostic
assessment. Therefore he must prepare himself before the interview by having in mind the questions he
will need to ask Subsequent interviews may focus on the services or resources that will be available or
accessible to the client, the next steps to take, tasks and activities of each, of the client as well as the
worker. Plans are made, goals and objectives spelled out. Here again the worker must be well-versed
with the diagnostic assessment that he has concluded at the start so that he can be more or less certain
that he is on the right tract as the helping process moves on.
A social worker may be initially stumped as to what point to start the continuation of a case when it has
been newly transferred to him. The former worker may have scheduled an interview with the client.
So the question that is likely to arise is what the focus of the next interview would be. This should not be
too difficult if the succeeding worker reviews and studies the case recording very well. A good recording
should show what is the goal, what had been done to resolve the problem so far, and where the
previous worker had left off. The worker should also be able to determine whether the goal is being
pursued effectively so that he can map out the next steps to be taken and thus be able to determine the
purpose of each subsequent interview to be
In short, every interview should begin with the establishment of a common understanding and in the
course of the helping process be related to what has happened before; it should continue through the
work of weighing and considering feelings, behavior and events, and conclude with a summing up of
what has taken place and agreement of what the subsequent activity will be. This will help to provide
continuity in a series of interviews.
Each interview has its own uniqueness depending on the worker's purpose, the nature of the problem,
as well as that of the client. clients are hard to reach especially those who have been referred by
community authorities or civic workers and volunteers, those who have been picked up by police
authorities or concerned citizens. Some interviews can be productive yielding a wealth of information,
others may not. The following interview is a good example of the first interview between the worker and
the client, a first face-to-face contact.
Illustration
Interview
The client is Edong de la Cruz, 14 years old, a youthful offender. His case has been assigned to a court
social worker for study. Under Philippine laws, specifically the Child and Youth Welfare Code of 1974 as
amended, a young offender who is over 9 years old but under 15 years at the time of the commission of
the offense and who acted without discernment is exempt from criminal liability and may be committed
to the care of his parents, or either parent, or to the nearest relative or family friend at the discretion of
the court and subject to its supervision. It is the social worker's task to conduct and submit a social case
study to help the judge arrive at a decision as to the proper disposition of the case. The worker may,
according to his findings recommend the youth to be placed under the supervision of his parents, a close
relative or family friend, or a court-appointed guardian during the period of probation 5
The interview example given here was conducted by a male social worker in a temporary shelter
provided by the court for such children.
The youth was of stealing five love birds which offense he had admittedn
W-Halika, maupo ka!
C-Salamat po. (Pulls a chair and sits in front of the worker's desk).
W-Kumusta ka?
C-Mabuti po naman. (Client fidgets in his chair). W-Kailan ka pa dito?
C-Magdadalawang linggo na po. Sir, sino ba kayo?
W-Ako ang social worker mo. Ako ang na-assign sa kaso mo para matulungan ka
C- Sir, mabibiyahe' (local idiom for po ba ako?

W-Ay, hindi. C-Hanggang kailan pa ako dito, Sir?
W. Hanggang hindi ka pa nabibistahan. At pag nabis- tahan ka na, at saka mo malalaman kung ang kaso
mo ay madi-diamia o kaya mabibigyan ka ng probation.
C. Sir, ano po yung 'probation'?
W-Ang probation ay pansamantalang kalayaan. Depen- de sa huwes kung gaano katagal. Pagkatapos ng
taning na araw, buwan o taon na siyang magiging batayan kung ikaw ay nagbago na o hindi ibabalik ka
na muli sa pangangalaga ng iyong mga magulang. Kaya, kung sakaling maging probationer ko,
kinakailangang mag-report ka rito sa Center tuwing ikahuling Sabado ng buwan. Iyan ay gaga- win mo
tuwina hanggang magkaroon muli ng paglilitis at doon ay igagawad ang pagsasara sa kaso mo kung ikaw
ay nagbago na (Pauses for a while to give the client time to absorb the information) Naiintindihan mo
ba?
C- (After some silence) Opo, Sir (Looks relieved.)
W- Kaya ipinatawag kita ay upang pag-usapan ang tungkol sa kaso mo. Alam mo ba kung ano? C-Opo,
Sir. (Clients starts playing with a rubber band in his hand and looks intently at it.) W-Ano ba talaga ang
nangyari?
. C-(Client does not answer right away. It seems that he is trying to refresh his memory.) Sir, kinuha ko
yung limang ibon. W-Bakit mo kinuha?
C-Paano, Sir, ayaw nung may-ari ipakita sa akin ng sinisilip ko sa kulungan. Pinaalis pa ako. Kaya, sa
galit ko, bumalik ako roon kinagabihan at kinuha ko yung limang ibon. Kinabukasan may pulis na. Ayon-
hinuli ako. Pero, ibinalik ko naman po, Sir.
W-Kahit na. Kinuha mo kasi nang walang paalam. Kaya ipina-pulis ka. (Client is silent. He does not seem
interested in what the worker is saying as he keeps on playing with the rubber band.) Nasaan ang mga
magulang mo?
C. (Looks blankly at the worker) Sir, ang nanay ko po.ay nasa palengke, nagtitinda ng goto.
W-Eh, ang tatay mo? (Client's mood changes. He starts to irritated.)
C-(Answers nonchalantly.) Ewan ko.
W-Bakit, hindi ba umuuwi ang tatay mo sa inyo?
C-Sir, nasa tabi ng bahay namin doon sa kabilang asawa niya
W-Bakit, may iba bang kinakasama ang tatay mo?

C-Opo, Sir! (Snaps the rubber band in his hand.) Kaye hindi na siya umuuwi sa amin. Buti nga, Sir, dahil
ang tapang-tapang niya. Kahit na sa gabing natutulog ako pinapaigib ako ng tubig tapos pinapalo pa ako
W-Ano naman ang sabi ng nanay mo?
C-Wala, Sir. Kung minsan nag-aaway sila.
W-Eh, ang mga kapatid mo, nasaan sila?
C-Sir, ang Ate Mila ko nasa Batangas. May asawa na.
W-Ilan ba kayong magkakapatid?
C- Apat po! Ako ang pinaka-bunso.
W-Nasaan naman ang iba mong kapatid?
C-Sir, ang Ate Minda ko ay nasa Laguna, nagtatrabaho sa 'club.'
W-Ilang taon ang Ate Minda mo?
C-Ewan ko po.
W-Sa tingin mo nga ay ilang taon na siya?
C- Siguro, Sir (using his fingers to count), mga beinte o disiotso.
W-Sino ang sumusunod?
C-Ate Linda ko po. May asawa na rin, asawa ring iba yung asawa niya pero, Sir, may
W-Papano 'yon?
C- Sir (looks down at the floor and acts as if he is embarrassed), binabahay po siya ni Mang Ador.
W- Eh, di ikaw na lang ang kasama ng nanay mo sa bahay ninyo?
C- Opo, Sir.
W-(Pauses for a while and looks at the client.) Magkano naman ang kinikita ng nanay mo?
C. (He suddenly stands up and walks to the window and looks at the trees outside. Instead of answering
the worker he asks instead.) Sir, bahay ba ng ibon iyon?
W- (He is surprised by the client's action but decides to follow the shift in conversation as a respite from
any stressful emotion that the client may be feeling. Looks out
C- Sir, aakyatin ko baka may itlog (Moves quickly the window.) Oo, bahay ng ibon iyan. towards the
door.)
W-Aba huwag, baka ka mahulog.
C- (Persists) Sir, sanay ako sa akyatan.
W-Huwag kang umakyat baka magalit ang mga pulis at ibalik ka sa loob.
(C starts, looks around and goes back to his seat) Balik uli tayo sa pinag-uuspan natin kanina. Ang tanong
ko, magkano ang kinikita ng nanay mo sa pagtitinda ng goto?
C- Ewan ko po (Gets another rubber band from his pocket and begins playing with it.)
W-At ikaw, ano naman ang ginagawa mo?
C-Heto, naglalaro ng goma. (Examines the rubber band in his hands.)
W-Sa bahay?
C-Wala po, Sir W-Hindi ka ba nag-aaral?
C-Hindi na po.
W-Bakit?
C- Ayaw akong tanggapin ng mga titser ko (pulls the rubber band with one hand and snaps it strongly)
W-Bakit?
C-Kasi, lagi akong inaatake ng paninigas
W-Anong paninigas?
C-Sir, 'elepsi' daw po. Yung bang nakakatulog ako tapos bumubula raw ang bibig ko. (Demonstrates by
stretching both his arms and legs and shaking them as if he is having convulsions. Worker recognizes the
symptoms of epilepsy)
W-Ano naman ang pakiramdam mo?
C-Sir, wala akong naaalaala. (He stands up suddenly, sees and kicks a cigarette butt on the floor, picks it
up and throws it out of the window Looks at the worker briefly and then says:) Sir, pasok muna ako sa
loob at nahihilo ako.
W-O, sige. Tatawagin na lang kita uli
C-Opo, Sir, sige po.

English Translation
W-Come, sit down.
C-Thank you.
W How are you?
C- Fine
W. Since when have you been here?
.C. About two weeks ago. Sir, who are you?
W. I am your social worker. I have been assigned to your case in order to help you.
C-Sir, will I be sentenced?
W. No.
C- Until when will I be here, Sir?
W. As long as your case has not been heard. After the hearing only then will you know whether your
case will be dismissed or you will be on probation
C- Sir, what is probation? W Probation is temporary freedom the duration of which will depend on the
judge. Within this period, ie, days, months or years you will be returned to your parents to determine
whether you have changed or not. If you are a probationer you have to report to this Center every last
Saturday of the month This you will do until your case is heard in court again where it may be closed if
you deserve it and there is evidence that you have changed for the better Do you understand?
C- Yes, sir
W I had you called so that we can talk about your case. Do you know what it is?
C- Yes, sir
W. What really happened?
C. Sir, I took five birds.
W. Why did you take them?
C-Sir, the owner refused to let me see the birds while I was peeping into the cage. I was driven away So,
in my anger I returned at night and took the five birds with me. In the morning the police came and took
me away However, I returned the birds, Sir.
W Even then You took the birds without permission, that is why they sent the police after you. Where
are your parents?
C. Sir, my mother is in the market selling 'goto' (rice gruel with beef tripe).
W-And your father?
C-I don't know.
W-Why, doesn't your father come home?
C-Sir, he lives beside our house, with his other wife.
W. Why, is your father living with someone else?
C. Yes, Sir That is why he does not come home. It is good, Sir, because he is cruel. At night, even when I
am asleep he makes me draw water after which he still whips me.
W. What does your mother say?
C. Nothing, Sir. Sometimes they quarrel
W. How about your siblings, where are they?
C. Sir, my 'Ate' (older sister) Mila is in Batangas. She is.married
W. How many are you?
C. Four. I am the youngest.
W. Where are your other siblings?
C. Sir, my Ate Minda is in Laguna, working in a club.
W. How old is your Ate Minda?
C-Sir, I do not know
W. By looking at her, how old do you think is she?
C. Sir, about twenty or eighteen.
W. Who is next?
C. My Ate Linda. She is also married. Sir, her husband has another wife
W- How come?
C- She is only living with Mang Ador
W. So, you are now the only one staying with your mother in the house.
C. Yes, sir.
W. How much is your mother earning?
C-(Does not answer-instead) Sir, is that a bird's nest?
W. Yes, it is a bird's nest.
C-Sir, I am going up as there may be some eggs.
W. Don't. You might fall.
C- Sir, I am used to climbing.
W. Don't climb up as the police might get angry and return you inside. Let us resume our talk. My
question is, how much does your mother earn from selling 'goto"?
C-I don't know, Sir.
W. And you, what do you do?
C. This, playing with the rubber band.
W-At home?
C- Nothing, Sir.
W-Are you not studying?
C-No.
W. Why not?
C- My teachers do not wish to accept me.
W-Why?
C. Because, Sir, I usually have 'hardening' attacks.
W. What 'hardening"?
C Sir, 'elepsi' One where I go to sleep and there's froth in my mouth.
W And how do you feel? C-Sir, I do not remember anything Sir, I am going in as I feel dizzy
W. All right. I will call you again.
C. Yes, Sir
Worker's Impression of the Minor
Minor appears hostile when the subject of his father is brought up, neither it seems, does he want to
talk about his handicap. It is quite obvious that he is suffering from neurological impairment as may
gleaned from his answers and behavior during the interview Worker plans to refer the minor to the
clinic of the Philippine Mental Health Association for psychological tests.
This interview was successful in that it enabled the worker to gather initial information about the client.
He defined the rela tionship right from the start by introducing himself as the client's social worker,
someone to help him. "Ako ang social worker mo He also reduced the client's anxiety by explaining what
probation means and what some of the procedures to be followed are. The main purpose of the
interview was to get the client's version of the case and his family background. The worker started with
the problem and worked backwards to gather the information and data he needed. He was alert to the
nonverbal cues and body language, such as when the client snapped the rubber band he was playing
with or when he stood up suddenly to look out of the window-a diversionary tactic. The interview was
conducted inside a detention center for youth offenders.
Discussion
Discussion is a type of verbal interaction, of informal conversation among a group of people. At best it is
a democratic growth experience for the partipants.
In general, group discussions provide opportunities for: (1) contributions from different viewpoints; (2)
participation in decision-making and hopefully, in plan implementation; (3) developing creative potential
for group members; (4) learning, and (5) growth and change.
It is used for almost every purpose-learning, therapy, socialization, problem-solving and recreation 6 As
a tool of social work, it is a form of communication in which each individual in the group contributes his
thinking and participates in the making of a decision which is arrived at through a consensus Decisions
resulting from group discussion serve as greater motivation for the participants to translate these into
action as they have contributed to its formulation. In a community or culture where people's
participation is an accepted reality this concept is generally applicable but in a setting where the people
are not yet used to democratic participation this is not always so. Unless the social worker is alert in
motivat- ing the silent majority to participate, only a few, two or three persons tend to dominate the
discussion and arrive at what they think is a consensus Silence however, does not always mean tacit
consent. In a Philippine setting it often means the opposite, dissent. So it is not unusual that sometimes
only a few participate in plan implementation. When the nonparticipants, now mere bystanders are
asked why they are not involved one may get such answers as: "Kayo ang may gusto eh, di kayo ang
gumawa (You are the ones that like it-then do it yourselves). It is not unusual for dissenting members of
a group to try to thwart or hinder in every way action or a decision that has already been agreed upon
by a majority of the members. The worker must, when it comes to small groups like the family ensure
that every one participates and is involved in decision-making.
The purpose or the reason for the group's formation will determine its composition, size, structure and
function-how it is organized, how it can achieve the purpose for which it was as well as the method by
which it operates. A worker organizes a community welfare council of leaders to attend to the social
problems of the community, a group of disadvantaged women for personal growth and livelihood
projects, or a group of out-of school youth for nonformal education, character-building, and the
acquisition of employment skills. a worker in an institution may organize the parents of special children
as a support group for her wards. The opportunities for group work where discussion is the main tool of
the worker are many and the reasons varied. In some instances, by virtue of his position as in therapy or
f counseling or in recreation and character-building activities, the worker will almost automatically exert
leadership in the discus sion even if he is not the formal leader. In other cases as in a community welfare
council he will gradually relinquish the leadership to the president or chairman of the group but retain
his position as a member so as to guide and direct the discussion towards the purpose for which it had
been set up. family
The larger the group, the greater the number of communication channels, both verbal and nonverbal.
It is also true however, that in big groups there are fewer chances for everyone to participate, especially
the shy ones. This may result in the indifference if not downright hostility or apathy of some members
and the natural formation of subgroups. The most significant interchange usually takes place within
small groups. The worker must see to it that a formed group is manageable for problem- solving and
ensure maximum participation of members.
The worker will almost automatically exert leadership in the discussion even if his is not the titular role.
It may even be necessary in the beginning life of the group to demonstrate by his example, how to
conduct a group discussion or a meeting. Brill lists down three responsibilities of the group worker as a
leader. He sees to it that (1) the interpersonal relationships in the group are constructive rather than
destructive by creating a climate of acceptance of differences, encouraging universal participation, and
helping to resolve conflict; (2) the process of discussion is facilitated through setting initial direction,
seeing that there is a clear understanding of the thinking that is taking place, sum- marizing and
emphasizing concerns and agreements; (3) he contributes new ideas and thinking, he encourages others
to do so, and he facilitates critical evaluation of all contributions."
Lastly, the dynamics of a group are those operating in any system: (1) the internal relationship among
the members, and (2) external relationship to the environment and task of the group." 9
The worker should look out for fluctuations in relationships which may be the result of changes within
the individuals which may have been caused by the alignment, realignment, and changes in the
functions of the subgroups, and with changes in the process that goes on in the group, both internally
and exter- nally as it matures.
Purpose, leadership and dynamics are aspects of group discussions and group work that the worker
needs to keep in mind in order to be an effective group worker.
A Group Discussiona
The following account is an example of a group discussion. It was a meeting of community leaders who
had been elected as officers and members of the newly- organized community welfare council. The
council president was absent so after waiting for sometime the others present asked the vice president
to preside over the meeting. At first he demurred because he said the president might disapprove of
their holding the meeting in his absence but the others reminded him that it was usually difficult to get a
majority to attend the meeting and so they might at least hold it now. The secretary called the roll and
announced that there was a quorum. One of the elders suggested that they go ahead with the meeting.
He would explain it to the president later The one who spoke was an elderly political leader who was
held in high esteem by the community With this assurance the vice president opened the meeting
He to the community worker to ask for the agenda. He had been merely told that an emergency meet-
ing had been called and that his presence was urgently needed. So he had come as it was his duty
thinking that he would just sit and listen as he thought the president would preside over the meeting.
The worker answered that it was the other officers and members who wanted the meeting and he was
under the impression that the secretary had prepared the agenda. Almost everyone looked to the
secretary for an explanation. He informed the group that the idea for an emergency meeting was
broached to him only the previous night by some members of the group and so he had spent the rest of
the time trying to contact the others. The next day he had gone to work so there was hardly any time to
prepare a written agenda. Some women had come to see him,
At this point one of the women spoke up. She began by saying that the council was hardly moving at all.
The building for the community welfare center is almost finished and they must prepare for its
inauguration, hence this emer gency meeting. The occasion would also serve as an appreciation for the
woman senator who had secured funds for the building. Second, here they were about to inaugurate
the center but they as the officers and members of the council had not yet taken their oath of office.
They had made tentative plans after the election some months ago but until now nothing had been
done about it. atten
"Because the council president is not paying any tion to it, someone exclaimed. The others chorused.
"He always says, 'Yes, yes, we will do it' but he has not lifted a finger to have it done" "He does not care
at all about the council," someone else remarked. "Perhaps he is too old for the job," someone added in
a stage whisper "Why not change him? The vice president can take over."
The vice president shook his head vigorously. He held up.his hands. "No, no, please no." Another
remarked, "Why not the secretary? He is young, dynamic, and energetic."
Again the vice president shook his head. "You cannot do that. I have nothing against the secretary here. I
know he can do the job very well but there are other things to consider. Who was it who invited the
president to head the council?"
"I did," one of the women spoke up. "I and Mrs. Leonillo (the worker) here. We had consulted the
barangay captain and he had suggested the name of Mr. Fernandez. He said he and the council
president were no strangers to each other and could work together harmoniously. So we shared the
suggestion with the others who were planning the for mation of the council. They agreed that he would
be a good choice. He is a well-known leader, is politically influential and has a lot of contacts among the
higher ups. We would need his intervention at the higher level to secure the resources we might need."
"And what has he done so far?" asked the vice president. anything to do with the community center?"
he "Yes," the secretary answered. "We requested him to "Has make the final request with Senator de la
Cruz for funds for the building but took care of the details. He was also instrumental in asking City Hall to
set up a day-care center with supplementary feeding for our children in this com munity An iron gate
with a signboard was installed at the entrance of our community as a concession to him by the beer
company nearby. Of course we and the other com munity leaders take care of the plans and the follow-
up but it is he who paves the way for us."
The community worker turned to the presiding officer. "It seems to me that what the secretary is saying
is that in his own unique way the president has been spearheading the major projects of this council, he
provides his own brand of leadership. Of course he cannot do things by himself, we have to do much of
the planning and the imple mentation What we can do is bring up the idea to his knowledge, work on
the details and point out to him where he is needed, what he can do."
The vice president looked around the table. No one else said anything. Satisfied that there was no
further reaction the vice president continued.
"The foregoing discussion is off the record, of course Can we now proceed? All right. First in the agenda
are plans for the inauguration of the center; second is the oath taking of the council officers and
members. The oath taking can take place during the inauguration. If there is time we can discuss other
related matters."
This brief illustration is an example of how some intense personal feelings can be brought out in order to
clarify the issue for rational thinking. Some misunderstandings about the absent president had to be
threshed out at the start so that this will not stand in the way of logical discussion. This account often
happens in small communities where existing conflicts about the leadership become stumbling blocks to
goal achievement. At this point it should be pointed out that there are some similarities between
interviewing and discussion:
1. Each involves two or more persons.
2. There is a give and take between and among the par

3. Communication is both verbal and nonverbal.
4. They both have a common purpose to reach some kind understanding or decision
5. Both may be formal, informal, planned or spontaneous. ticipants.
6. Goals may be either immediate or long term or both.
Their differences lie in structure and in process 10
Referrals
Referral is the process by which a client is helped to move on to another resource for service. Referrals
are necessary because no single institution or agency can serve all the needs of man in a complex society
In explaining to the client the reason for the referral the worker should provide the opportunity as
needed, for the client to ventilate his feelings of anxiety or frustration and give him realistic support. He
should interpret the referral in such a way that the client does not see it as a total and easy solution to
his needs, but as a resource that he can use in working towards that solution. The worker must make
certain that the purpose of the referral is accomplished.
In order to make a good referral, ie, to enable the client to go directly to the resource he needs instead
of being bounced from one agency to another, the worker must possess a good working knowledge of
the resources available. He must familiarize himself with what his particular community can provide in
terms of organized as well as informal institutions and services. In small cities and towns where people
generally know each other or at least are acquainted, especially where there is networking among the
social agencies, the worker, whenever possible, should add a personal touch by way of a small note or a
phone call if he is personally acquainted with the worker or the person to whom be is making the
referral. In this way he facilitates the client's access to the service he needs at the same time that he has
alerted the receiving agency to expect the client. Such a move will help reduce the client's anxiety over
the prospect of facing another helping worker and a new agency.
It must be stressed that regardless of the personal touch, the formal letter of referral is still a must.
Some agencies use a form where the referring worker or supervisor simply fills out the pertinent blanks.
In making the referral the worker must know at least what the client can do for himself, worker's role
and task in making the referral, and that of the client in using it. The referral must make clear to the
other agency the reason for the referral or the service needed and the client must be well aware of what
to expect as a result of the referral.
In sum, the main tools of the social worker in helping people solve a problem or a difficulty are
interviewing, discussion, and referral. How he uses these tools will be determined by his theoretical
base, his personal style, the needs of the client and what is available to use. It is essential to remember
that the worker utilizes himself as a person but a professional one, hence the expression "the
professional use of self" His personality makeup, his strengths, his capacities as well as his limitations
will influence, affect his use of the helping process. Since each person is unique by himself or different
from the others each worker will have his own style, his way of handling the tools, skills, and techniques
of his trade. He will blend basic theory and style in his practice.
Case Recording
A case recording is an account in writing of the progress of a client in a case as it moves from the
beginning of the problem- solving phase towards its eventual solution and finally to its ending or
termination. It can be a process, a step by step account, or a condensed or summary recording.
Case recording may be considered an indirect tool of social work intervention because it enables the
worker to see for himself how a case is progressing so that he can make such modification or changes as
may be necessary to reach the goal or purpose of the helping process.
As an indirect tool of social work a case record serves at least four purposes
1 for practice-to ensure adequate service to the
2. for administration-so as to be able to service and evaluate client;
3. for teaching and supervision-to communicate knowledge the discharge of this responsibility;
and improve skills, and
4. for research-to discover new knowledge and to assist in social policy formulation and planning 11
Ideally, the record is intended to project the worker's observations and findings to help him check on his
observations, to show the relationship to clients, the worker's role in helping them, to aid the worker in
the formulation of a hypothesis and to appraise movement, change and growth or the reason for failure
to achieve treatment or intervention goals.
Many social workers tend to use the terms case recording and case study interchangeably. It would be
more accurate to say that the first part of the case recording is the case study. The casework pioneers
who conceptualized social work practice divided it into three points study, diagnosis and treatment.
The case study starts with the identification of the presenting problem, followed by data gathering, then
by diagnosis, analysis and assessment. The focus of the worker is always on the person/s in situation
and so during the initial interviews the worker gathers such data and information as may be needed in
order to understand the nature of the problem, what sort of person has the problem, and what kind of
environment surrounds him for purposes of study, diagnosis and assessment. The worker may then
prepare the treatment or intervention plan with the cooperation of the client. Subsequent steps and
developments are then written into what is now known as the case record of a specific or particular
case. The case study contains only the initial or beginning materials for study, diagnosis and assessment
but these are recurring phases throughout the entire helping process. The case record is an account of
how the worker handled a case from beginning to end; whether the client is an individual, a family, a
group, or even a small community. It must also reflect what the client is doing about his problem.
Types of Recording
There are three major types of case recording: narrative, summarized, and interpretative, diagnostic,
evaluative style.
Narrative
The narrative style is actually concerned with the reportingof facts. It may be condensed or process.
Condensed
The narrative condensed recording is an abridged, compact version which may have been reduced from
its former voluminous size. It is generally useful for all types of cases, of clients, whether individual,
family, group, or community, and is used practically in all types of social welfare agencies. It is used for
reporting acts of practical helpfulness, events, and most collateral visits or case conferences. It may be
used to show the contents of the interview of family or small group discussion in all instances except
when the process itself and the use of relationships have special significance
Process
Process recording is a written description of the dynamic interaction that has taken place in an
interview. It should contain the purpose of the interview, worker's observations, description of the
intentions, impressions, worker's roles, and plan 12
The narrative process recording is used to show the process and the interaction within the interview or
to show group interaction. It may be a step-by-step account of the proceedings. Process recording is
very appropriate when attention is directed to attitudes, behavior, and motivation. It is often used for
intake and the first interviews when the client's feelings regarding his situation and what he wants are
likely to be particularly apparent.
Summary recording
A summary is a review, or a recapitulation of material which has already appeared in the case
record. It is a good device for organizing and analyzing facts. Routine services such as arrange ment for
the use of a social resource or an uneventful period during treatment can be summarized. There are four
general types of summaries: social histories, periodic summaries, the transfer summary, and the closing
entrynor summary.
Social histories are of two types: the socioeconomic history which is most often used when many of the
welfare clients presenting problems usually involve the problem of economic survival, and the
psychosocial or psychogenetic history which is generally used with clients presenting an impairment of
the paychosocial functioning.
Illustration
Summary Recording-A Socioeconomic History
Ernesto de los Santos, 37 years old, a carpenter, met with an accident one day when a speeding car hit
him on his way home from work. He was brought to the hospital where his right leg which was heavily
injured, was amputated. He was discharged after a month's stay in the hospital. A kind donor had gifted
him with a pair of crutches which he was already learning to use before his discharge. He was referred
by the Services Unit of the hospital to the family agency for further assistance. He has a wife and three
children to support. They are renting a small house for P300 a month.
His wife, Asuncion Reyes, is 32 years old. She sells cooked food in the neighborhood to supplement
her husband's income. Their three children are all studying 14 years old is in second year high school,
Corazon 12 years is in Grade VI, and Marietta, 8 years old is in Grade II. Mr. Santos is worried that the
children may have to stop schooling if he remains jobless because of his disability.
The wife continues to sell cooked food but she does not make much profit nowadays because of the
spiralling costs of foodstuffs. Whatever little savings they had was used up during her husband's
hospitalization. So she had to borrow her capital from a neighbor. The lender charges the usual 5-1 daily
interest, that is P1, for every P5.00 borrowed.
At present she is very much worried about her husband who seems to have lost all hope. He does
nothing the whole day but lie on the mat spread on the floor getting up only when necessary He does
not go out of the house. He is very moody and ill-tempered, always scolding the children at the slightest
provocation so that they try to avoid him and stay out the whole day. He does not talk to his wife unless
absolutely necessary, and this only in monosyllables. He refuses to discuss his feelings with her.
The wife does not earn enough to support the family and send the children to school.
Periodic summaries are made to cover a certain period of time during which the case is under the care
of or is being handled by the worker This is applicable to long-term case work, group work with formed
groups, and with community work. In the Philippines the latter may take years to realize the goal of
building self- reliant communities.
Transfer summary refers to the summary made when the case is to be transferred to another worker or
is being referred to another agency. It may contain a brief statement of the problem, the treatment plan
and what has been accomplished so far.
The closing entry or summary focuses on the causes and results of the treatment or intervention. It
covers the situation at intake and the reasons involved, the problem that emerged, the treatment given,
services extended, or intervention made, the progress, movement or change achieved, and the results
or status of the case.
A summary must point out and point in to the meaning and relative importance of the material
gathered. It must be made at appropriate intervals in order to reduce bulk, clarify directions, and save
the worker's time.
Interpretative. Diagnostic, and Evaluative Recording

This type of recording is directed to pointing out the of facts. Its significance lies in the social
interpretations of the case by the worker. It carries in fact, his own opinion. He must write down what
the problem is, how the client is meaningngetting along about the situation, and what is the nature of
the worker's service, help or treatment. The record is thus not only a medium of communication, but is
also a precise statement in itself In order to prepare good case records a worker must first acquire the
habit of careful observation and accurate written Second, he must learn to analyze and interpret the
data and write down his thinking into the case record.
Illustration
The Interpretative Style
Client has not yet gotten over the trauma of his accident. He must be feeling very useless and sorry for
himself and angry with what happened to him He seems to have no plans as yet on what he is going to
do. He has not bothered to learn how to use the crutches skillfully. He may have lost some of his self-
confidence. His present behavior is a reflection of his inner feelings of anger and frustration which he
displaces on his children. It may be that the reason he has refused to talk things over with his wife is
because he himself is still confused and has not yet set goals for himself to accomplish. His economic
history shows that he has been quite self reliant in the past and his new role as a dependent does not
suit him at all. Having had to apply for material assistance may have reduced his self-respect and self-
esteem.
Records are for professional use. As an indirect tool they help the worker and client assess the situation
from time to time so that the latter can by himself monitor his own progress and direct his efforts
toward a stated purpose or goal. Records are designed to help the worker in a realistic, practical way to
serve the client's interest, and to further social work knowledge in the interest of the next client
BASIC SKILLS IN SOCIAL WORK
Social work skill may be defined as the social worker's capacity to set in motion with a client interventive
processes of change based on social work values and knowledge in a situation relevant to the client, la
Competence in social work practice lies in developing skill in the use of the social work methods and
social work techniques for intervention into problem situations.
Werner Boehm once wrote that professional skill is expressed in the activity of the social worker. It
constitutes the worker's artistic creation resulting from three internal process (1) conscious selection of
knowledge pertinent to the professional task at hand, (9) fusion of this knowledge with social work
values, and (3) expression of this synthesis in professional relevant activity 1
The basic helping skills in social work are: differential diagnosis, timing, focusing, partialization,
establishing partner ship, and structuring according to Brill, 1 In the Philippines we have added a
seventh, case management, which is the present concern of direct practitioners. These seven skills are
applied in the helping process itself.
Skills in Basic Helping
Differential diagnosis
This skill refers to the ability of the worker to understand the uniqueness of the person in his situation
and to adapt his tech niques to him. No two persons are completely alike in their Identities, even twins.
They may fall under the same general category as in the case of street children but even if they come
from element of difference in each child. The worker must be aware of the specifics of the client's
personality, and the situation involved At the same time, his diagnosis must be objective, ie, free from
his own personal biases, prejudice, feeling or emotion. There is always the imminent danger that a
worker who must have had some unpleasant experiences with a group of clients may fail to appreciate
the uniqueness of each person.
Differential diagnosis is also important in working with people from varying cultural backgrounds whose
ways of think ing, feeling, and behaving may be different from the worker's own. In working with a
single, pregnant girl for instance, the worker should not attempt to introduce the idea of putting up the
unborn child for adoption right at the start of contact. She should first ferret out the girl's own values
about the matter as well as her own strength or capability to take care of the child. By knowing and
understanding the girl's values the worker will be able to determine the appropriate time and technique
for bringing up the subject. The ability or skill to diagnose differentially is quite important in the country
where there are many ethnic groups ranging from the Ibanags of the Cagayan Valley in northeastern
Luzon to the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu in the south. At present government social workers are also
tasked to give aid to victims of armed conflict or those caught in the struggle for power among the
different groups. The social worker must be able to differentiate the individuals from each other instead
of lumping them under one category in order to provide the correct treatment
Timing
A second skill is timing. It may be interpreted in two ways. The first interpretation refers to the worker's
own tempo or pace-whether it is too fast or too slow for the person or people he is working with. At the
start he should suit his place to that of the client. If the client is indifferent, lethargic or ill the workem
will have to keep in step with him, pace by pace but once the momentum has been reached then he and
the client can work faster. If he is too fast for the client to follow there may be a breakdown in the
helping process and he and the client will b quite disappointed if not frustrated in their expectations of
each other. A good rule for the worker to follow is for him to adjust to the client's pace at the beginning
but to work towards a reasonable pace which he and the client can follow The second use of timing
refers to the worker's ability to take
action at some pertinent point in time when it would be most effective. Not to take action at that very
moment may result in loss of momentum or opportunity Too much bureaucracy or red tape resulting in
a delayed service may cause considerable anguish or further frustration or disappointment. In relief and
rehabilitation work where timing is of the essence even volun teers are wont to say that "Relief delayed
is relief denied." People contemplating project whose success or failure partly depends on correct timing
would often urge: Nasa 'timing yan. (It all depends on timing-meaning "correct" timing.) The selection of
this crucial point in time is for the worker to make. This will depend on both his general knowledge of
people and his specific knowledge of the situation with which he is dealing
A good example of timing is when to give an advice, a recur- rent problem for we as a people often give
unsolicited advice whether appreciated or not. Advice should be given only in response to a verbal or
nonverbal cue that the client will be receptive to it. The worker should be sensitive and alert in picking
up such cues. As a rule one should refrain from giving advice to an angry client. Let him express his
feelings first and then as he calms down the worker may resume the conversation and skillfully direct it
in such a way that finally the client may by himself be able to see the proper or next steps to take. It is
possible that he may have already decided more or less what to do even before seeing the worker but
may have been upset by something else or is still plagued by anxieties. An angry or upset client is often
too involved in his own emotions to hear or see anything else
Focusing
Focusing refers to the ability of the worker to concentrate both his and the client's efforts on the
significant aspects of the situation that require work and retaining that focus until some conclusions or
progress has been reached. It also means not losing sight of the client and his presenting problem in the
midst of the overall problems being encountered by his family. This happen sometimes when the worker
suits his agency's resources may and services to the case at hand regardless of the nature of the
problem. This is what the agency expects of him-to deliver its services with dispatch especially when it is
an agency that is required to make an accounting of how public funds are spent and used.
The problem of retaining focus can also arise from the worker's practice orientation. There was once a
case where a social worker was employed in an agency which provided edu. cational aid to needy
children. As a community outreach approach the worker was assigned to a specific area where some of
these children were to be found. In the course of trying to locate and reach these children the worker
noted that the streets were muddy and often overflowed during rainy weather, so much so that many of
the children often caught colds, flu, and even pneumonia. Because of his orientation as community
worker, he decided to do something about the poor environment using whatever resources he could
mobilize. Indeed, he accomplished something along the lines of community development but in the
process almost forgot to bring in the children who needed school aid until his attention was called.
Since this often happens we are giving another example of how the worker can be sidetracked unless he
is skilled in focusing. This skill is especially needed with clients who are unaccustomed to rational or
logical thinking about their concerns. Whether working with an individual, a family, a group, or a
community council of concerned citizens the worker must keep the discussion focused on the
immediate problem, the one causing the discomfort, rather than be distracted by any of the issues that
may arise in the course of problem resolution.
To illustrate: two housing areas in a squatters' village were divided by a tulay (a catwalk) simply made of
old pieces of wood. It was in need of repair before the start of the rainy season, before the area got
flooded and the bridge became impassable. One issue that quickly arose in the discussion was who was
responsible for its being in disrepair. Both sides were blaming each other and each contended that
whoever was responsible should be the one to repair it. Fortunately, the worker was quite alert and he
man aged to have both groups work on the repair and reconstruction of the bridge before they got
bogged down on the issue of who was to blame
Partialization
Partialization refers to the worker's ability to assess the totality of the problem, breaking it down into
manageable parts, and helping the client think about it and decide where to start. It is necessary
because a problem, even that of poverty, is seldom simple. It is made up of several components, causes
or contributory factors which have to be resolved in order to solve it.
Illustration
A poor family is experiencing a multiplicity of problems. The father is a handyman, an all-around
repairman who performed odd jobs in a middle class neighborhood on a daily basis. At present he
cannot work, has been jobless for two months because he is sick and often coughs. His wife is a full-time
housewife who never ventured to help her husband earn for the family. She is now five months on the
family way Two of the children, 11 and 9 years old have stopped schooling and the two younger ones, 5
and 3 years old are both sickly and malnourished. On top of their problems the couple have been given
notice to relocate their house which is situated in a squatters' area near the subdivision where he
usually works as a handyman.
With so many problems which are interrelated, it is quite obvious that some priority must be
established, some decision has to be made as to where to start. In this case the need for material aid is
quite urgent for the family to survive followed by medical treatment for the client. The possibility of the
wife engaging in some livelihood project appropriate to her condition needs to be explored as well as
educational aid for the two children so they can go back to school. The two younger children can be
referred to a day care center for supplementary feeding and preschool learning When the immediate
needs have been met then the worker can look further into the housing problem. The client as he
recovers from his illness can start thinking about what he can do to get back to work.
As plans and decisions are made, they should be quite clear to the client so that he knows what his
responsibilities are and the tasks expected of him so that he can perform them-this is part of the entire
effort to help him He knows what needs to be done step-by-step and has a sense of direction.
Structuring
Skill in structuring refers to the worker's ability to determine the setting and the boundaries that will be
most conducive to the work to be done. It includes the choice of physical setting-where, how often,
under what circumstances, with whom a worker will meet whether with the individual alone or with the
family, at what time and for how long, delineation of rules-spoken and unspoken that will govern these
contacts and agreement as to what resources and services will be involved. A time frame should be
scheduled as one of the indicators of the progress of the case
A major part of the structure is the orderly process of helping that the worker utilizes. It must also be
flexible so that it can meet human needs. However, it should be anchored on a solid foundation-the
knowledge, values, and skills of the worker.
Structuring is better accomplished when there is a desire and a will on the part of the client to use help
and he is certain that there are resources which he can use, and he knows the reason for every contact
or referral. He knows what he and the worker are hoping to accomplish. When he starts to complain
that "Home visit nang home visit wala namang nagagawa (Always home visiting but nothing is being
accomplished) it means that the worker has failed to make him understand in what direction they, the
worker and the client, should be moving or what is going on. It poor structuring.
Case management
Case management is briefly included here as the manner and timing in the delivery of social services.
Where there is scarcity of resources or too much bureaucracy or red tape, plans may miscarry or be
aborted resulting in great disappointment or frustration not only of the worker but also of the client.
The worker loses face, credibility, or the client's confidence. The worker should be wary about making
promises to the client unless he is sure that the resource is available, it will be on time as needed, and
delivered in an appropriate manner, not touch and go.
Skills in Establishing Partnership

In 1989 Morales and Sheafer wrote that skill in establishing partnership with the client is an important
component of the social worker's skills. They listed engagement, empathy, communication and
observation as necessary in a good working partnership 16
Engagement
Engagement is the period during which the worker begins to relate himself to the task at hand. The
worker's task in engagement is to (1) involve himself in the situation, (2) establish communication with
everyone concerned, (3) begin to define the parameters within which he will work, and (4) create an
initial working structure.
The engagement process should result in (1) the worker being part of the situation, (2) initial
communication channels being opened, (3) the worker and the client linking arms (kapit bisig) in their
approach to a common concern with each knowing what his responsibilities and functions are, and (4)
having agreed on the next step in the process.¹ 18
The initial involvement of the worker may at least come in three different ways. When the client
voluntarily asks for help -this may mean that he is conscious that he has a problem; involuntary
application-the client has been referred for help in accordance with or against his own wishes; and
reaching out by the worker who perceives the client as needing some help which he can use and which
the worker can provide. The initial contacts are quite important because the wrong move may turn off
the client.
Engagement can be achieved only in terms of the concern of the people involved. The worker must be
sensitive to the client's need or problem and communicates that concern clearly to the client. The client,
on the other hand, is able to express his expec tations of the worker and the agency he represents. Only
when there is clear and explicit understanding of both sides of the problem as the worker and the client
see it and when the kind of help that the client is likely to receive is definite can it be said that
engagement has been achieved
Empathy
Empathy may be defined as "understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of one
are readily comprehended by another 19 In social work it refers to the worker's ability to put himself in
the shoes of the client so that he can understand what the latter is thinking of and feeling about his
problem or situation 20 It is included here because it is an essential ingredient of the helping
relationship.
There is empathy when the worker (1) accurately perceives the client in his situation, (2) allows the
client to express his feelings freely, (3) hold distortion of perception in abeyance, and (4) separates his
own feelings from those shared with a client 21
Empathy includes the following components: the abilities to (1) distinguish among and label the
thoughts and feelings of another, (2) to take mentally the role of another, and (3) to become
emotionally responsive to another's feelings 22 The social worker must sympathize with the client and
say so in so many words so that the latter will know that the former knows and understands his feelings,
his doubts, fears, and anxieties, that he is not alone, and that together they would find a solution to the
problem Some studies have shown that when suffering and dilemma are sensed by another person this
is perceived as empathic by the client. 23 This is very true of Filipino clients who are highly emotional
and close relationships are looked for in the helping professionals and workers such as with one's doctor
or dentist.
When there is empathy the client will share more about himself. This additional disclosure of feelings
and personal discussion by the client builds more trust into the client worker relationship and facilitates
problem-solving in the treatment process. Being emphatic makes the social worker more cognizant of
the client and his social context.
Communication
Communication is the sharing or the exchange of thoughts between two or more persons. There are at
least two parties involved in communication: the sender and the receiver In social work it is the process
by which an idea is transferred from its source to a receiver with the intent to change the latter's
behavior, or between the worker and the client. The former may want to alter the latter's behavior and
attitude or motivate him to alleviate his own condition or situation. In the same manner the client
makes known to the worker his feelings, wishes, or aspirations 25 Through the reciprocal process of
communication and understanding the client is then in the best position to transform new information
into new behavior. 26
Communication is a basic ingredient in helping people. Communication may be verbal, nonverbal, or

symbolic.
Verbal Communication
Verbal communication is transmitted in word which may be spoken or written Communication between
the client and the worker is usually in words which are often transmitted uncon sciously, accompanied
by nonverbal communication, that is, expressed in either one's behavior during the period of contact, in
interviewing or discussion Morales and Sheafer point out three fundamental tasks in interviewing. These
are listening, interpreting and questioning 27
Listening is the worker's being sincerely interested in, and concentrating on what is being said. He
should give the client his full attention and can indicate this by occasional brief relevant comments or
questions that will give the client the feeling that the wants to and does understand what the client is
trying to convey. Sometimes a client may stop talking because he is at a loss for words or his emotions
have been heightened by a disclosure. The worker must respect this silence and give time for the client
to gather his thoughts or compose himself
While listening the worker must watch out for differences in language, differences in patois within a
given language or in regional languages and dialects, differences in meaning and uses of specific words,
lack of knowledge or commonality in agreement as to the exact meaning of words and limitation in
vocabulary particularly in expressing nuances of feeling or meaning 28
Interpretation refers to the worker's ability to interpret constantly the meanings (conscious and
unconscious) of the client's words and behavior. It is a continuous process in communication so as to
achieve as fully as possible a clear understanding of the client's problem. Initial interpretations should
not be foregone conclusions as facts. They should be treated as hypotheses to be tested and either
rejected or retained pending further confirmation 29
Questioning is another component skill in communication. The manner and tone in which questions are
asked will often whether or not the question will be answered. The questioning process may be more
productive when there is good timing, appropriateness, and a good relationship with the client.
Leading and open-ended questions are often more productive than questions that can be answered by a
simple yes or no Open-ended questions stimulate the client to elaborate on the story. Questions should
evolve slowly and not interrupt the comfortable pace of the client. Charging ahead of the client with
questions may result in confusion for the client and loss in valuable information by the worker. A good
general rule is to ask questions for only two purposes: to obtain needed information of Ito direct the
client's conversation from fruitless to fruitful channels, 30
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication is communication without the use of words. It is conveyed through the
person and the setting. The person's appearance-physique, posture, body odor, dress, tension, facial
expression, behavior, silence or speech tone or voice, gestures or movements, eye contact, touch, body-
sounds all convey messages to the worker, in the same manner that the worker may convey messages
to the client. The physical setting also sets the atmosphere or climate of the contact between the client
and the worker just as it does for other people in other settings. Some executive or business offices, for
example are so luxurious and sterile that the visitor from another environment may feel uncomfortable.
Social welfare agencies, it may be noticed, generally use simple rooms, desks or tables and some chairs
and the setting is a bit isolated from the rest of the waiting crowd so that the client is not intimidated.
Nonverbal communication is continuous, with or without verbal communication. It is the principal

means by which attitudes and feelings are conveyed, but it goes on throughout any contact between
two people, the client and the worker. It is an important means of communication at the beginning
phase of the helping relationship. This is when the worker is still trying to get through to the client.
There are many samples of nonverbal media. To begin with, there's the voice or to be more specific, the
tone of voice. The tone can be disinterested or noncommittal as in the case of a street child who has
been already picked up several times and later released so that he could not care less. Or he knows all
the from previous encounters with social workers. He can sound glib and confident. Social workers often
rely on a person's facial expression when communicating. He may be saying "Yes" verbally but his face
or other body movement convey just the opposite of what he is saying.
We are all familiar with silence as a potent form of nonverbal communication. It may mean agreement
or consent, it may also mean dissent and hostility, or even indifference, as when a client keep quiet as a
sign of resignation. On the other hand, the client may be silent because he has not fully understood the
worker's question or meaning or he and the worker are not communicating on the same level. So the
worker must be particularly aware of and knowledgeable of the needs of the client as well as the culture
of the group from which the latter comes so that he can interpret correctly the silence of the client.
Besides interpreting gestures the worker must watch out for such movements as relaxation or tension of
the body, restless movement, biting the nails or keeping one's hands busy, clench ing or wringing or
playing with something The beginning prac titioner is often told to look out for "eye" contact. If the
client does not look at you when giving an answer or telling a story it may mean that he is not telling the
truth, that he is lying However, there may still be some cultures in our society where direct gazes
between two persons especially a male and a female are taboo, in other cultures young people are not
supposed to look directly at their elders or interrogators The social worker must be well aware of these
cultural differences lest he err in his interpretation
Observation
Observation is noticing it and paying attention to what is being verbally said or nonverbally
communicated. Oftentimes the worker is so intent on listening to or watching a client that he fails to
realize that what he is observing and the conclusions he is about to make may be colored by his own
values.
It has been said that people see only what they are socially conditioned to see. Social workers therefore,
should become more aware of the particular biases that color their perception of others, such as the
phenomenon known as countertransference, where the worker projects on the client an earlier
emotional experience.
An observation involves a choice of what to see. The worker must continuously decide what should be
observed during a contact with the client because it is not possible to observe everything at the same
time. In a family group he should observe how the mother relates to her child who happens to be the
client or the attitudes and behavior of the parents towards each other, or how the client interacts with
his siblings. If he decides on one he might miss a more significant one in the others. In the final analysis
he must decide for himself what he wants or needs to observe. A rule of thumb is that worker's
observation should be goal directed 31 What is it that he wants to know or achieve during this contact
or interview? Knowing that, then his observation should focus on his objective, the purpose of the
interview or discussion.
9
THE USE OF TECHNIQUES IN SOCIAL WORK
TECHNIQUE is the systematic procedure by which a com plex of scientific tasks is accomplished. In social
work it refers to the procedure by which a skill is implemented Normally two or more techniques may
be used to enhance a basic skill. In this chapter we are presenting a few techniques which are often used
by direct practice workers bearing in mind our people's sociocultural characteristics. These are: small
talk, support through ventilation, reassurance and instillation of hope, exploration, clarification,
education and advice, universalization, reward and punishment, role rehearsal and demonstration,
confrontation, conflict, manipulation, andragogy, and conscientization. A combination of these
techniques is often used by the worker in his contacts and interviews with the client as he assists the
latter to move on to the solution of his problem. Some of these techniques have been described by Brill¹
and Northen² in their writings, but the last two, andragogy and conscientization are foreign concepts
introduced by Latin Americans which our practitioners have indigenized into techniques.
Small talk
Small talk refers to inconsequential conversation. It is used in almost all contacts between the worker
and the client. It is used by the social worker at the beginning of a contact, that is, the first interview or
the first home visit to put the worker and the client, especially the latter, at ease. It should not be
confused with dialogue. The latter is a prolonged exchange of ideas and opinions. Small talk may be
initiated by the client but in our culture it is usually begun by the worker who may sense the former's
need for it.
Small talk is advisable only when there are no urgent matters to attend to and there is no pressure. In a
crisis situation when feelings are high or immediate action is needed, small talk should not be used. One
goes straight to the point like "Ano nga ba ang nangyari?" (What really happened?) If used at all it
should be done with sensitivity to the situation, and the presence of anxiety, fear, and anger under
which the client is laboring
It is a Filipino trait used to break the ice especially at a contact where two persons are meeting for the
first time or had not seen each other for sometime It is customary for people to talk or bring up
inconsequential or unimportant matters like the weather or a piece of daily news before taking up
matters of importance, usually the purpose of the contact or interview It is often resorted to, a common
technique used even when speaking with another person through the telephone. This enables the caller
to assess whether or not the request about to be made or the information to be given will be received
cordially. This is quite evident in personal letters which usually start with the wish that the receiver is in
good health and ends with the sender's best wishes and God's blessings.
Illustration
The worker was expecting the visit of a young probationer who was supposed to report to the court
social worker every last Saturday of the month. A few days ago his mother had stopped by to talk to the
worker who reminded her that the youth was due to report on said date. Client works as a helper in one
of the stalls in the market. Worker began by asking where the client came from.3
W-Ah, ikaw pala, Jun-Jun Halika, tuloy, mag sign ka muna sa logbook. Take your seat Galing ka ba sa
palengke?
C-Sa bahay po.
W- Akala ko nanggaling ka sa palengke at Sabado ngayon. Hindi ba maraming taong namimili pag
Sabado?
C-Pagka umaga po. Ngunit pakunti na ang namimili pag tanghali na. At saka nagpaalam po ako kay Mang
Juan, alam niya ito kaya nakauwi muna ako para kumain bago pumarito.
W-Ah, ganoon ba? Eh, ano naman ang sabi ng nanay mo?
C- Sabi po niya, dalian ko raw at pihadong nag-aantay na kayo.
W- (Smiling) Sabihin mo sa nanay mo ay maraming salamat. O sige, magpahinga ka muna at baka pagod
ka sa biyahe. Ang hirap ng sasakyan ngayon, ano? Iaayos ko lang sandali itong mga papeles at saka tayo
mag-usap
English Translation
W- So it is you, Jun Jun Come inside and sign the logbook. Take your seat. Did you come from the
market?
C- From the house
W-I thought you came from the market because today isnSaturday Aren't there many customers on this
day? C-In the morning, yes, but the crowd thins out towards noon. Besides I asked permission from
Mang Juan. He knows about this so I was able to go home, take my lunch, and then come here.
W- Is that so? And what did your mother say?
C. She said to hurry because you might be already waiting for me. W. (Smiling) Thank your mother for
me. You may rest first as you may be tired from the trip. Transportation is so difficult nowadays, isn't it?
I will just arrange these papers and then we can talk.
Support
To support another person is to encourage, to uphold, to sustain some aspect of the client's functioning-
his strength, his attitude, his eagerness to do something about his problem. It means to sustain or keep
steady, to give courage, to express faith and confidence and to give realistic approval to an individual or
group. Supportive techniques sustain the motivation and capacity of people while they are using a
service Support may be given to the client by allowing him to ventilate, reassuring him, and instilling
hope in him.
A client who feels supported finds the courage to express his feelings and thoughts that would
otherwise be suppressed under other circumstances. In so doing he may even unwittingly express his
vulnerabilities which knowledge would be useful in helping him. As feelings of hope, satisfaction and joy
are expressed, these feelings are reinforced if the responses to them are supportive
Most Filipino clients, especially among the poor, look for support from the worker. It is one of the first
things they look for especially when they are about to lose hope or are in despair.
Illustration
The faculty adviser was interviewing a young girl who was seeking transfer from another school and
another course. She was accompanied by her mother who did most of the talking.
The previous year the had qualified for a scholarship offered by a university in which course she
subsequently enrolled. Her grades were very poor and she had to drop out of school before the end of
the second term Examining her transcript of high school records the adviser turned to the girl to praise
her for such a high NCEE (National College Entrance Examination) rating, 98%, and her general average
when graduating from high school which was 90%. With such high ratings the worker wondered why she
did poorly in college.
"I was not interested in fisheries, did not like it at all," the girl replied. "But why did you enroll in the
course?" the adviser asked
The mother intervened. She answered that the scholarship was so tempting free tuition, money for
books and miscellaneous fees, a monthly stipend for personal ex penses, and the of studying at the state
university too. It was too good to pass up, the mother thought and persuaded her daughter to take
advantage of the oppor tunity
"And now you want to take up social work," the adviser noted "Whose choice is it this time?" she asked.
She put a restraining hand on the mother who was about to answer and instead looked directly at the
daughter
The girl looked at her mother who kept quiet and then at the faculty adviser She replied that it was hers.
Her mother had suggested nursing so she can work abroad, or commerce so as to qualify as a CPA
(certified public accountant) but she indicated that she would not go back to school if she was forced to
take up a course for which she had no inclination whatsoever
"But why social work?" the adviser persisted
Haltingly, the girl recounted that she had not known that there was such a course until a friend had
mentioned it to her casually She liked the idea, she had always liked working with people. In high school,
she had been active in projects concerned with the poor, with the out-of-school youth, with community
improvement. She had enjoyed these activities and had derived from them a sense of achievement,
satisfied with what she was doing. While in senior high she had a brief stint as a volunteer in a day-care
center.
Support in this case had been indirect. The adviser had enabled the girl to know for herself why she
should take up social work.
1. Ventilation
This technique involves bringing to the surface the feelings and attitudes that need to be brought out
because these are affecting the psychosocial functioning of the person harboring them-the client. Here
the worker's task is to facilitate the expression of the client's emotion so that it can be brought out in
the open for consideration. Ventilation eventually reduces the heightened feelings of the client.
The purpose of ventilation is to clear any emotional under- brush that may be obstructing a positive
movement. Having allowed the client to express his feelings, the worker should be prepared to help him
move into the present, deal with the problem that occasion or was occasioned by these feelings, and
concentrate on working towards change.
Feelings should not be ignored. They must be dealt with Positive emotions are more easily expressed
and accepted but negative ones are likely to present some difficulty This is especially true when a client
comes from a culture which frowns on the free expression of feelings in front of elders or in the
presence of authority. In the eyes of the client the worker may be seen as representing authority
Nowadays it is becoming easier to get people to express their feelings, especially if they come from
urbanizing and indus trializing areas in the Philippines. Even the folks from the rural areas are learning to
speak up The problem for the worker is knowing how much ventilation to encourage and how to deal
with it, manage it, once expressed Expression of feelings if too long continued tends to feed upon itself
and may escalate to unrea- sonable proportions. The worker must dissipate such feelings before the end
of the interview Failure to do so may result in the client's brooding and indulging in self pity which may
further aggravate his situation
Illustration
The couple had been to come over by the school social worker because their eldest child, a 10-year-old
boy, was having problems. His grades were poor. He was listless and did not pay attention in class. He
was prone to quarrel and fight with the other boys. He was hostile towards the teacher, and refused to
answer questions or obey orders.
During the interview the wife started blaming the husband. She said that he did not spend enough time
with her or the children, especially the boy, did not even attempt to play with them. Oh, yes, sometimes
he would take them to the movies and have lunch or snacks afterwards but these instances were very
rare. He preferred to stay away on weekends. They and their two children were living with her parents
whose house was big enough to accommodate them. However, her husband preferred to stay at his
mother's home. He would leave on Saturday morning or after lunch on some pretext or other and come
back on Sunday afternoon or evening.
The husband answered that he was more comfortable in his mother's house, humble as it may be
compared to his in-laws house. "At home I am the prince," he said. He could read in peace or watch TV
the whole day or play chess with some of his father's neighbors. His father owned a tailoring shop. His
mother did not expect him to help with the housework. She even prepared his favorite food. On the
other hand, at his in-laws' where his mother-in-law was an indefatigable housekeeper she wanted him
on Saturday mornings to help in the house cleaning and other household chores. They had no maids as
these were wont to stay only very briefly He was not even expected to take breakfast ahead of his wife.
They must breakfast together He stressed that he was not at ease in the house and felt that his in laws
looked down on him. "They think I am not good enough for their daughter," he concluded.
The husband's ventilation enabled his wife to understand some of her husband's behavior.
2. Reassurance
Reassurance by itself is indirect support of the client. The technique involves assuring the client that the
situation with which he is struggling has an attainable solution and that he has the capacity to deal with
his own problem.
Reassurance can also be used with respect to the client's capacities, feelings and achievements. The
client needs to be reassured that he may air his questions and concerns without fear He must also be
reassured of the significance of his own achievements and his own capabilities to deal with the problems
that face him. He needs to be reassured that he would be helped in his particular situation.
Reassurance must be realistic. The worker cannot afford to ignore reality. It should be given at the
proper time, giving the client a chance to adequately express his concern and grief. It should be done
knowingly with awareness that both general and specific adaptations are possible in all situations.
Reassurance should be comforting and enabling.
Reassurance is a valid technique because there is no life situation to which some adaptation can not be
made although there is nothing that can be done to stop the inevitability of a terminal illness or the
demolition of a squatter's hut due to urban renewal. One can ease the pain of a patient whose days are
numbered with love and care provided by family members and arrangements for those to be left
behind. The assurance that they will eventually be able to own the houselot to which they will be
relocated will make up for the pain of house demolition for squatters.
Illustration
(This example is part of the social treatment used by the worker in the case included in the previous
chapter to illustrate a socioeconomic history. [See Chapter 8, page 156])
The disabled carpenter let his wife do most of the talking although once in a while he intervened. When
he did so it was mostly to complain and bewail his fate. He wondered how he was going to support his
family again. He was out of work and seldom left the house. He excused himself by saying that until now
he has not yet learned very well how to use the crutches given him. How would he ever find a job again
and what kind of work could he do now?
Worker reminded the client that nothing had happened to his hands, only to one of his legs. Therefore
he could work again as a carpenter at jobs which did not require him to climb. But first he must learn to
walk with the crutches so that he can move about. Then perhaps he could learn and acquire related
carpentry skills which would not require him to move about so much like cabinet or furniture making.
The worker would explore the possibility of voca tional rehabilitation for him Once he has acquired
these new skills he could be gainfully employed once more. But first, he must learn to use the crutches,
and undergo some retraining which would qualify him for carpentry work which would not require much
leg work.
3. Instillation of Hope
Finally, support is given when the worker demonstrates interest in client's efforts and progress,
encouraging his efforts, offering realistic assurance, and expressing hope that things will be better. The
preceding case illustration on reassurance also means that at the same time the technique can instill
hope in the client
Exploration
Exploration is used to elicit necessary information, to bring out details about experiences and
relationships as the client perceives them, and to examine the feelings connected to the relationships
and experiences. The worker draws out descriptive material, possible explanations and emotions
connected with the facts and explanations.5 It is an important step in the problem-solving process as it
reveals and gives facts which could provide a deeper understanding of the person in situation con-
figuration It is an aid to diagnostic assessment leading to an improvement in the individual or group's
psychosocial functioning.
Exploration may be divided into two types, according to Reid and Shyne. The first is exploration about
the client's situation and his relation to it; the second are explorations into the client's own behavior 6
The first category includes inquiries about external circumstances, characteristics of other people, and
interactions with others.
A factory worker who was fired from his job was referred to the agency for possible assistance. At
intake, the worker asked the following questions after the man stated his problem
Do you know why you were fired?
What was the reason? Were you the only one fired?
What did your co workers say.
How about your immediate boss? Was he the one who dismissed you?
Are you getting any separation pay or any other benefits?
What did "Personnel" say about it?

The second category concerns the client's understanding of himself-his feelings, state of well-being,
personality characteristics and patterns of functioning. Still with the above case, the worker is very
likely to ask the following questions How did you feel when you were fired?
Was it sudden or did you have any inkling about it?
What did you do afterwards? Did you go home right away?
When did you break the news to your wife? What was her immediate reaction?
And you, what did you do? What did you say?
Exploration is a major technique used in social work practice. Oftentimes without his realizing it the
worker resorts to it when he starts to ask questions, proceeds to investigate systematically so as to
discover new and significant facets of the case which have not been brought up before He ventures into
unknown grounds which he thinks and feels will yield information to further illuminate the case
Exploration is a means of examining situation by baring facts, opinions and feelings into the open so that
sufficient understanding of the person group configuration is obtained to work towards goal
achievement
Clarification
To clarify is to make understandable a point or two. As a technique it is often used in connection with
exploration. When a worker explores, he must also make the client understand clearly his questions and
in turn also make sure that he understands clearly the information or message the latter is conveying to
him. Clarification is also intended to promote self awareness on the client's part that is, his
understanding of himself in relation to significant other persons and to his situa tion. Clarification should
insure that the worker and the client are on the same thinking and understanding level.
Illustration
A farmer is now in the hospital because of a broken leg. A neighbor brought him. He was referred to the
Social Service Section for counseling. He has refused so far to consent to an operation. The doctors
warned that unless they amputated the leg very soon the gangrene that has infected it is likely to spread
to the rest of his body and it could be worse. They thought that he was simply afraid to be operated on,
hence his refusal.
After some small talk the worker eventually asked him why he refused to undergo the operation. The
client shook his head and said that he was afraid that if he died no one would take care of his grandson.
The boy is only 10 years old and the only one left in the house. A kind neighbor looks after him every
once in a while. The worker replied that the patient's condition would worsen if he did not have the
operation soon. The farmer said that he wants to ascertain first that his grandson would be taken care of
in case anything happened to him
Here the worker was able to clarify that it was the thought of the grandson's welfare that kept the
patient from consenting to an operation. So he asked the patient if he would agree to the operation if
arrangements could be made for the proper placement of the boy in case this would be necessary When
the man said "yes" the worker started to explore with him the possible alternatives or solutions: staying
with relatives, foster child care, etc.
Education and Advice

Education and advice was formerly known as advice-giving and counseling However, later day writers
like Reid and Epstein were of the opinion that education is the better term because giving suggestions
and advice is a special form of education Northen supports this stand 9
According to Schwartz one of the major tasks of the social worker is to contribute data, ideas, facts and
value concepts which are not available to the client and which may prove useful to him in attempting to
cope with that part of social reality which is involved in the problem with which he is working. Thus the
worker based on his knowledge of the client in his situation offers suggestions (educational information)
and advice to serve two functions to give the client specific recommendations that, if carried out, may
further the attainment of his goals, and to provide the client with an important source of emotional and
cognitive stimulation 11
Change at least even on one level is easier achieved by the client if he knows what is desirable and
effective with respect to rational self-interests. Lack of knowledge contributes to ineffective functioning
Counseling falls within the realm of education and advice as in social work it refers to the provision of
ideas, opinions and suggestions based or drawn from the worker's professional knowledge
Brill wrote that education and advice-giving are most effective with a client when
1. There is a crisis and ability to cope with the problem has broken down and he is suffering from
anxiety, pain, fear and so on
2. He has a well-founded confidence in and respect for the advice given either because the adviser is a
person of authority, a member of a particularly responsible group or is professionally knowledgeable in
the matter about which the client is concerned. The social worker falls within the last category
3. His cultural conditioning or life situation is such that he tends to depend on others rather than on
himself for direction and solutions This is still particularly true of people "prom di," a local term used to
refer to people or folks from the provinces and small towns who have yet to assimilate city ways and
values. The farther away they are from urban and industrial centers, the greater the dependency of
these folks on persons of authority.
4. The advice is given in such a way that the person's in tegrity and right to be self determining is
respected and it jibes with his needs and wants. The emerging concepts of people empowerment and
participation underscore this aspect of self-determination.
5. Circumstances are such that the client has no other alternative but to take the advice 12 A man who
may have weighed the consequences of going back to the province against his staying on in the city
without a job or a means of livelihood will welcome advice on how to go about it once he has reached a
decision to remain in the city or go back to his village
Advice is most helpful when it deals with the means to achieve an objective, and how to do it rather
than the ends themselves. Sometimes the client may already have reached a decision and uses the
worker only as a sounding board. The success of this technique will be determined by the client's
capacity to use it and the worker's ability to make valid assessments of this capacity 13
Illustration
Dr. and Mrs. Luis de Castro wish to adopt Liza, a child of the war of ideologies. She is now 10 years old.
She was brought up by a childless couple, Dr. and Mrs. de Castro, who reared her lovingly as if she were
their own biological child. They never told her that she was a foster child nor that she has another set of
parents. Dr. de Castro is a doctor of medicine and a political leader in their community, Mrs. de Castro is
a well-known civic leader.
Liza's real parents were Ka Tina and Ka Tonyo. They were communists, worked in the underground, and
had prices on their heads. Ka Tina was a cousin of Mrs. de Castro with whom she maintained a very
close relationship even when they were on opposite sides of the struggle, so to speak. They never talked
about these aspects of their lives. When Ka Tina delivered Liza she left the baby with the De Castros with
the understanding that some day she would come back for the child. She never did. A year later they
learned that she was killed in an ambush Meanwhile Ka Tonyo had been caught in one of the safehouses
in the city and was now detained in a military camp. He was later released along with many other
detainees after the people power For a while he was content to drift around, trying to locate his
bearings, whether he had a place in what was now called a changing democratic society. His left leanings
were too strong however, and one day he just went back to the mountains.
The problem as the De Castros see it was that while he was still virtually a free man and could move
about as he wished, he would visit the De Castros once in a while bringing small gifts for the child: a
chocolate bar one day, a pencil box on another Liza became very attached to him and called him Tito
(Uncle) Ben (his real name), so much so that the De Castros became alarmed. Yet Ka Tonyo never
revealed himself to Liza as her biological father. Never- theless the foster parents started to fear that
someday Ben would come to claim her as his child and take her away That much he intimated to them
on his last visit, shortly before he went back to join his comrades in the struggle.
The worried De Castros talked it over and decided that the best way to solve the problem was to adopt
Liza formally. That is why they had come to the agency. They had made discreet inquiries and had been
told that it was the government agency authorized to handle child placement cases. They wanted to
keep Liza as their legal child.
They asked Would adoption be applicable in their case? Would Liza be told that she is an adopted child?
Having identified the problem and gathered some back ground information the female adoption worker
started to apply the techniques of education and advice Her task was to determine the merits of the
case. She identified the steps to be taken, the procedures and steps to be followed, the adopting
parents' responsibilities and so forth Much was still to be done. A social case study would have to be
prepared. She explained to them what the case study was all about and why it was needed.
Universalization
Universalization is the utilization of a commonality of human experiences and the strengths of others to
cope with situations similar to those which are troubling the client. To universalize is to pick up or
choose a certain trait or pattern of behavior characteristic of all the members of a particular culture or
of all human beings.
Universalization is used to:

1. soften the overwhelming impact of a situation with the realization that others have faced and dealt
with similarnproblems,
2 share and compare knowledge about the ways of dealing with them, and
3. lend the strengths of others to the individual with the problem 14
A worker who has been approached for help by a woman who has recently been widowed could point
out the example of another 'solo' parent preferably in the same socioeconomic circumstances like the
client who managed to raise her children single-handed while at the same time earning a living.
Or the distraught mother of a juvenile offender may be consoled by the information that other
adolescents in similar circumstances properly handled and guided eventually find themselves and
emerge from the experience better motivated and self-directed. The worker could point out as an
exmple a popular young movie or TV personality who was helped to abandon his wayward tendencies.
Filipinos, often at a loss for words to convey sympathy or or to instill hope in a friend or a loved one,
tend to condolence universalize. Thus someone who had just lost a job because the company he was
working for had closed down may be consoled by the thought shared by another, that perhaps it is time
for him to move on to something better. Or the comforter might even cite the experiences of some
people they both know and wind up with the saying that "When one door is closed to you another one is
opened," a characteristic of the pious Filipino.
There are many examples from which an observant worker may draw for comparison or emulation. Such
persons may be found in the local scene or are popularly well-known When utilizing this technique the
worker should be sensitive to the specific commonality of experience most appropriate.
Reward or Punishment
One gets rewards for good behavior or is punished for misbehavior. This is a technique well understood
even by young children and the young people-the teenagers. It is also used with adults although in
another guise, not obviously reward or punishment. This technique may be used when there is better
understanding of the causes and greater ability to anticipate and control the consequences. The worker
who uses it needs specific learning, particularly regarding the behavior to be enforced and the methods
of reinforcement
For instance, a child in an institution kept annoying and quarrelling with the younger children. She was
reprimanded each time she misbehaved but it fell on deaf ears. Finally she was told. that if she persisted
in annoying the younger children she would not be allowed to join them on a Christmas outing. That did
it. The anticipation of a good time outside the institution motivatem her to change her behavior. In the
case of a group of out-of-school youth, the prospect of being granted a capital loan under the agency's
self-employment assistance program served as incentive for them to make good at the prevocational
training program that they were undergoing
In another instance the community worker agreed to help the barrio people secure funds to build the
tennis court they wanted so much provided that they repair the dilapidated school building first. In the
barrios during summertime a tennis court serves many purposes as an auditorium during fiesta time, as
a drier for palay, abaca, or tobacco leaves, as a playground for the children, youth, and adults, and a
courting place for the swains on moon lit nights.
Role Rehearsal and Demonstration

Role rehearsal may be used extensively when learning new ways of behavior is required. It is done by
discussion or actual setting up of role play situations or by demonstrations The client participates, acts in
the simulated situation In this way he is able to assume and develop some of the feelings that the actual
event will call into play. These emotions can then be identified and discussed
For instance a youth from the province who had been staying at a home for transients has
demonstrated good behavior during his stay. He is now deemed ready for employment as a houseboy
and is being referred to a prospective employer for that purpose. He would be interviewed He and the
worker went through the paces of knocking at the how to say "Good morning, Sir," how to sit, how and
what to answer, etc. Sometimes, a worker may even have to teach a client what transportation or rides
to take, where to get a ride and where to get off. The use of simulated or actual experiences or
demonstration facilitates the client's learning because it is not dependent on concepts or on words to
communicate ideas. Teachers and trainees in adult education have observed that illiterate people or
those with low education can benefit more from this type of learning rather than a verbal approach or
formal teaching methodology.
Illustration
In one of the depressed areas in the city the community leaders, deploring the poor environmental and
health conditions in their area decided that for a start they should have garbage cans at strategic places
where the residents can throw waste materials like paper and banana peelings or even garbage. The
garbage trucks seldom went into their community to collect garbage. They had heard somewhere that
City Hall was giving garbage cans for free to those who asked for them. However, the community leaders
did not know how to go about it and sought the help of the community worker. So what the latter did
first was to help them prepare the letter for City Hall asking for the garbage cans. That done they
decided on who among them will go to City Hall to deliver the letter, whom to approach, what to say,
what to expect, what behavior would be most appropriate. A rehearsal of roles was demonstrated with
the community worker playing the director. Needless to say, they got their garbage cans quickly and
they thanked the worker profusely. He reminded them that the credit was theirs since in the final act
they were the ones who did.
la real life, in the day-to-day occurrences of daily living individuals are often called upon to assume new
roles. Such roles create anxieties and bring on many problems heretofore unknown to the persons
concerned. The worker can enhance the client's fanctioning by rehearsing role performance either
through discussion or role play. Sometimes, instead of using role play, the worker may demonstrate how
these actions may be carried out.
Confrontation
To confront is to come face to face with the hard facts of the situation with reality, to bring a person
face to face with something. In social work it is to bring the client to face the reality of a feeling,
behavior, or situation. It is a form of limiting behavior which faces a person with the fact that there is a
contradiction between his own statements and that of other sources and that his behavior is irrational,
that it is destructive to self or to others. Unlike interpretation it is not concerned with the meaning of
behavior but with stopping it 15
As such a person or client thus confronted may initially act with hostility and defiance. On the other
hand confrontation may provide the client with the opportunity to express his pent-up anger and
frustration at the time.
A rule of thumb would be for confrontation to be focused on specifics rather than on generalities.
People can understand and accept the need for change if it is related to a particular source of
discomfort.
Moreover, it has been observed and experienced by direct practitioners that confrontation is an
effective, therapeutic technique when it is accompanied by a high degree of empathy; it is not when
employed by practitioners with little empathy 16
Illustration
Worker asked the mother whether she would be willing to give up her daughter to the institution for
eventual adoption She had, to all appearances, abandoned her not having visited the child for several
months. This was the reason the worker went to visit her at her home, to ask about her plans for the
child.
The mother answered that she would not. As a matter of fact she was planning to get her daughter back.
Worker replied that if this was so why did she never come to visit Maris, even at least once a month?
Did she not miss her, did she not care? If she had Maris' older sister living with her why not Maris, too?
Client replied that it hurt her more seeing Maris and yet be unable to bring her home. Anyway she was
planning to get her daughter-someday when she was earning enough to herself and her two daughters.
She added that she was thinking of demanding support from the father of Maris who was working as a
security guard Worker asked if she had talked to the man about it. She replied that she had tried once
but he had quickly said "No" adding that he had already another family of his own. The mother then
asked for the worker's help as she planned to sue him for support. Worker replied that she, the client,
would be having a difficult time as the case is likely to drag in court. Even if she qualified for free legal
aid she would be spending much for transportation and incidental expenses and perhaps wasting time.
Besides, there is little chance that she would be getting any financial support from him at all. A security
guard does not earn much. Moreover, he has a wife and children to support. The client did not answer.
Worker suggested that they (worker and client) start thinking of other means to increase the mother's
income so that she can take Maris back, that is, if she really wants to Worker understands her money
problems. Meanwhile she should come to the institution to visit her daughter whom she had not seen
for sometime. She might not recognize her anymore. They set up a date for the visit in the very near
future
Notice that in this case the worker used the soft approach in confrontation. The technique is useful only
when the worker is prepared to follow up with concrete plans for the reshaping of the reality that she
has attacked The worker must know how to handle the avalanche of ill feelings that are likelky to come
out from the client and which may be projected on her. Another problem here would be how much
confrontation the client can use and how the worker can handle it.
Direct confrontation is seldom used by the worker because in our culture it can be threatening We
would rather beat around the bush or use a third person to deliver the message for us. However, it has
its uses and may be needed sometimes. The worker must be skilled in its use in order not to upset or
turn off the client.
Conflict
17 Conflict is a type of stress produced when a person is moti vated by two or more needs in such a
manner that the satisfaction of one need may mean the dissatisfaction of another one conflict may be in
the individual himself, between him and others, or between groups. The
Conflict is a part of life. It takes place even in everyday situations. Hence individuals need to know how
to fight and end up without rancor or hard feelings because when differences occur feelings tend to be
high. The resolution of conflict depends on rational considerations. However, the worker must recognize
the factor of emotions, let it be expressed, and use power, compromise, and agreement to resolve
conflict. The worker must know how to use and handle it in order to induce change for the better He
must be able to teach the techniques to his clients and help them become free enough to use them. As
conflict is associated with disagreement, opposition and collision, the worker must know how to use it
constructively in the helping process.
Helping a client resolve a conflict is another technique. Con flict by itself is not necessarily a technique
but it requires the use of other techniques such as confrontation. Conflict of ideas, of values, beliefs or
tradition becomes the starting point of other techniques. The goal may in itself create a conflict but once
the end or the objective has been agreed upon, the conflict is likely to be about the means to achieve
the end.
Nowadays many Filipino men as well as women go overseas in order to find lucrative work. Under our
present social and economic conditions a husband's going overseas is taken for granted. Neither is it
much of a problem when husband and wife both working abroad find themselves in the same country or
their places of work are accessible to each other. They can visit each other. The conflict arises when only
the wife has found employ ment leaving the husband and children behind in the country. This is contrary
to their values; it is the man who must go out to earn à living. Should she or should she not grab the
opportunity? But they need the money to improve their lives specially for the children's education. This
is a conflict that she will need to resolve not only by herself but also with her husband.
Conflict may also arise when a projected good runs counter to certain values and traditions.
Illustration
The government had decided to construct a dam on the Angalacan River which would supply the
surrounding areas with much of its irrigational needs and 540 mega watts of electricity For the past
several months government officials and community workers have been trying to convince the ethnic
tribes to agree to have themselves relocated as the river dam's 45 square kilometers reservoir would
include their homesites which would soon be under water. They were told that the river dam would
bring progress. The surrounding valleys not taken over by the dam would become fertile and they
themselves would be benefited as new lands would be given them. There was also the prospect of new
job opportunities as new industries would be set up in nearby areas. In the meantime they would be
relocated and resettled and social services would be available and accessible to them
The community leaders refused the offer of relocation and other benefits. spokesman said. To you
this is only a valley-to us it is the universe. Here we live peace- fully as free men with hardly any
interference In the past as far as the central government was concerned we did not exist. We were for
the most part ignored or neglected Now you are telling us to leave. This is our land, we own it for we
inherited it from our ancestors. It is our main source of livelihood. Our roots are here, the spirit of our
ancestors who lie buried in these hills look after us and protect us. Here, we have everything we need.
We know of no other place. Now you want us to transfer to strange places in the name of progress.
What will it mean to us?
In the preceding example the conflict is between progress and the old lifestyle, traditions and values.
Manipulation
Manipulation means skillful management of events. Thus in social work there is such a thing as
environmental manipulation as when for example a child is removed from a troubled home and placed
under temporary care in order to save him from a cruel and abusive parent. Or, the worker may
manipulate a situation to give an insecure client success which will bolster his own ego or self-esteem,
such as success in sports for a shy teenager.
The worker as manipulator must always bear in mind three things: 1) the client's right and need to be
involved both in decid ing and doing; 2) the client's ability to participate; and 3) the distinction between
those activities that are appropriate for the worker and those that are appropriate for the client.
The worker must possess very sound values based on the integrity and rights of the individual and of
society in order to manipulate constructively and positively and without exploiting others. As
manipulator he will be dealing with resources and individuals which he can execute effectively from a
position of power, status and authority. The social worker as a manipulator possesses these qualities by
virtue of his being a professional and a representative of a social agency
Illustration
The barangay residents had long complained that they had no potable water in their district. They have
to wake. up very early in the morning or stay up late at night to be able to get water from the next
village. Petitions have been turned down by the water company on a technicality: they were squatters
and therefore did not own the land. The landowner must give permission for the company to install
water pipes in the area. The landowner refused to make himself accessible to the residents or listen to
their petitions. The people felt that the only recourse was to present their problem to the city mayor
who had, during the election campaign, promised to look after them. But now the problem was how
they could reach him. He was a very busy man always surrounded by alalays (helpers/ hangers-on) and
bodyguards. They were cautioned to be very careful because the mayor was virtually a sick man having
just had a triple bypass. How could they call his attention to their problem? They consulted the
community worker.
He reminded them that the mayor was scheduled to inaugurate a community center in the next
barangay within a few days. Would they be able to talk to him then? They doubted that very much
because they did not want to intrude in the other community's affairs. How then could they attract his
attention? In case they had forgotten, the mayor would be passing through their village to get to the
other community. They did not want to take up much of his time, just a few minutes but they wanted to
be sure that he the message. It would be better to write down their request so that he will not miss it.
The barangay officers decided to draw up a resolution stating their problem and petitioning for water. It
would be handed to the mayor at some appropriate moment during the celebration or after the
ceremonies. It was also ar- ranged that a few placards would be put up on the road through which he
would pass to catch his attention Men, women, and children would line up the road for visual impact.
The barangay officers would be in front so that the mayor would have to stop to greet them; they would
thus be able to answer any question that he may ask as he passed by. Then they would join his
entourage to the next village.
The above is an example of how events can be manipulated to achieve an objective leading towards a
goal.
Manipulation is an acceptable technique for social workers when it is used to achieve a desirable goal or
to provide the client with a constructive experience. It is shrewd and devious when it is used for one's
purpose as when a person tricks another one into doing what would be advantageous to the schemer. It
is also wrong when it is used to achieve personal ends, or to push people around without regard for
their need and right to participate in decision-making where they are personally concerned.
Andragogy
Malcolm Knowles, an authority on adult learning describes andragogy as the art and science of helping
adults to learn 18 Andragogy reinforces the efforts of direct service workers to enhance client's social
functioning Knowles who is a humanist believes that the greatest learning takes place when teaching
methods and techniques involve the individual most deeply in self-directed inquiry This is when the
adult learner has a deep psychological need not only to be self-directing but also to be perceived by
others as self-directing In view thereof, the responsibility for learning should be placed in the hands of
the adults themselves. Social workers when using the techniques involved in andragogy use teaching
aids and indigenous resources that enable the adults to assess their own needs, formulate their own
goals, share responsibility in designing and carrying out learning experiences, and in evaluating their
own program and progress.
In the field, workers hold seminar workshops to create self- awareness and perception, train for group
cooperation, problem- solving, leadership, and the like. Learning is drawn from the participants through
the use of group dynamic exercises, role playing, simulation games, visual aids and simple literary
materials, comics, audiovisual devices, and others.
Filipino social workers have been using andragogy extensively as a technique in nonformal education
since the 1970s. Sometimes it is used under the guise of human relations training but by whatever name
it is called, social workers especially the group workers and community workers use it with various types
of clientele groups: community leaders, out-of-school youth, mothers' club, etc.
Social workers themselves have gone through this kind of training as a means for continuing
professional education. Many agencies include this technique or method in their in-service training or
staff development program.
Consciousness-raising (Conscientization)
Conscientization, or conscientizacao, as it is known in South America is a term that was introduced by a

Latin American adult educator, Paulo Freire. It means the arousing of man's positive self concept in
relation to the environment and society through a liberating education which treats learners as active
agents rather than passive recipients of learning. 19 Consciousness-raising, as it is known in the
Philippines, is more than creating a new awareness of self, of others, of the environment or community
It is a critical awareness of one's own identity and situation For social workers the most relevant aspect
of this concept is praxis. Praxis is a process of reflection followed by action and then further reflection.
Through this process of reflection-action- reflection man is helped to become more aware of, and
responsible for, himself and his world. Praxis when used with clientele groups enable the participants to
develop the capacity to examine critically, interact with, and transform their world, that is, their
environment. Social workers working with disadvantaged groups or communities integrate
consciousness-raising in economically oriented projects and/or those having to do with community
development. For instance, after the sale of the first batch of poultry from a project undertaken by a
group of women, a reflection session was held to assess the various effects or impact of the project on
their individual lives. They discussed the project defects, limitations or strengths and how this project
may affect or is affecting the immediate environment and community.
10
EMERGING CONCERNS
THIS BOOK was written as an introduction to social work practice, specifically, direct practice. Social
work practice takes place wherever people go for help with troubling situations and problems in their
lives, in social agencies, clinics and hospitals, in the work place, therapeutic, residential and
rehabilitative institutions, and in communities. The first three chapters of this book were concerned with
defining the nature and purpose of social work, its historical evolution, and the philosophical base,
values, and ethics of the profession. Six chapters, Chapters 4 to 9 were devoted to describing the
components of social work practice: the person, the problem, the place, and the process. In particular,
entire chapters were focused on the helping process, the helping relationship, the social work methods
of intervention, its tools, skills and techniques. In this last chapter the author proposes to examine
further the knowledge, values and skill base of social work without which no social worker can scarcely
hope to attain the goal of the profession: to enhance the person's psychosocial functioning.
THE KNOWLEDGE BASE
Knowledge may be defined as the "acquaintance with or theoretical or practical understanding of

some branch of science, art, learning or other areas involving study, research, or practice, and the
acquisition of skills 1
The effective social worker engages in knowledge guided practice That knowledge consists of tested
knowledge in the behav ioral and social sciences, theories and concepts related to practice, individual
practice knowledge based on experiences in serving clients (practice wisdom) and being sensitive to, and
know ledgeable about one's self-values, beliefs, and institutions 2
The social worker does not need to possess extensive knowledge in many fields but it is important to
be well-versed in subjects related to helping people interact with their environment. In 1958 Werner
Boehm assumed that social work practice was an art with a foundation of science and values and came
up with what he perceived as the three types of knowledge in social work 1) tested knowledge, 2)
hypothetical knowledge that required transformation into tested knowledge, and 3) assumptive
knowledge (practice wisdom) that required transformation into hypothetical and then into tested
knowledge 3 The practitioner uses all three types and assumes responsibility for knowing which type of
knowledge is being used at any time and what degree of certainty it carries
Tested knowledge is derived from the social and behavioral sciences, hypothetical knowledge is a
proposition still subject to verification or proof; it is suppositional, conjectural and uncer- tain
Assumptive knowledge may be drawn from the practitioner's experiences and observations in the field.
It has to be transformed first into a hypothesis and then tested to be certain that it is valid and
applicable. Today there is a consensus among social work practitioners and educators that general social
work knowledge should consist of the following
1. Social welfare policy and services, including content on social problems, programs and institutions
developed to prevent, treat and control problems; movements and forces that have influenced social
welfare goals, the impact of social policy, and the role of the social worker in formulating policy
2. Human behavior and social environment including content on human growth and personality
development (both normal and abnormal), disease and disability, cultural norms and values; community
processes and other aspects of social functioning of the individual and the group
3. Methods of social work practice which include methods of direct service-casework, group work, and
community or ganization-and the enabling methods of research and administration.
In the Philippines, in social work education a fourth has been added field practice-how to apply theory
to practice. The social work curriculum is thus divided into four areas: 1) human behavior and social
environment, 2) social welfare policy and programs, 3) social work methods (theory), and 4) field prac
tice-the translation of theory into practice
On the other hand Morales and Sheafer drew up in 1989 some parameters around the specialized
knowledge which they thought would be needed by the social worker. In their opinion the knowl edge
components of social work are 1) social work knowledge of the self, the profession, and the methods of
intervention, 2) knowledge of the persons, ie, clients; 3) knowledge of the environment; and 4)
knowledge of society and culture 5
Knowledge of self will enable the individual practitioner to be aware of and to take responsibility for his
own emotions and attitudes as they affect his professional functions. Knowledge of the person is quite
essential so as to understand his problem and his capability for change; knowledge of the environment
is implied in the focus on the person in situation; and knowledge of society and culture is necessary as
man does not live in a vacuum
The same authors developed a conceptual formulation of what they think should comprise the
knowledge that the social worker needs today Five levels were identified as needed in the helping
process. These are: 1) general social work knowledge, 2) knowl edge about a specific practice setting, 3)
knowledge about a speci fic agency, 4) knowledge about a specific client, and 5) knowledge about a
specific contact."
The general knowledge base refers to what the social worker acquired in a social work educational
program before becoming licensed to practice. Knowledge about a specific practice setting means that
the worker must be acquainted with the goals, philosophy, and functions of the field in society. For
example, were he to work in a family welfare setting, one of the things he must be well-acquainted with
is The Family Code, in child and welfare setting, The Child and Youth Welfare Code, and so Knowledge
about a specific agency means knowing the youth purpose and functions for which it has been set up its
policies, programs and services Knowledge about a specific client means about the client such as name,
age, sex, educational attainment and the family constellation. These may be available from the intake
sheet and such other documents, case records or reports malable. Knowledge prepared for the contact
means that the worker must be well-prepared for the contact with the client derived from his general
social work knowledge and knowledge about the practice setting, the agency itself, and the client.
To recapitulate, the social worker's knowledge base includes knowledge of self, of the profession, of
practice intervention modalities, and of the behavior of individuals, groups, the community, and
society.
THE VALUE BASE
The value base of social work has already been taken up in Chapter 3 but we would like to elucidate it
further because values guide the social worker's practice. The use of knowledge must be conditioned by
value considerations. Knowledge must be applied within the context of what is good, proper, just, and
humane.
In as much as social work practice is focused on the interface between the person and his situation or
environment, the worker must be aware of the several sets of values operating at the same time. This
awareness should center on the client's values, but the social worker must also attend to the values of
the social work profession, the employing agency, the community, and the larger society 8
Values have a place in social work because they influence both the worker's and the client's goal and
decisions during the helping phase The social worker must be aware of his own values so that he does
not intrude inappropriately into practice situations. His value choices may not coincide with the needs,
wants, priorities, or realities that the client experiences. The worker must bear in mind that ultimately it
is the client who must live with the decisions that are made and they should be consistent with his or
her own values, not the value system of the worker.
The profession's values also exert a significant influence on professional practice much so that the
student or person considering a career in social work is introduced right from the start to the
philosophical base, values, and ethics of the profession
Agency values and the values of the larger society also affect social work practice. This would be all right
if the profession's values coincide with the agency and societal values. When they don't as in cases
where some of the programs purportedly for national interest do not coincide with the views of a large
section of the population, conflict is bound to arise and some of the workers of a public agency which
receives government support may be caught in a bind The more so when the worker's own personal
values are contrary to the agency policy which he has to follow The social work profession should
contribute to clearing the air by exerting efforts to identify and clarify the value issues especially during
these times when Philippine society is being buffeted by so many conflicting ideas, values, and beliefs.
In Chapter 3 was discussed at some length the philosophy and value base of social work, and some of
the values of Filipino society which are very likely to influence its practice. Also in cluded is the Philippine
Code of Ethics which focused more on the value aspirations of the professions rather than the ethical
conduct of its members. Included in this section are ten value statements sanctioned by the (American)
National Association of Social Workers as an expression of their own basic social values. Because of their
very similarity and relevance to the ideals upheld in our own society, they are enumerated below:
1. Commitment to the primary importance of the individual in society.
This is based on our religious beliefs that man upon his creation was endowed with inherent worth and
dignity
2. Commitment to social change to meet socially recognized needs
Our social workers have long since recognized this need and for the past two decades have labored at it.
Social workers ac cept the primacy of the individual but also hold the govern ment and society
responsible for meeting social needs. Social workers deliver social provisions and services to people not
only to help them meet their basic needs but also as an instrument of social change so as to allow each
and every person to realize his or her fullest potential.
3. Commitment to social justice and the economic, physical and mental well-being of all in society
Our own social workers have always maintained, considering our present circumstances as a nation,
that social justice requires not only equality of opportunity but the accessibility of these opportunities
and resources to all who would aspire to or need them
4. Respect and appreciation for individual and group differences.
Respect and appreciation for the differences among and be tween individuals and groups is one of the
basic values of social work. While belief in the uniqueness of every being is deeply ingrained in us as
social workers, our recognition and appreciation for the varied cultural communities and ethnic groups
is just slowly developing. Social workers must join hands others to create a pluralistic society that can
accommodate a wide range of beliefs, behaviors, languages, and customs. This could be a contribution
to the building of national solidarity.
5. Commitment to developing clients' ability to help themselves.
This is very well reflected in the profession's policy of self- help. It is also demonstrated in the varied
projects it has set up such as livelihood projects, self employment, nonformal and alternative education,
sports and recreation, and for the young adults and the middle-aged, citizenship and leadership training.
6. Willingness to transmit knowledge and skill to others.
An important aspect of social work is assisting clients to identify their strengths that can be utilized for
solving the im mediate problem and to help them learn how to use those strengths in solving problems
that may in the future.
7. Willingness to keep personal feelings and needs from professional relationships.
This is a reiteration of the guiding principles of social work already discussed in Chapter 3
8. Respect for the confidentiality of relationships with clients. This is also discussed in Chapter 3
9. Willingness to persist in efforts on behalf of clients despite frustrations.
Some things are likely to frustrate social workers in their practice a) the dearth of resources and
services-there's never enough to meet the demands of a highly marginalized population, b) heavy
caseloads so that not every case can be attended to on a more or less regular basis, c) agency policy, red
tape, and bureaucracy, and d) not enough social workers to meet the growing demand for social
services. The social worker laboring under these circumstances can easily become discouraged. Tenacity
and persistence are personal qualities that need to be developed.
10. Commitment to a high standard of personal and profes sional conduct 10
This statement directs the social worker to use the highest ethical standards in his practice It also
suggests that the worker must conduct professional activities in a manner that protects the interest of
the public, the agency, the clients and the social worker
In Chapter 3 we reprinted both the American Code of Ethics and the Filipino Code of Ethics Of what use
are these to the profession? According to Loewnberg and Dolgoff a Code of Ethics serves four functions
To
1. provide practitioners with guidance when faced by practice dilemmas that include ethical issues,
2. provide clients and prospective clients who have no way of assessing a professional's integrity and
competence with protection against incompetence and charlatanism,
3. regulate the behavior of practitioners and their relations with clients, colleagues, practitioners from
other professions, employer, and the community, and
4. provide supervisors, consultants, and other professionals with basis for appraising and evaluating
practitioner activities, 11
A code of ethics does not only provide the basis for imposing sanctions against a social worker, but it is
also a helpful guide to practice that protects the interest of clients, agencies, the profession, and the
communities in which social work is practiced.
THE SKILL BASE IN SOCIAL WORK
The skill of social work requires both the appropriate selection of techniques for a particular situation
and the use of the techniques effectively. The professional skill of the social worker consists of his
artistic creation resulting in three internal processes: 1) conscious selection of the knowledge pertinent
to the professional at hand, 2) fusion of the knowledge with social work values, and 3) expression of this
synthesis in professionally relevant activity 12
The major skills and techniques used by the social work practitioner are discussed in Chapters 8 and 9.
What will be stressed in this section is that the social worker can only help the client or clients to
improve their social functioning. He cannot do it for them; the clients themselves must accomplish the
change. Therefore, the successful helping process requires not only the skill of the social worker but also
the skill of the client in using the available help and in changing his or her psychosocial functioning 13
The skill of the client in using help is something that is often overlooked. In our eagerness to deliver or
extend a service we may be prone to make assumptions that are not supported by client's strengths If,
for instance he needs work but has no viable work skills and has finished only the second grade of
schooling what kind of vocational training can he possibly undergo? One has to be realistic. On the other
a client, a blind girl from a poor family was found to be very bright by her teacher despite the fact that
she is the only one in class who cannot see. She is ambitious and wants to achieve a higher education
and eventually become self-reliant. Would you not go out of your way to help her attain her dream?
Sometimes in extreme cases a social worker may feel frustrated and regard a case as helpless A street
child for instance keeps on running away from the institution only to come back after a few days, or a
substance abuser cannot keep off drugs. What should be done with each boy? They may be referred to
other helping professions for treatment and rehabilitation but in the meantime the worker can aim to
prevent further deterioration of the problem.
The planning of any treatment should be based on a realistic assessment of the client's ability to use
help in order to improve himself.
NOTES
Chapter 1
¹Republic Act No. 4373, June 19, 1965, An Act to Regulate the Practice of Social Work and the Operation
of Social Work Agencies in the Philippines and for Other Pur- poses, Article 1, Sec. 1.
In 1970 a small committee of social work practitioners and educators was created by the Philippine
Association of Social Workers to develop an indigenous definition of social work.
'Carol H. Meyer, "Direct Practice in Social Work: An Overview," Encyclopedia of Social Work, Anne
Minahan, ed. (Maryland: NASW, 1987), p. 410. 'Richard Titmus. As quoted by a conference speaker in a
mimeographed paper in 1965.
Walter A. Friedlander Introduction to Social Welfare (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1961), p. 4. SUN
Publication. The Development of National Social Service Programmes, ST/SOA/40. Sales No. 60IV (New
York, 1959), p. 6.
"Republic Act No. 5416. June 15, 1968. An Act Providing for Comprehensive Social Services for
Individuals and Groups in Need of Assistance, Creating for This Purpose a Department of Social Welfare,
Sec. 2. Dean H. Hepworth & Jo Ann Larsen. Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills (Chicago:
Dorsey Press, 1986), p. 14.
Ruth E. Smalley, "Social Casework: The Functional Approach," Encyclopedia of Social Work, Robert
Morris, ed. (Maryland.: NASW, 1971), p. 1192 10Schools of Social Work Association of the Philippines,
Review Notes in Social Work (Manila, 1978), p. 107 Source unidentified.
11Esther Lucille Brown, Social Work as a Profession (Russell Sage Foundation, 1942), p. 18. 13Leonora S.
de Guzman, Fundamentals of Social Work (Manila: SSWAP. 1983), PP. 12-13.
13 Allen Pincus & Anne Minahan, Social Work Practice: Model and Method (Ithaca, Illinois FE Peacock
Publishers, Inc., 1973), p. 3.
Hepworth and Larsen, Direct Social Work Practice, pp. 16-17
Leonora S. de Guzman, Dictionary of Social Work (Quezon City New Day
Publishers, 1988), p. 47. 17Rex Skidmore & Milton Thackeray, Introduction to Social Work, pp. 10-12
Mimeographed excerpt
18Florence Hollis, "Social Casework. The Psychosocial Approach," Encyclopedia of Social Work
(Maryland: NASW 1971), p. 1217 19Dr. Abraham Flexner. "Is Social Work a Profession?" Proceedings of
the Nation-al Conference of Charities and Corrections (New York, 1915), pp. 578-581
20 Frederick G. Reamer, "Values & Ethics," Encyclopedia of Social Work (Maryland: NASW, 1987), p. 802.
21Ibid., p. 803.
Chapter 2
1 James Midgley, Professional Imperialism. Social Work in the Third World (Lon don Heinemann
Educational Books, Ltd., 1981), p. 2.
2 M.S. Gore, "The Cultural Perspective in India," An Intercultural Exploration (New York Council for Social
Work Education (CSWE), 1967), p. 97
3 Midgley, Professional Imperialism, p. 3.
4 Common Knowledge found in social work history books and articles.
5 Donald Brieland, "History and Evolution of Social Work Practice," Encyclopedia of Social Work
(Maryland: NASW, 1987), pp. 739-753.
6 "The English charity workers nursed this belief and the settlers or immigrants carried it to America.
7James Leiby, "Charity Organization Reconsidered," Social Service Review, 58:4 (1984), pp. 522-538.
8 Brieland, "Social Work Practice, p. 741
9 Grace L. Coyle, Social Process in Organized Groups (Smith, 1930)
10 K. E. Reid, From Character Building to Social Treatment (Westport, Connecticut Greenwood Press,
1981).
11 Arthur Dunham, The New Community Organization (New York: Thomas Crom-well, 1970).
12 Murray G. Ross & B. W Lappin, Community Organization Theory, Principles, and Practices (New York:
Harper & Row Publishers, 1967)
13Brieland, "Social Work Practice," p. 747
14Werner W Boehm, Objectives of the Social Work Curriculum of the Future (New York CSWE, 1959).
15NASW-CSWE, "Specialization in the Social Work Professions. Task Force on Specialization. NASW News
(April 1979), p. 30,
16 Practice Commissions Adopted by Directors," NASW News (May 1985), pp. 16.1-
17 Author's personal interview with two nurses then working in the Social Welfare Commission,
formerly the Bureau of Public Welfare in 1948.
18 As defined by the UN and adopted by the Presidential Assistant on Community Development (PACD)
in 1956.
19 Author personally handcarried and delivered the letter of the president of the PASW to the
Commissioner of Civil Service.
20 PACD was then being funded by U.S./AID.

21 Author's personal observation. This was at the start of the community development program in the
Philippines when there was a dearth of pertinent literature on this subject. 22 Author was a member of
the National Economic Council-Social Welfare Administration (NEC-SWA) team that undertook a survey
of Sapang Palay.
Chapter 3
Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J. Filipino Values Revisited (Manila National Book Store, Inc., 1988), p. 44.
2 Ibid.
3 Leonardo N. Mercado, S.V.D., Elements of Filipino Philosophy (Tacloban City Divine Word University
Publication, 1974), p. 71.
4 'Gorospe, Filipino Values, p. 46.
5 Ibid., p. 45.
6 William Gordon, "A Critique on the Working Definition of Social Work Practice, Journal of Social Work,
7:4 (1962), p. 8.
7 Tomas D. Andres & Pilar Andres, Understanding the Filipino (Quezon City New Day Publishers, 1988),
p. 71.
8 Ibid., p. 51.
9 F Landa Jocano, "Management and Culture: A Normative Approach. A paper read during a
conference of the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines, Baguio City, 1981.
10 Andres & Andres, Understanding the Filipino, p. 39.
11Ibid., p. 52.
121bid., p. 56.
13 Adopted in 1979 by the Delegate Assembly of the National Association of Social Workers in the
United States. It became effective on July 1, 1980.
14 Adopted by the Philippine Association of Social Workers (PASW) in 1972.
15 Midgley, Professional Imperialism, p. 12.
16Paul Tillich, "The Philosophy of Social Work," The Practice of Social Work Klenk & Ryan, eds.
(California: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1974), p. 49.
17Clyde Kluckholm & Henry A. Murray, "Personality Formation: The Deter- minants" in Personality in
Nature, Society & Culture (New York: Knoft, 1956), p. 53.
18RF Davis, Spearheads for Reform (England: Oxford University Press, 1967).
19Frederick G. Reamer, "Values and Ethics, Encyclopedia of Social Work (Mary-land: NASW, 1987), p.
802.
20UN Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.
Leonora S. de Guzman, Dictionary of Social Work (Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1988), p. 69.
Chapter 4
1Helen Harris Perlman, "Social Casework: The Problem-Solving Approach," En- cyclopedia of Social Work
(Maryland: NASW, 1971), p. 1206.
2Ruth E. Smalley, "Social Casework: The Functional Approach," Encyclopedia of Social Work (Maryland:
NASW, 1971), p. 1201.
3"Main sources are the written histories of the beginnings of American Social Welfare.
4"Pope Paul VI, Populorum Progressio.
5Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work (New York: Columbia University Press,1982), p. 34
6This categorization is a combination from two sources: William Reid and Laurs Epstein, Tasks-Centered
Casework, 1972 and Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work, 1982, modified according to Philippine
realities.
7"Northen, Clinical Social Work, p. 19.
8Erik H. Erikson, Childhood and Society (New York: WW Norton, Co., Inc., 1963), P. 220.
9Naomi Golan, Treatment in Crisis Situation (New York: William Publishing, Co., Inc., 1978), p. 96.
10 Northen, Clinical Social Work, p. 69.
11 Ibid, pp. 72-73.
12Erlinda A. Cordero, Consuelo L. Gutierrez, Evelina A. Pangalangan, Administra- tion and Supervision in
Social Work (Manila: SSWAP, 1985), p. 7
13Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), p. 21.
14RA. 5416, 1968, which created the Department of Social Welfare.
Chapter 5
¹Leonora S. de Guzman, Fundamentals of Social Work (Manila: SSWAP, 1983), p. 60.
2The concept of casework as a trilogy was introduced by Mary F. Richmond in What Is Social Casework?,
published by the Russell Sage Foundation, New York in 1921. For see Gordon Hamilton, Theory and
Practice of Social Case Work (New York: Columbia University Press, 1956), pp. 181-270.
3Naomi L. Brill, Working With People: The Helping Process (New York: J. B. Lip- pincott Co., 1973), p. 72. '
4Allen Pincus & Anne Minahan, Social Practice: Model & Method (Ithaca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock
Publishers, Inc., 1973), p. 117
5 Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work (New York: Columbia University Press, 1982), p. 60.
6.Dean H. Hepworth and Jo Ann Larsen, Direct Social Work Practice (Chicago: The Dorsey Press, 1986), p.
260
7Ibid., p. 27.
8Gordon Hamilton, Theory and Practice of Social Case Work (New York: Columbia University Press,
1958), p. 214.
9Ibid., p. 214.
10Brill, Working with People, pp. 78-79.
11This is a summary of a case written by Emma Paras in Mobilizing Resources (Quezon City: New Day
Publishers, 1984).
12Brill, Working with People, pp. 80-81.
13Northen, Clinical Social Work, p. 134.
14Brill, Working with People, pp. 85.
15Hepworth & Larsen, Direct Practice, p. 31
16Allen Rubin, "Case Management," Encyclopedia of Social Work Maryland: NASW, 1987), pp. 212-220.
17 Brill, with People, p. 83.

19Tbid., pp. 307-308.
20 Hamilton, Social Case Work, p. 81
Chapter 6
1Helen Harris Perlman, Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1962), p. 97
2Gordon Hamilton, Theory and Practice of Social Case Work (New York: Columbia University Press,
1958), p. 9.
3"Naomi L. Brill, Working With People: The Helping Process (New York: J. B. Lip- pincott Co., 1973), p. 8.
4*Ibid., pp. 48-53.
5Hamilton, Social Case Work, p. 28.
6Brill, Working With People, p. 55.
7Ibid.
8Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work, p. 230.
Chapter 7
1Naomi Golan, Treatment in Crisis Situations (New York: Free Press, 1978), p. 96.
2Mary E. Richmond, What Is Social Casework? (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1921), pp. 98-
99.
3Ibid., pp. 99-100.
4Mary E. Richmond.
5Felix Biestek, S.J., The Casework Relationship (London: Allen & Unwin, 1961), p.25
6"Brieland, Social Work Practice, pp. 742-743.
7Biestek, Casework, p. 19.
8Leonora S. de Guzman, Fundamentals of Social Work (Manila: SSWAP, 1983), p.17
9James Midgley, Professional Imperialism. Social Work in the Third World (Lon- 17. don: Heinemann
Educational Books, Ltd., 1981), p. 8.
10Ibid
11. U. Philips, Essentials of Social Group Work Skills (New York: Associated Press, 1957), pp. 42-43.
12Midgley, Professional Imperialism, pp. 8-9.
13 Arthur Dunham, The New Community Organization (New York: Thomas Y Cromwell Co., 1970), pp.
278-279,
14Leonora S. de Guzman, Dictionary of Social Work (Quezon City New Day Publishers, 1988), p. 50.
15 Mary Sarri, "Administration in Social Welfare, Encyclopedia of Social Work (Maryland: NASW, 1987),
p. 29.
16 Harleigh B. Trecker, Social Work Administration (New York: Associated Press, 1971), p. 150.
17Soledad A. Florendo, "Administration: Social Welfare," Philippine Encyclopedia of Social Work

(Manila: PASW-DSSD, 1977), p. 3.
18Sarri, "Administration in Social Welfare, p. 30.
19William Reid, "Research in Social Work," Encyclopedia of Social Work (Maryland: NASW, 1987), pp.
474-485.
20De Guzman, Dictionary, p. 5.
21 Carol H. Meyer, "Direct Practice in Social Work An Overview," Encyclopedia of Social Work (Maryland.
NASW, 1987), p. 409.
22 Ibid., PP. 410-421.
23 De Guzman, Dictionary, p. 5.
24L. Ripple, Report to the Task Force on Structure and Quality of Social Work Education (New York
CSWE, 1974), p. 28.
25 Jerome Cohen, "Nature of Clinical Social Work," Francis L. Ewatt, ed., Toward a Definition of Clinical
Social Work (Washington, D.C. NASW, 1980), pp. 23-31.
26 Naomi Golan, "Crisis Intervention," Encyclopedia of Social Work (Maryland: NASW, 1987), 360-369.
27 Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work, p. 20.
28Sylvia P. Montes, et al., "Social Welfare: Philippine Setting" (Manila: SSWAP, 1981), pp. 6 62.
29 De Guzman, Dictionary, p. 31.
30 Northen, Clinical Social Work, pp. 300-301.
Chapter 8
1'Leonora 8. de Guzman, Fundamentals of Social Work (Manila: SSWAP, 1983), p. 81.
2Naomi Brill, Working With People: The Helping Process (New York: J. B. Lippin-cott Co., 1973), p. 135.
3Ibid., p. 181.
4'De Guzman, Fundamentals, p. 81.
5Excerpted from a recording of an interview submitted by Edgar Danga as one of the requirements in
the Course SW 133, Social Casework, 1980. It was written in Tagalog and is published here in its original
form to preserve its nuances. An English translation is included for the non-Tagalog speaking readers,
especially those from the central and southern islands.
7Ibid., p. 140.
8"Ibid., p. 138.
9Ibid., p. 139.
10Tbid., p. 135.
11"De Guzman, Fundamentals of Social Work, p. 97. An adaptation from Gordon Hamilton's Principles of
Case Recording, 1946.
12Margaret Dwyer & Martha Urbanowski, "Student Process Recording: A Plea for (Family Service
Association of America, 1965). Structure," Social Casework
13 Armando Morales & Bradford W Sheafer, Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces (Boston: Allye &
Bacon, 1989), p. 246.
14Werner Boehm, Objectives of Social Work Curriculum of the Future CSWE, 1959), p. 11.
15 Brill, Working With Peolpe, pp. 108-113.
16 Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, pp. 248-256.
17 Brill, Working With People, p. 74.
18Ibid., p. 76.
19The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Muffin Co., 1979), p. 428. (New York:
(Boston: Houghton
20Leonora S. de Guzman, Dictionary, p. 26.
21 Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work (New York: Columbia University Press 1982), p. 98.
22Norma D. Feshbach, "Empathy in Children: Some Theoretical and Empirica Considerations," Journal of
Counseling Psychologists, 5 (1975), pp., 25-30.
23 Wilbur Wright, "Counselor Dogmatism: Willingness to Disclose and Client's Em pathy Ratings,"
Journal of Counseling Psychologists (Sept. 1975), pp. 390-394
24Tomas Plitt Halpen. "Degree of Client Disclosure as a Function of Past Dis- dosure, Counselor
Disclosure, and Counselor Facilitativeness, Journal of Counseling Prychologists (Jan. 1977), pp. 41-47
25De Guzman, Fundamentals, p. 13.
26#Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, p. 252.
27Ibid., p. 253.
29Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, p. 253.
30 Annette Garette, Interviewing: Its Principles & Methods (New York: Family Service Association of
America, 1942), p. 48. (First published in 1942, it is now considered a classic in social work literature.)
31 Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, p. 252.
Chapter 9
1Naomi L. Brill, Working With People: The Helping Process (New York: J. B. Lip- pincott Co., 1973), p.
134.
2*Helen Northen, Clinical Social Work (New York: Columbia University Press, 1982), p. 96.
3Excerpted from a recording of an interview by Julieta Adriatico, submitted in the course, Social
Casework, 1980.
5Ibid., p. 109.
6William Reid & Ann W. Shyne, Brief and Extended Casework (New York: Colum- bia University Press,
1969), p. 30.
8William J. Reid & Laura Epstein, Tasks-Centered Casework (New York: Columbia University Press, 1972),
p. 172.
9Northen, Clinical Social Work, pp. 121-126.
10William Schwartz, The Social Worker in the Group, Social Welfare Forum (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1961), pp. 157-158.
11Reid & Epstein, Casework, p. 177.
13bid., p. 124.
14Tbid.
16David Hallowitz, et al., "The Assertive Component of Therapy," Social Casework, 48:9 (November
1967), p. 546
17Leonora S. de Guzman, Fundamentals of Social Work (Manila: SSWAP, 116 1983), p.
18Malcolm Knowles, The Modern Practice of Adult Education (New York: New York Associated Press,
1971), p. 4.
19Lyra Srinivasan, Perspectives on Nonformal Adult Learning (New York: World Education, 1977), p. 4.
Chapter 10
1Webster's Third International Dictionary (Springfield, Mass.: G & C Merriam, 1966), p. 1252
2Armando Morales & Bradford W. Sheafer, Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces (Boston: Allye &
Bacon, 1989), p. 181.
3"Werner W. Boehm, "The Nature of Social Work," Social Work Journal (April 1958), p. 11.
4"Harry L. Laurie, ed., Encyclopedia of Social Work (New York: NASW, 1965), p.
5Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, p. 182. 757
6"Harriet M. Barlett, "The Place and Use of Knowledge in Social Work Practice, Social Work Journal, 9:36
(July 1964), p.165.
7"Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, p. 188.
8Ibid., p. 212.
9Ibid., p. 211.
10 Standards for the Classification of Social Work Practice 4 (Maryland: National Association of Social
Workers, 1981).
11Frank Loewnberg & Ralph Dolgoff, Ethical Decisions for Social Work Practice (Ithaca, Ill. F. E. Peacock,
1965), p. 21.
12Boehm, "The Nature of Social Work," Social Work Journal, p. 11.
13 Morales & Sheafer, Social Work, p. 244.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Alexander, Chaucey A. "History of Social Work and Social Welfare," Encyclopedia of Social Work, Anne
Minahan, ed. Maryland: NASW, 1987
Barlett, Harriet M. The Common Base of Social Work Practice. New York. NASW 1970.
Blythe, Betty J. & Brian Scott. "Direct Practice Effectiveness, Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland:
NASW, 1987.
Brian, Scott. "Direct Practice: Trends and Issues," Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland: NASW, 1987.
Brieland, Donald. "History and Evolution of Social Work Practice," Encylopedia of Social Work. Maryland:
NASW, 1987
Brill, Naomi L. Working With People: The Helping Process. New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1973.
Cohen, Jerome. "Nature of Clinical Social Work in Francis L. Ewatt, Toward a Definition of Clinical Social
Work Washington, D.C.: NASW, 1980.
De Guzman, Leonora S. Fundamentals of Social Work. Manila: SSWAP, 1983.________Dictionary of

Social Work. Quezon City New Day Publishers, 1988. Dunham, Arthur The New Community Organization.
New York: Thomas Y Cromwell Co., 1970.
Erikson, Erik H. Childhood and Society. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., Inc., 1963.
Germaine, Carol B. & Alex Gitterman. The Life Model of Social Work Practice. New York: Columbia
University, Press, 1980.
Golan, Naomi "Crisis Intervention, Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland: NASW, 1987.
Hamilton, Gordon. Theory and Practice of Social Case Work. New York: Columbia University Press, 1956.
Hepworth, Dean H. & Jo Ann Larsen. Direct Social Work Practice. Chicago: Dorsey Press, 1986.
Hollis, Florence. Casework: A Psychosocial Therapy. New York: Random House, 1972.
Hopps, June Gary & Elaine B. Pinderhughes. "Profession of Social Work: Contemporary Characteristics,
Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland: NASW, 1987
Kahn, Alfred J., ed. Shaping the New Social Work. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973. Konopka,
Giselle. Social Group Work. A Helping Process. Englewood Cliffs, N.J Prentice Hall, 1963.
Meyer, Carol H. Social Work Practice: The Changing Landscape. New York: Free Press, 1976.
_______"Direct Practice in Social Work An Overview," Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland: NASW,
1987
Miclat, Agrinelda. "The Baranganic Approach, Philippine Encyclopedia of Social Work Manila:
DSSD/PASW, 1977 Middleman, Ruth R. & Gale Goldberg. "Social Work Practice With Groups,"
Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland: NASW, 1987
Midgley, James. Professional Imperialism. Social Work in the Third World London Heinemann
Educational Books, Ltd., 1981.
Morales, Armando & Bradford W Sheafer Social Work: A Profession of Many Faces. Boston: Allye &
Bacon, 1981.
Northen, Helen. Clinical Social Work. New York: Columbia University Press, 1982
Perlman, Helen Harris. Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1962.
Pincus, Allen & Anne Minahan. Social Work Practice. Model & Method. Ithaca, Ill FE Peacock Publishers,
Inc., 1973. Reamer, Frederick G. Values and Ethics, Encyclopedia of Social Work Maryland: NASW, 1987
Reid, William J & Laura Epstein. Tasks-Centered Casework. New York: Columbia University Press, 1972
Richmond, Mary E. Social Diagnosis. New York Russell Sage Foundation, 1917
Rubin, Allen. "Case Management, Encyclopedia of Social Work. Maryland: NASW, 1987
Sheafer, Bradford W & Pamela S. Landon. "Generalist Perspective," Encyclopedia
of Social Work Maryland NASW, 1987 Siporin, Max. Introduction to Social Work Practice. New York:
Macmillan, 1975.
Weissman, Andrew "Linkage in Direct Practice, Encyclopedia of Social Work Maryland: NASW, 1987.
Other References
"Advanced Direct Practice With Street Children Manila: SSWAP, 1989. Mimeographed.
American Association of Social Work "Social Casework Generic and Specific." A Report of the Milford
Conference, New York, 1929.
Balanon, Lourdes G "Problem Analysis as the Basis of Intervention" in A Workshop Report: "Advanced
Direct Practice With Street Children. SSWAP Manila, 1989. Mimeographed.
Boehm, Werner W "The Nature of Social Work," Social Work Journal (April 1958) 3(2): 10-18.
Eufemio, Flora C. "Social Work Practice Perspectives." A paper read at the Tenth National Workshop on
Social Work Education. Manila: SSWAP Nov 28, 1989.
Gutierrez, Consuelo L. "The Knowledge Base and Practice of Social Work With Street Children" in A
Workshop Report. 1989.
Hamili, Ma. Saturnina, Rosario R. Marasigan & Agrinelda Miclat. "Working With Communities The
Community Organization Method. Manila: SSWAP, 1985. Mimeographed.
Marasigan, Rosario R. "Practice Realities With Street Children The DSWD Experience" in A Workshop
Report. "Advanced Direct Practice With Street Children. Manila SSWAP, 1989. Mimeographed.
Montes, Sylvia P et al. "Social Philippine Setting Manila 1981 Mimeographed. SSWAP,
Schools of Social Work Association of the Philippines. "Direct Social Work Practice in Helping Street
Children." Proceedings of the 1988 Summer Workshops in Baguio and Cebu Cities. 1988.
Mimeographed. "Advanced Direct Practice With Street Children."
________A Workshop Report. Baguio City, 1989. Mimeographed.

Introduction To Social Work by Leonora Serafeca-De Guzman (Group 2)

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Introduction To Social Work by Leonora Serafeca-De Guzman (Group 2)

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Introduction to

THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION

SOCIAL WORK DEFINED

The Social Worker

Social Work Practice

NEEDS AND PROBLEMS

Need is defined as a condition or situation in which something necessary or desirable is required or

Food, clothing, housing Economic, legal and health care

Feeling needed and Parents, marital partner

Identity Nurturance, acceptance

others (parents, relatives, teachers, peer groups)

"Hepworth & Larsen

Scope of Social Work

Functions of Social Work

Major Tasks of Social Work

2. Links and helps people obtain resources

3. Makes the resource systems and organizations responsive to the people.

4. Influences and contributes to the improvement and development of social policy.

5. Facilitates interaction between the individual and others in the environment

6. Influence interaction between organizations and institutions

SOCIAL WORK AS A PROFESSION

7. The social work process is based on a client worker helping relationship.

The Professional Image

1) must involve essential intellectual aspirations accompanied by large individual responsibility;

4) possesses a technique capable of communication through highly specialized educational discipline,

A Systematic Body of Knowledge

Sanction of the Community

Regulative Code of Ethics

Its latest innovative approach is community outreach where- by an agency, organization or

SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: HISTORY AND EVOLUTION

RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION OF SOCIAL WORK

INVESTIGATION THE BEGINNING OF SCIENTIFIC CHARITY

EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

From Apprenticeship to Formal Methods

Social Group Work

Towards a Common Framework

In 1962 the CSWE issued a curriculum policy which stated that:

The Social Work Process

1. intake and establishing contact,

Specialization on a Generalist Base

THE PHILIPPINE EXPERIENCE

The Spanish Period

The American Influence

Introduction of Social Work Methods

Social Group Work

Professionalizing Social Work

A Common Frame of Reference for Social

Continuing Professional Education

PHILOSOPHICAL BASE OF SOCIAL WORK

According to Gorospe, a well-known theologian, Western philosophy (originating from Christianity)

Man became master of this earthly domain.

Social Work Values

3) has the capacity for change, growth and betterment.

Some Relevant Filipino Traits

Particularism (or Popularism)

CODE OF ETHICS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS

Summary of Major Articles

1. The Social Worker's Conduct and Comportment as Social Worker

F. Primacy of Client's Interests. The social worker's primary responsibility is to clients.

3. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Colleagues

4. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Employees and Employing Organizations

5. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to the Social Work Profession

6. The Social Worker's Ethical Responsibility to Society