THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION
The uninformed in our society associate social work with dole-outs or acts of altruism the giving
of material aid to those in need, out of a sense of kindness. In this light, many charity-givers or
philanthropists continue to be called "social workers." Indeed, while the social work profession
traces its roots to the humanitarian acts of people who were moved by the material deprivations
of their fellow human beings, it has evolved into a discipline that requires specific competencies
in order to be of real help to people and, ultimately, to be able to contribute to nation building.
Social work is a profession that is practiced independently or as part of a team in many different
fields-health (medical social worker, psychiatric social worker), education (school social worker),
business and industry (industrial social worker), corrections (court social worker, probation
worker), and community development (community organizer), among others.
Social workers intervene in countless problematic situations people find themselves in today:
poverty- stricken heads of families who can hardly provide for their families' basic needs;
women and children who are victims of sexual abuse and other forms of violence; drug abusers
desperately needing rehabilitation; slum dwellers seeking assistance to be able to adjust in
settlement areas; rural residents who are suffering from lack of certain bas amenities like water
supply; victims of natural who need to rebuild their lives; victims of armed conflic and other
refugees with no resources to start anew; former and other released prisoners; discharged
mental patients who all need to be reintegrated to the community; and countless others who
need help in order to function well socially. All of these concern the social worker.
What then, does the social worker do?
SOCIAL FUNCTIONING: SOCIAL WORK'S FOCUS OF CONCERN
William Schwartz states that "Every profession has a particular function to perform in society: it
receives a certain job assignment for which it is held accountable." Thus, we know that a person
who suffers from a physical ailment seeks help from a doctor, a person accused of having
committed a crime consults a lawyer; and a person who needs spiritual guidance sees a
religious leader such as a priest or minister. But what about social workers? What is their
particular "job assignment" in society? With so many individuals, groups, and organizations
engaged in helping others with all kinds of problems, we need to delineate the responsibility of
social workers. Do social workers have competencies which other individuals and groups do not
have?
In reality, there is still a lack of clarity about the professional "job assignment" of social workers,
not only on the part of the public, but also on the part of social workers themselves. Because of
the image of "helpfulness" of social workers, an image which evolved from the Judeo- Christian
roots of the social work profession, many social workers get exploited by others. Their
exploitation is often traced to some social workers' own lack of understanding of what ought to
be the focus of their concern. Let us review different writings about social work's focus of
concern:
Wernes Boehm (1958)2
Social Work seeks to enhance the social functioning of individuals, singularly and in groups, by
activities focused upon their social relationships which constitute interaction between
individuals and their environments. These activities can be grouped into three functions:
restoration of impaired capacity, provision of individual and social resources, and prevention of
social dysfunction.
William Schwartz (1961)3
The general assignment for the social work profession is to mediate the process through which
the individual and society reach out to each other through a mutual need for self- fulfillment.
This presupposes a relationship between people and their nurturing group which we would
describe as "symbiotic" - each needing the other for its own life and growth, and each reaching
out to the other with all the strength it can command at a given moment. The social worker's
field of intervention lies at the point where two forces meet: the individual's impetus toward
health, growth and belonging, and the organized efforts of society to integrate its parts into a
productive and dynamic whole.
William Gordon (1969)
The central focus of social work traditionally seems to have been on the person- in-his-life-
situation complex - a simultaneous dual focus on man and his environment. This focus has
been concentrated at some times on the side of the organism as interpreted by psychological
theory and at other times on the side of environment as interpreted by sociological and
economic theory. The mainstream of social work, however, has become neither applied
psychology nor applied sociology. Emphasis has been on individualizing the person-situation
complex in order to achieve the best match between each person and his environment, in which
either person-behavior or environmental situation may deviate widely from the typical or
normative. We conclude, therefore, that the central target of technical social work practice is
matching the person with the situation that is, intervening by whatever methods and means
necessary to help people be in situations where their capabilities are sufficiently matched with
the demands of the situation enabling them to make a go of it.
Harriet Bartlett (1970)
Social functioning is the relation between the coping activity of people and the demand from the
environment. This dual focus ties them together. Thus, person and situation, people and
environment, are encompassed in a single concept, which requires that they be constantly
reviewed together.
Louise C. Johnson (1989)
Social workers become involved when individuals are having difficulty in relationship with other
people; in growing so as to maximize their potential; and in meeting the demands of the
environment. Harriet Bartlett has described this situation as "people coping" and "environmental
demands." The bringing together of these two aspects of living in society can be termed social
functioning. The core of the social work endeavor is to find the worker and the client interacting
in relation to problems in social functioning which problems are the reasons for the worker-
client interaction. Thus, the ultimate goal of all social work practice is the enhancement of the
social functioning of individuals.The preceding descriptions are consistent with the view that
the focus of social work which is social functioning means the interaction between the
individual and his situation or environment. Social functioning is the key concept in social work
so its meaning should be very clear. The different authors' use of "person and situation" and
"person and environment" makes the use of one or the other acceptable. In any case, there is
need to clarify the difference between "situation" and "environment." The social environment is a
network of overlapping social systems and social situations, including ecological social system
culture and institutions; whereas a social situation is an impinging segment of the social
environment. A social situation is a smaller, more immediate environment that "has meaning for
the individual and that is uniquely perceived and interpreted by him, in which he has one or more
status roles and identities, is a group member and a role performer." An example is the "family
situation" where one functions as a wife, mother, and breadwinner. An aggregate or complex of
social situations (in each of which the individual functions as a group member and has a role,
identity and role set) constitutes the individual's total situation, or milieu. Social work therefore
has a dual focus- how people cope with their life tasks and the demands made by situations or
environments on people. We know that a person's coping capacity is influenced by his/her
physical condition, attitudes, values, knowledge, skills, and perceptions of reality. The worker
must understand this because this may provide an explanation for social functioning problems.
On the other hand, it may be the social situation that is not functional. A social situation is
considered functional when it is experienced as livable and favorable, supportive and facilitative
of well-functioning human beings and of their environing social and ecological systems"
Social workers must engage in situational assessments when working with their clients and
should have a framework for analyzing social situations. When, therefore, is a social situation
dysfunctional? A social situation is considered dysfunctional "when it is structurally and
culturally inadequate or disorganized; is aimless, unfocused, ambiguous, contradictory; is
threatening or harmful; lacks needed resources and opportunities; presents insurmountable
barriers; stimulates unacceptable stress or impulses; generates severe interpersonal role and
value conflicts; requires performance, knowledge and skills that are beyond an individual's
capacity or ability; and does not validate identity."
Social functioning is what results from the interaction between the two forces the individual's
coping capacities and the demands of his situation/ environment. The social worker's "job
assignment" involves "mediating" (Schwartz), or "matching" (Gordon), or striking a balance
between people's coping ability and situational/environmental demands (Bartlett).
Simply put, social work intervention is appropriate when a person or group of persons, out of an
overwhelming or stressful situation of need, or of great anxiety and discomfort seeks help from
or accepts help offered by a social worker/social agency because he is not able to cope
effectively with his problems or to make a personally and/or socially satisfactory adjustment.
This inability to cope could be due to factors in the person's "can't help" attitude or disposition
(values, attitudes, ignorance) and/or in his situation (lack of opportunities, oppressive social
structure, situational demands beyond his coping capacities). The social worker's job is to
mediate between these two forces the person's coping skills and situational demands to enable
the individual, to "make a go of it." A key concept in our understanding of person, situation
interaction es the concept of social role (defined as the socially recognized pattern of behaviors
and activities expected from an individual occupying a certain position in society). All human
interactions involve the performance of certain social roles (e.g., child, parent, employee, patient,
etc.), so that it would be correct to say that social functioning is the result of the individual's
performance of his social roles.
SOCIAL FUNCTIONING PROBLEMS: CAUSES AND RESPONSES
Social functioning (or social role performance) problems may be caused by factors inherent in
the person (e.g., physical condition, attitudes, values, perceptions of reality, etc. which affect
one's "coping"); factors in the situation or environment (e.g., lack of resources or opportunities,
expectations that are beyond the individual's coping capacities); or factors in both the person
and the situation or environment. In view of these, social workers' efforts are aimed at changing
the nature of the person-situation interaction. Specifically, social work intervention is always
directed toward enhancing or improving the individual's social functioning through any of the
following ways:
1) change strategies directed toward the individual if personal inadequacies or sometimes
pathologies make it difficult for the individual to cope with the demands of his situation or
environment;
2) change strategies directed toward the environment if it is the latter that is beset with
inadequacies, or if the situation is such as to be beyond the coping capacities of the individual;
and
3) change strategies directed toward both the individual and the environment.
Many decades ago, a big issue arose about which should be given priority attention by social
work- changing the individual or changing the environment. The issue of the "social vs. the
psychological," (i.e., responsible for social reform on one hand and giving individual help to
persons in trouble, on the other) is an old one which social workers hardly bother with anymore
because of the recognition that personal problems emanate from relationships with the larger
society. It is this person- situation relationship that most social workers, especially in this
country, prefer to address. Indeed, to focus one's effort on merely changing the individual or the
environment is to disregard social work's dual focus on both person and situation.
THE FUNCTIONS OF SOCIAL WORK
In 1958 the Commission on Practice of the U.S. National Association of Social Workers came
up with a statement of what has since been accepted as the three purposes or functions of
social work. 12
1. To assist individuals and groups to identify and resolve or minimize problems arising out of a
disequilibrium between themselves and the environment. This is referred to as the
restorative/curative/ remedial as well as rehabilitative function of social work. The curative
aspect of social work seeks to remove factors which have caused the breakdown in the
person's social functioning.
The rehabilitative aspect tries to put back the person to a normal or healthy state of social
functioning.
Example of the curative aspect and rehabilitative aspect
- helping a girl who engages in prostitution for a living to change her ways through a counseling
relationship and effecting necessary changes in her home or environmental conditions. The
rehabilitative aspect could involve helping her avail herself of opportunities for schooling, skills
training, and legitimate employment. The curative and rehabilitative aspects of social work, as
reflected in this example, are interrelated.
2. To identify potential areas of disequilibrium between individuals or groups and the
environment in order to prevent the occurrence of disequilibrium. This is referred to as the
preventive function of social work which involves the early discovery, control, and elimination of
those conditions or situations which may have a harmful effect on social functioning.
Examples of this function would include counseling on pre-marital and other family problems;
sex education of the youth to prevent early marriage, sexual abuse, etc.; and working for the
enactment of laws and policies that would help prevent abuse of women and children.
3. To seek out, identify, and strengthen the maximum potential in individuals, groups, and
communities. This is referred to as the developmental function of social work. The aim is to
help the individual make maximum use of his own potentials and capacities as well as to further
the effectiveness of available social or community resources. This social work function usually
has an educational aspect. Examples of the developmental function would include helping
unemployed underemployed breadwinners to or avail themselves of opportunities for skills
training while at the same time providing necessary supportive services. Examples of the latter
are day care and/or supplemental feeding for their children; full or partial financial assistance
during the period of their training; and helping an entire community confronted by a serious
malnutrition problem by linking the community to available resources; or, in the absence of such
resources, mobilizing the residents to take action on the problem.
These three social work functions are interrelated. In actual practice, many social workers in the
Philippines, regardless of the field or setting that employs them, usually perform all these
functions. The following illustration shows that different factors can block or impede a social
work client's self-realization. In social work, these factors are dealt with through the exercise of
the profession's three functions.
IS SOCIAL WORK A PROFESSION?
Republic Act No. 4373, promulgated in 1965, (Appendix 1) gave social work formal recognition
as a profession. However, it takes more than the passage of a law to establish a profession.
What, then, constitutes a "profession?"
Based on a careful canvass of the sociological literature on occupations, Ernest Greenwood
was able to distill the following five elements as constituting the distinguishing attributes of a
profession: 13
1.Systematic Body of Theory. "
The skills that characterize a profession flow from and are supported by a fund of knowledge
that has been organized into an internally consistent system called a body of theory. Theory
serves as a base in terms of which the professional rationalizes his operations in concrete
situations.
2. Professional Authority.
Extensive education in the systematic theory of her discipline provides the professional with a
type of knowledge which the layman does not have. In a helping relationship, the professional's
judgment and authority are respected and accepted by her "client," unlike in a transaction with a
non-professional where the rule is "the customer is always right." This authority ascribed to the
professional by reason of her educational background gives the client a sense of security that
the professional has the capacity to help him with his problem.
3. Community Sanction
-Recognition of professional authority is expressed not only in the client- professional
relationship but also in the professional- community relationship.
-community sanctions a profession's authority by giving it certain powers and privileges.
4. Regulative Code of Ethics
Every profession has a built-in regulative code, partly formal and partly informal, which compels
ethical behavior on the part of its members. This code serves to check possible abuses which
can arise out of a profession's exercise of authority, and its accompanying powers and
privileges.
5. Professional Culture
-Formal and informal groupings characterize all occupations, including the professions.
-professional culture." The culture of a profession consists of its values, norms, and symbols.
THE PHILOSOPHICAL AND VALUES FOUNDATION OF SOCIAL WORK
Value" is defined as that worth which man attaches to certain things, systems, or persons within
the realm of usefulness, truth, goodness or beauty.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL WORK
The philosophy of social work is derived from the society of which it is a part. Social work is
based on the belief that man has worth and dignity. This belief is generally associated with
democratic theory, which views man as having worth because he is capable of reason, of
rational analysis, and choice. Howard Mumford Jones, an outstanding humanist, writes
"Humanism implies an assumption about man. It implies that every human being by the mere
fact of his existence has dignity, that this dignity begins at birth, that the possession of this
dignity, even if dimly realized by the possessor, is, or ought to be, the continuum of his life, and
that to strip him of this dignity,
1. Natural vs. Transcendental View. In the naturalistic view, man is part of nature. He can be
studied naturalistic view ,man is part of nature. He can be studied and understood scientifically
as we do the rest of nature so that if we know all that science could teach us we could fully
account for man and his behavior. In this view, man is seen as highly complex, requiring
understanding of multiple and complex social, organic, psychological, and cultural variables.
Present limitations on our knowledge however, make us unable to fully account for man. The
transcendental view, on the other hand, holds that science can never fully explain man, partly
due to our ignorance and partly because man has a potential to transcend the natural order of
things, to choose, to create, and to be rational.
2. Man as Social, Asocial, or Anti-social. Being social, men aspire to live on good terms with
others, to be part of and to contribute to group life, making personal goals subservient to group
goals. As asocial beings, they are discreet individuals who come together to form groups for
their mutual protection and safety. As anti-social beings, men are viewed as inherently self-
seeking, egotistical, out to extend personal gain at the expense of others.
3. Democracy's View of Man. Man is viewed as capable of reason, of rational analysis and
choice. It believes that social, biological, cultural, and psychological influences are powerful in
determining behavior, but that man can overcome these influences and exercise choice.
The following are some of the dominant values of the Filipino around which other specific
values cluster
1. Social Acceptance. Defined as being taken by one's fellows for what one is, or believes he is,
and being treated in accordance with his status, this value is facilitated by the following
intermediate values:
a. Smooth Interpersonal Relations (SIR)
which is a facility at getting along with others in such a way as to avoid outward signs of
conflict. It is believed to be acquired and preserved principally by three means:
(1) "pakikisama" which means "giving in," "concession," or following the lead or suggestion of
another;
(2) euphemism, which is the stating of an unpleasant truth, opinion, or request as pleasantly as
possible; and
(3) the use of a "go-between" (tulay), which means a third party who will carry a message,
assuage a bruise, or prevent an injury.
b. "Amor Propio" is a term used to refer to the sensitivity to personal affront and functions to
protect the individual against loss of social acceptance. Closely related to this value is the value
of "hiya" (literally translated, it means sense of shame.
2. Emotional Closeness and Security in a Family This value is believed to be facilitated through
the following: sacrificing individual interest for the good of the family; parental striving to give
their children an education even at great cost to themselves; older children sacrificing for the
younger siblings; and mothers especially, making sacrifices for the family.
3. The Authority Value. The belief is that families will remain close if someone exerts firm
authority, and that such person must be respected and obeyed. Closely related to the
authority value is the respect for traditions and rituals no matter how impractical they have
become. "Panalangin" (literally, prayer) which refers to blessing or grace one obtains for good
behavior, and "bahala na" (fatalism) are part of this adherence to traditions and beliefs.
This value exerts great influence on the lives of Filipinos. Social work clients will likely consult
parents or other elders instead of making independent decisions. Major family decisions
almost always involve consulting authority figures, even if they are not part of the household.
God is considered the ultimate source of authority, and many Catholic clients are known to
often adopt an attitude of resignation about their problems and "just leave it to God because
He knows what is best."
4. Personalism. This value attaches major importance to the personal factor which
guarantees intimacy, warmth, and security of kinship and friends in getting things done. Some
specific values related to personalism are "tiwala" (trust), "kilala" (personal reference), and
"walang pakialam" (non-interference).
5. Utang na loob. This value literallymeans debt of gratitude. It is granted individuals goods of
services takes place between individuals belonging t different groups. It compels the recipient
to show his gratitude properly by returning a favother it interest be sure that he does not
remain in the other's debt. to two to "Utang na Loob" is considered a cultural value which, like
many others, has both positive as well as negative aspects. In parent-child relationships, for
example, a child usually feels obliged to look after his parents especially in their old age. This
sense of gratitude of a child, however, can also be exploited by parents, who may insist on it
even at a great sacrifice to their child, such as financially or in terms of family relationships
(e.g., a wife may not like having her husband's parents in the same house). In their
professional relationships, a social worker may go out of her way to "repay" a favor done to
her by a colleague; and, in working with clients, the latter would often offer gifts to express
their gratitude for help extended.
6. Patience, Suffering and Endurance. This is a cultural belief that a person must suffer before
he can gain happiness. Relatedly, it is what many still believe, that women, particularly, must
suffer in silence.
SOCIAL WORK GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1. Acceptance of people as they are. The social worker brings into the relationship with the
client her professional education and experience, and the agency's support of her helping role in
keeping with its societal prescribed goals.
2. Participation of the client in problem solving. One can almost say that the principle of
participation is already a given, for indeed, how can there be a "helping relationship" without the
client's participation? Just the same, there is need to stress the point that the worker does not
take over in a helping relationship.
3.Self-determination as a right of the client. The main idea in this principle is that the individual
(or group community) who is in economic, personal, or social need has the right to determine
what his needs are and how they should be met. The worker does not do everything for the
client: for she knows that the client is capable of "self. help." She will not manipulate his affairs,
but will guide him so that he is able to look at his problem objectively.
4. Individualization of clients. The principle of individualization involves "the recognition and
understanding of each client's unique qualities and the differential use of principles.
5.Confidentiality. The idea behind the of principle of confidentiality is to provide the client
protection, within the limits of the law, from harm that might result from his divulging
information to the worker. Trust is an important element in a client-worker relationship. If a
client is to participate fully in the process of solving his problem, if he is to freely express his
feelings about himself and about others in his situation, and if he is to put down his "defenses"
and just be himself with the worker, then there must be some assurance that what he tells the
worker will be kept in confidence. This means that what the client tells the worker is not
discussed with others, except when this is done within the context of professional relationships,
for the purpose of helping the client, e.g., a case conference on the client involving other
professionals. Letters requesting information about the client from another professional or
agency are not prepared without the client first giving his permission. For that matter, what a
wife tells the worker is not shared with her husband without her permission.
6. Worker Self-awareness. In its broad sense, this principle means that the social worker is
always conscious that her role is to make use of her professional relationship with her client in a
way that will enhance primarily the client's development rather than her own.
7. Client-worker relationship. The relationship between worker and client (whether the client is a
person, a group, or a community), is the means for carrying out the social worker's function. The
phrase that "social work problem-solving takes place within a meaningful worker- client
relationship" puts the emphasis on "relationship."
Ambivalence introduce psychiatry by noted psychiatrist, Bleuler, is based on the proposition that
day-to-day the human mind functions in a dualistic way, that conta between its opposing
tendencies (ambivalence), ofte results. This conflict between two opposing tendencie within
one's self are manifested in the terminating experiences of social workers
Transference is a concept from Freudian psycho- therapy. It is believed to take place when the
client unconsciously transfers to the social worker attributes or characteristics of some
important or powerful persons in his early life.
difficult to recognize and control, is "counter transference," which is the worker's unconscious
response to the client's unconscious transference. "Counter transference," which generally
affects the worker's picture of a situation can consequently twist her diagnosis of the client's
problem.
