Understanding Social Work Essay

In this paper, the role of a social worker will be addressed. A Human Service professional has, in its hands, the responsibilities in the life of the clients and families they meet. The tremendous and arduous responsibilities they take on include, but are not limited to, the well-being and care of people and their communities. Such roles can be helping others manage the care of a family member, assisting individuals experiencing problems with family relations and conflicts, dealing with changes that come with growing old, aiding those suffering mental illness and or those individuals struggling with addictions. Briefly

Social workers form relationships with people an assist them to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems. Social work involves engaging not only with clients but their friends and families. Social workers also work closely with organisations such as the police, local authority departments,

Abstract The roles of a social worker are many and although it may be seen to most as a simple profession, it is of great value. A social worker has to broaden his or her horizon to see things in a new perspective. One must be able to understand, empower and help individuals, families or groups to overcome some of lives most difficult obstacles. As a social worker you are supposed to be able to appreciate the perspectives of all parties involved.

Social work professions need to understand the importance of how individuals interact both with other people and their environment, to have an understanding how individuals are affected by these interactions (Rogers, p. 2). According to Rogers (2016), “Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development (p. 2). Their work with clients begins with assessments to evaluations of intervention and is based in and supports of the core value system of the profession.

This essay will focus on how contemporary social workers work to balance the competing demand of care and control. It will start by outlining the nature of the contemporary social work and what it is like and how it works within society. The discussion will then move on to look at and discuss the key professional values of social work practitioners and analyse its relationship to their own personal values, this will also bring into account how these values and views influenced the relationship a social worker can have with both service users and other agencies. Lastly it will explore the range of challenges and dilemmas that are faced by social work practitioners in everyday practice when it comes to trying to balance the demand of care and control and how they work to overcome these problems in order to ensure an effective and fair service to all who avail of it.

Social workers form relationships with people and assist them to live more successfully within their local communities by helping them find solutions to their problems. Social work involves engaging not only with clients themselves but their families and friends as well as working closely with other organisations including the police, local authority departments, schools and the probation service.

Social Work is a career defined as “work carried out by trained personal with the aim of alleviating the conditions of those in need of help or welfare”. Social work varies in several fields, social workers work as part of multi-disciplinary teams with child welfare organizations, adoption and foster care agencies, hospitals, schools, prisons, mental health institutions, and more. Social work may leave the impression that it’s an easy field because it is assumed that all social workers do is serve others and manage paperwork but that is only a small chunk of the job. Social workers must deal with the ethical and emotional aspect of helping others. As a social worker, it is critical to comply with the National Association of Social Workers

Changes to procedures or updated risk assessments can be stated in a document, giving both e employer and employee peace of mind knowing that they are aware of all current procedures and policies.

According to the National Association of Social Work, “The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession’s focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living.”

Social work may not be the most respected profession but it’s a recognizable one. Social workers help people or groups identify their problems, determine their skills and capacities, what they are doing well, and how that was accomplished, and then analyze ways that those strengths might be applied to the identified problems. Social workers are helping professionals.

The role of the social worker is not to change people, treat people, or help people cope, but to nourish, encourage, assist, and unleash the strengths within people. They

Social workers provide professional support and wide variety of services to people who have social difficulties, and are trained to address human needs. They can work in different settings and can specialize in working with people, groups and communities, at all stages of life, from young children to older adults. The role of a social worker varies depending on what setting they are working in, like a hospital or a school.

“The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well being and help meet the basic human needs of all people with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed and living in poverty.” (1)

#1 A: Social work can be defined as a broad profession, with the sole purpose of improving the lives and relieving the hardships of the members of a population. Social work addresses many problems for the well being of society, including: health care, criminal justice and domestic violence, economic and public policies, child and family welfare, as well as homelessness. Social workers are trained professionals with the education and tools necessary to address problems from several different perspectives, with the intention of helping the masses and not just individuals. Social workers have the ability to inform people in need of resources available to help them achieve a wide variety of goals, whether personal social mobility, or financial independence.

My understanding of the profession of social work is to enhance human well-being and to help meet the basic needs of all society, especially the needs of the most vulnerable, oppressed, and the needs of the people living in poverty. Social work leading duties are to promote social justice and social change on behalf of clients.