Social Work Roles
Understand community needs, respond to gaps and barriers in service delivery, and determine effective processes for social and community change.
Example: SMART goal sheets for mental health, action plans for resource acquisition, and self-care plans.
What is Planner?
This theory argues that society is shaped by struggles over power and resources, often highlighting inequality between dominant and marginalized groups.
What is Conflict Theory?
Acknowledging, understanding, and accepting emotional experiences as legitimate and reasonable, even if you do not agree with the cause or the interpretation of events.
Example:
Client: “I feel bad for feeling relieved.”
Me: “That makes sense, you’ve been dealing with a lot, so feeling that way is understandable.”
What is Validating Feelings?
This ethical area focuses on prioritizing clients’ well-being, respecting their right to self-determination, maintaining confidentiality, and obtaining informed consent.
What is Responsibility to Clients?
This competency involves applying ethical standards, using professional judgment, maintaining boundaries, and demonstrating accountability in practice.
What is Ethical and Professional Behavior?
Finding common ground among people with different views and backgrounds. Staying neutral while sharing information and helping people see the situation from different perspectives.
Example: A couples therapist helps a couple overcome their relationship issues.
What is Mediator?
This theory focuses on how people behave based on the expectations attached to their social positions, such as being a parent, student, or worker.
What is Role Theory?
Restates key themes or issues in the conversation, clusters information logically, helps clients organize information they have shared, uses words that differ from clients to; add meaning and check understanding.
Example:
Client: “There’s just so much going on with everything.”
Me: “It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now and it’s getting hard to keep up.”
What is Paraphrasing/Clarification?
This involves treating coworkers with respect, maintaining professional collaboration, addressing conflicts appropriately, and avoiding undermining others’ professional work.
What is Responsibility to Colleagues?
This refers to recognizing how culture, identity, and lived experiences shape individuals, and practicing with cultural humility and respect.
What is Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice?
Supporting and empowering clients by helping them get what they need and fighting for their rights within policies or systems.
Example: A medical social worker promoting increased funding for pediatric cancer patients.
What is Advocate?
This theory suggests that individuals make decisions in relationships by weighing the potential rewards against the costs.
What is Social Exchange Theory?
Group information in a logical way, enumerate key points, use words other than those used by clients to frame the situation, phrased like “So, there are three things you are concerned about…” The purpose is to narrow the scope of work, prioritize issues, and develop focus on goals.
Example: “So right now you’re dealing with stress from work, money, and not feeling supported by people around you.”
What is Summarizing?
This area emphasizes following workplace policies, promoting ethical practices within agencies, ensuring proper supervision, and advocating for adequate resources for clients.
What is Responsibility in Practice Settings?
This refers to analyzing, advocating for, and influencing policies that impact social welfare and client well-being.
What is Engage in Policy Practice?
Linking client systems to community resources to accomplish specific bjectives/goals. Providing information about resource options, making appropriate referrals, and facilitating connections requires that the worker have a broad knowledge of community resources as well as knowledge of the operating procedures of resources, so effective connections can be made.
Example: referring a homeless family to a local shelter, linking an elderly person to home-care services, or connecting a client to legal aid or food banks.
What is Broker?
This theory explains how individuals are influenced by multiple interconnected environments, from family to broader society.
What is Systems Theory?
Offering a possible meaning or explanation of a client’s thoughts, feelings, or behaviors to help them gain insight.
Example: “I wonder if avoiding that situation might be your way of protecting yourself from getting hurt.”
What is Interpreting?
This includes maintaining personal integrity, engaging in ongoing education, avoiding conflicts of interest, and practicing within one’s competence.
What is Responsibility as Professionals?
This competency focuses on implementing strategies, providing services, and advocating to improve outcomes.
What is Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities?
Enhancing group processes and linkages to encourage change efforts. By facilitating group processes, social workers encourage competent group functioning, stimulate intra-group support, observe group interaction, offer constructive feedback, and share information about group dynamics.
Example: families in child welfare, support groups, or community committees
What is Facilitator?
This theory proposes that basic needs like food and safety must be met before individuals can achieve higher-level goals like self-esteem and personal growth.
What is Maslow's Human Needs Theory?
Allowing for people to talk through embarrassing feelings (relief of death of a child, attraction towards minors, etc.)
Example:
Client: “I feel wrong for even thinking this.”
Me: “It’s okay to talk about those thoughts here, you don’t have to hold that in.”
What is Sanctioning Feelings?
This focuses on promoting social justice, addressing social inequalities, advocating for vulnerable populations, and supporting policies that improve societal well-being.
What is Responsibility to the Broader Society?
This involves using research evidence to guide practice while also contributing to knowledge through evaluation and practice experience.
What is Engage in Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice?