CLIENTELE AND AUDIENCES IN
SOCIAL WORK
PREPARED BY: GROUP UWU YEET HATDOGS
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Characteristics and Needs of Various Types of Clientele
SOCIAL WORK- profession concerned with helping individuals, families,
groups, and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-
being.
*WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS
*WORKING WITH GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS
De Guzman (1992) explains that the person’s inability to manage stress
which may have been a result of a distressful situation or problem which
caused him/her or those concerned with him/her to seek professional help.
Acquire basic knowledge of human behavior
Stress and the human being’s response to it
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A person is a “BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL BEING” wherein the person is built
up of 3 parts or subsystems- the physical, the psychological, and the
social.
WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS
CASEWORK PROCESS- the individual is the principal client and efforts of
helping are focused on him/her. To facilitate the individual’s social
adaptation, to restore, reshape, or reinforce her/his functioning as a social
being.
Social Casework- is more “client or person-centered” rather than the
problem focused in that it is the person’s mode of adaptation that will
determine whether the problem can be resolved or alleviated or the
Note: In casework, the worker needs to understand that the person’s 4
present behavior is a manifestation of his/her mode of adaptation to
his/her current condition that has caused him/her stress.
MODE OF ADAPTATION
Gains satisfaction
Avoid or dissolve frustration
Maintain his/her balance in movement
o Fight- means physical or verbal projection of angry feelings on others
especially when encountering difficult circumstances, frustration,
disappointment, or even anxiety.
o Flight- when the person physically moves away from the problem like
resorting to drugs, etc.
o Pairing- to enter into a relationship w/ people who are perceived to be
stronger who has the capacity to help you with your problem.
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For the caseworker, the assessment of a person's ego strengths and
defenses are essential in the helping process since it provides insights on
how the client can be helped to ensure an effective and satisfying
adaptation to a successful situation (De Guzman, 1992, 46-47)
Below are some of the clients who may need the social worker or the
agency's help through casework. This may include the following but not
limited to:
(i) Children who are either abandoned, neglected, orphaned, abused, or
exploited;
(ii) Children in conflict with the law, street children, children living with or
affected by HIV;
(iii) Out-of-school youth;
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(v) Solo Parents;
(vi) Person with disabilities, physically, and mentally challenged
individuals;
(vii) Elderly;
(viii) Indigenous peoples;
(ix) Internally displaced persons;
(x) Survivors of natural calamities and disasters, or those affected by
armed conflicts;
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The Typology of clients: The voluntary clients, involuntary clients, and
those who are being assisted by another person or agency.
Voluntary clients (Walk-in-clients)- are those persons who opted to
voluntarily seek the assistance of the worker or the services of the agency
due to a problem or a difficulty. Examples of which are the following: a
solo parent seeking
material assistance, a displaced person asking for core shelter.
Involuntary clients (Reach-out clients)- are those certain types of
individuals in need who may not even consider asking for help because
they think that they are doing fine and will survive somehow or they are
unaware of the agencies
that can provide with them some assistance.
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Other clients (Referred clients)- are being assisted by another person
(other family member, relative, friend or neighbor), group/organizations, or
community leaders/workers who are concerned about the client's situation.
These may include the drug dependent, abandoned child,
unwed pregnant, an elderly without any family, etc.
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De Guzman (1992) also introduced factors (or relationship components/
reactions as some authors would refer) that may affect or influence the
helping relationship between the Client and the Worker.
These relationship components are transference. counter-transference,
and reality.
Transference- are the client's reactions and displacement the worker of
the particular feelings and attitudes s/he may experience earlier in life in
relationship with the members of his family such as the father/mother or
significant other. This is often associated to some mechanism, such as
projection and identification.
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Counter-transference- are the worker's relationship reactions that s/he
may project on the client and usually it is the worker transfers previously
experienced feelings on the client. An example of this is when a worker
reacts to a male client (as the worker reacted in the past with hostility and
anger towards her
own father) who abandoned his wife and son only to set up another
family with a common-law wife.
Reality- is the realistic and objective perception of existing condition or
situation. It is the state of what is actual, what is, and what is true.
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Ethical Considerations that govern the client worker relationship are put
together by Biestek (1957) as cited in De Guzman (1992):
Acceptance - the worker's recognition of the individual's worth as human
being imbued with inherent worth and dignity.
Non-judgemental attitude - no labeling, no stereotyping and non
condemnatory act that refrains from assigning blame, guilt, or failure to
client.
Individualization - every individual is unique and possesses certain traits
or attributes specific only to her/ himself.
Purposeful expression of feelings - worker's allowing and facilitating the
client's purposeful expression of feelings.
Controlled emotional involvement - worker's way of responding to the
client's purposeful expression of feelings. Must involve sensitivity,
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Confidentiality - preservation of secret information concerning the client
which is disclosed in the professional relationship.
Self determination - derivative of the belief in the inherent worth and
dignity of a person - that s/he is endowed with a reason and free will and
is capable of making his/her own choices
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WORKING WITH GROUPS OR ORGANIZATIONS
Social groupwork as a process and method is rooted on the sociological
concept that a person is a social being who has a inclination and need to
associate with other human beings. Another concept of social group work
is that a group can be utilized as a target for change, as a medium for
change, and as agent for change.
As a target for change, members in a groups are clients of an agency with
common problems, need, and concerns that matches the agency`s or
workers group service orientation. As a medium of change, the group is
used to facilitate the growth and development needs of some members of
the group as the need for self-expression, communication, relationship,
developing self confidence, and modifying negative attitudes, behavior
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and values. As an agent of change, the group is used to effect the desire
change needed outside the group.
In social group work process, one should remember the philosophy of social
group work as formulated by Trecker (1965) as cited in Miclat (1995) which
stated that:
The need of the group experience is basic and universal. That group of
individuals can help and grow and change in personality, attitudes, and
values through group experiences… that persons not only develop in groups
but also through groups. And that groups are dynamic, ever changing and
must be accepted by the social worker at its level of development.
THE PURPOSE OF SOCIAL GROUP INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING: 15
I. To enhance the social adjustment of the individual and developing the
social consciousness.
II. To provide opportunities for planned group experiences
that are needed by all people;
III. To provide experiences that are relaxing and that gives individuals a
chance to create, to share, and express themselves, and
IV. To help individuals in groups to take responsibility for their own
behavior, relate with others and how to become participating
members of the society.
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Trecker (1965) also presented the statement of principles as a result of his
long years of study and experience in teaching social group work. These
are the following:
(i) The principle of planned group formation- requires the group in social
group work to possess conscious design and plan and must contain the
potential for social growth of its member.
(ii) The principle of specific objectives- recognizes that specific objectives
for individual and group development must be consciously formulated by
the social group worker in order to effectively meet the group’s needs and
concerns.
(iii) The principle of purposeful worker-group relationship- is premised on
the assumption that there has been an established acceptance between
the group members and the worker.
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(iv) The principle of continuous individualization- entails the worker to
consciously understand and accept that subgroups and individuals within
the group develop and change in varying levels and must therefore know
how to use the group work process in meeting the varying levels of needs
of the members.
(v) The principle of guided group interaction- considered to be the heart of
direction, and conscious utilization of the natural process of social
interaction in the group.
(vi) The principle of democratic self determination- anchored on the belief
that groups have the right to make choices and that they are endowed
with the capacity to make decisions.
(vii) The principle of flexible functional organization- underscores the need
to have flexibility in formal organizations so that it can be adaptive to any
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(viii) The principle of progressive program experiences- emphasizes the
need for the group to engage in program experiences at the level of
member’s interest, need, experience, and capacity. Also, it should evolve
in relation to the developing of the group’s competence.
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Miclal (1995) shared different typologies of groups have their own specific
goals and objectives, to wit;
(i) Growth group- the dominant goal is the personal growth of the
participants in group at all levels in their emotional, interpersonal,
intellectual and spiritual phase of their life.
(ii) Treatment group-the goal is to help solve the individual's problems in
social adjustments, uncover
deep-seated conflicts, hostilities and depression, modify/sublimate
antisocial/aberrant behaviors/attitudes and positive and negative social
and cultural values.
(iii) Social group-the goal is to provide opportunities for social relationships
to the lonely, the friendless, and those who have problems in relating with
other persons.
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TENKYU PAGPALAIN KAYO NG PANGINOON YEET
