Who is a generalist social worker

Perhaps you are hired as a hospital social worker in an oncology department, where not only a need of social systems is important, but it must be integrated with knowledge of research on cancer patient treatment outcomes. Being a good social worker means assisting clients in a variety of ways, utilizing these perspectives to make informed decisions.

Being a social work generalist prepares you to enter nearly any profession within the social and human service field, depending on your own interests, by equipping you with three perspectives: client's right to self-determination, a strengths perspective, and an eclectic perspective.

Therefore, utilizing these perspectives will help you be ready to enter nearly any social or human services role. Certified in the state of Wisconsin to practice Social Work, he is actively involved in philanthropy for non-profits in north-western Wisconsin, working with organizations that provide services in the fields of mental health in both children and adults.

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The Engagement phase is the first interaction between the social worker and their client. The engagement stage does not have a predetermined time frame; it can last for a couple of minutes to a few hours depending on the client and the circumstances. It is very important during the engagement phase that the social worker displays active listening skills, eye contact, empathy and empathetic responses, can reflect to the client what has been said, and uses questioning skills motivational interviewing.

It is appropriate to take notes during the engagement phase for assessment purposes or for reflection. Remember, during the engagement phase, the social worker is building a level of rapport and trust with the client.

The Assessment phase is the process occurring between social worker and client in which information is gathered, analyzed and synthesized to provide a concise picture of the client and their needs and strengths. The assessment phase is very important as it is the foundation of the planning and action phases that follow. The Planning phase is when the client and social worker develop a plan with goals and objectives as to what needs to be done to address the problem.

The planning phase is a joint process where the worker and the client identify the strengths and resources gathered from the assessment phase. Once the strengths and resources are identified, the social worker and the client come up with a plan by outlining goals, objectives, and tasks to help meets the clients goal to address the need or problem.

During the planning phase, keep in mind that the goals should be what the client is comfortable with and finds feasible to obtain. The action phase is also considered a joint phase as the social worker and the client act! The worker and the client are responsible for taking on different parts of the identified task; for example, the social worker may find a local food pantry or help with food assistance program if the client needs food.

The client may work on making a grocery list of foods that will make bigger portions for leftovers to make food last longer for the family. However, the worker and the client are jointly working together to obtain the goal of providing food for the client and their family. If change or progress has not been made the client and social worker will review the goals and objectives and make changes or modifications to meet the goal.

Once the goals have been met, termination of services follows if there are no further need for services or other concerns to address. Sometimes termination happens before goal completion, due to hospitalizations, relocation, losing contact with a client, financial hardships , or the inability to engage the client.

The Follow Up phase is when the social worker reaches out to the client to make sure they are still following their goals, using their skills, and making sure the client is doing well. The follow up may not always be possible due to different situations such as death, relocation, and change in contact information, to name a few. The diagram below shows the process of the Planned Change Model when working with clients. According to David Sackett, evidence based practice is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of a client.

When working with clients it is important to combine research and clinical expertise. In the field of social work there is constant research being conducted to assess various assessment and treatment modalities.

The research that is conducted provides the evidence that we as social workers use to help our clients improve their living situations and concerns. Lastly, keep in mind that our clients are the experts on their own lives. We must keep in mind what their personal values are and what their preferences are for the outcome of their life situation. This is very important and often can become frustrating as a social worker as we think we know what is right for our client, but it may not be their personal preference.

When working with clients and evidence based practices it is important to know that research is constant surrounding evidence based practices, and as a practicing social worker it is very important to stay abreast of the constant change of new information and changes.

Allen-Meares, P. Grounding social work practice in theory: Ecosystems. Social Casework, 68 , Genograms and ecomaps: Tools for developing a broad view of family. Dziegielewski, S. The c hanging f ace of health c are s ocial work 3rd ed. New York: Springer. Elements Behavioral Health. What are evidence-based practices? Flamand, L. Systems theory of social work. People of everyday life.

Department handbook. Navigation Menu. Generalist Social Work Practice The focus of undergraduate social work education is the generalist practice perspective. HOURS a. Previous Next.