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MASTER IN SOCIAL WORKMSW's Students (2007-2009), Christ College, Bangalore, India

Showing posts with label Social Case Work.Show all posts

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Unit I - Introduction to Social Casework

SOCIAL CASE WORKMary Richmond (1915):

Social Case work may be defined as the art ofdoing different things for and with different people by cooperating

wit them to achieve at one and the same time their own and societys betterment.

Swift (1939):

Social Case work is the art of assisting the individual in developing and making use ofhis personal capacity to

deal with problems which he faces in his social environment.

Hollis (1954):

Social Case work is the method employed by social workers to help individuals find solution to problems of

social adjustment which they are unable to handle in a satisfactory way by their own efforts.

Perlman (1957):

Social Case work is a process used by certain human welfare agencies to help individuals to cope more

effectively with their problems in social functioning.

MEANING AND NATURE OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:

It is a method of social work, seeks to help individuals in a systematic way based on knowledge of human

behaviour and various tested approaches.

Consumers of these services are individuals and their families.

CWers knowledge, expertise and available material resources are used to inject strength in the person.

Person to person relationship, face to face, interpersonal transaction.
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Deals with the adjustment of the individual towards more satisfying human relations, CWer helps the total

individual, i.e., with every aspect of his life (psychological and environmental - social & physical factors).

CWer provides assistance to every individual in accordance to his problem and need.

Problems differ from individuals to individuals.

Process used by certain human welfare agencies to help individuals cope more effectively with theirproblems in social functioning.

SCW involves the following ingredients:

1. Social Agencies: offering specialized services.

2. Application: client applies for agencys assistance.

3. Continuing service: agencys service remains continuous until solution.

4. End of the process: when client no longer requires agencys assistance; when client develops effectiveness

in coping with his problem and resolves the problem.

* A PERSON with a PROBLEM comes to a PLACE where social worker helps him through a well -defi ned

PROCESS. Perlman.

PERSON: man, woman, child, and aged, anyone with social emotional living.

PROBLEM: arise from some need /obstacle /accumulation of frustrations or maladjustments which

threaten the adequacy of the persons living situation or the effectiveness of his efforts to deal with it.

PLACE: social service agency, social welfare department.

PROCESS:progressive transaction between caseworker and client.

PURPOSE OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:

Basic purpose is to enable the client to enjoy with some degree of permanence. More satisfying, effective

and acceptable experiences in the social situation in which he finds himself.

Essential task is the facilitation of the social relationship.

(Witmer) Chief aim is to help them mobilize their capacities for the solution of their problems.

Help them so that they will be better able to meet future difficulties with a more effectively organized

personal strength.

(Moffett & Hollis)Bring about a better adjustment between individual clients and his situation or

environment.

(Bowers) Better adjustment in the social relationships of the individual and the development of individual

personality.

In general, the purpose of social case work is to help an individual client to solve his psycho-social

problems in such a way so that he finds himself capable of dealing with these problems at present and also

may solve in future if such problems arise.

OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:


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To understand and solve the internal problems of the individual.

To strengthen his ego power.

Remediation of problems in social functioning.

Prevention of problems in social functioning.

Development of resources to enhance social functioning.

SOCIAL CASE WORK VALUES:

Social casework values have roots in the democratic social system. They are:

1. Every man has inherent worth and dignity.

2. Every individual has the right to self-determination.

3. Every individual is the primary concern of society, has potential for and the right to growth.

4. Every individual, in turn, has to contribute to the societys development by assuming his social

responsibility.

5. The individual and society in which one lives are interdependent.

6. Basic human needs have to be met by services which are not dependent upon in accord either to moral

behaviour or to race, nationality, caste, etc.

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:

o Man is a bio-psycho-social being who is in constant interaction with his environment.

o All problems in social functioning are psycho-social in nature and most are interpersonal as well.

o Within certain limits, man can be understood and helped.

o Man can grow and change limited only by his inherent capacities and potentials.

o Every person is unique as well as similar to others.

PRINCIPLES OF SOCIAL CASE WORK: (BIESTIK)

Principle of Individualization.

Principle of Purposeful expression of feelings.

Principle of Controlled emotional involvement.

Principle of Acceptance.


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Principle of Non-judgmental attitude.

Principle of Client self-determination.

Principle of Confidentiality.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:

Ancient timesindividuals in every society have been helped by others to solve their problems.

Late 19th and early 20th centuryit took professional shape

1869Origin of Charity Organization Society in London.

The main aim of the society was to find out ways and means of helping the poor and needy and thus to

organize used volunteers, called friendly visitors.

They visited the homes of the poor for the purpose of assessing their need, for rendering material

assistance and for giving them guidance and advice.

These friendly visitors were subsequently called paid agents.

These paid helpers gradually developed systematic procedures in performing their tasks; they collected

data, helped them after assessing and also maintained records (personal data, type of help rendered).

Case work gradually developed into a professional method.

1877Organized efforts were taken by the American Charity Organization Society in U.S.A., similar to

that in London.

The paid agents received training in investigation, diagnosis and treatment for which the New York

School of Philanthropy was established towards the end of the 19 th century.

1895End of 19th century in England, a concept called Almoners (outside visitors) was introduced. Sir

Charles Loch appointed Almoners to help hospitals to serve patients effectively. Almoners were similar to

friendly visitors and paid agents.

1898The first School of Social Work was established in New York.

1911Case work had emerged in USA as an accepted formal technique. Since the early social workers

handled cases of families in need, they were called caseworkers in USA.

19141917The first training programme for casework started at this time, based more on the medical

modelSummer trainingstarted by many schools of social workrecognized by professionals.

1917Mary Richmond wrote her first book called Social Diagnosis which set forth a methodology of

helping clients through systematic ways of assessing their problems and handling them. The book also

introduced the principle of individualization and clients right to self-determination. Impact of I World WarThe First World War made a wide impact on social case work. Psychiatry in this

period became more important. The contribution of Freud and his followers influenced the method

employed by the caseworkers in dealing with the individuals. CGC movement and treatment, prevention of

mental problems and delinquency strengthened the psychological orientation of this approach.

1920s - Various definitions of case work under the influence of Freudian theory (internal factors

individual responsible for his problems).caseworkers realized that ore responsibilities should be given to


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individuals to make decisions of their life. Professionals also began to move into other fields like prisons,

schools, etc.

1930Economic depressionCase workers had to consider the economic factors which were causing

distress to clients, leading to emotional distress and breakdown. Focus shifted from individual to

modification and manipulation of the clients environment to enable him to adapt to his situationssatisfactorily.

After World War II, with the problems of morale, leadership, propaganda, separation, communication, etc.,

social workers found social sciences more useful. There was increase in personal problems on the part of

clients due to financial crises.

1950sThis was an era of private practice. Professional agencies started growing in this field. Case work

started going into the community.Richmond (1922), Hamilton (1951) and Pearlman (1957) also

emphasized on the problems of social functioning.

1960sLot of importance was given to research and social action. Heredity vs. environment casework

method adopted new techniques and principles.

Social Case work in India: - American case work had its influence in India, as the first professional social

workers who did case work in the Indian setting were trained in the American Schools of Social work.

1911N.M. Joshi, one of the founders of the Trade Union Movement established an organization called

the Social Service League. The League conducted training programmes foe volunteers, whose services

were later utilized for relief work among people suffering form famines, epidemics, floods and other

disasters, and also for welfare programmes among the poor and the destitute.

1936 - The Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work was started in Bombay, the training for social

work changed into a full time career oriented, educational programme. 1946 Case work figured, both as a

theoretical course and also as a method of practice in the academic programme.

Social work as a profession and as an academic programme has been enlarged and enriched by new

perspective, ideas and theories.

LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL CASE WORK IN INDIA:

Borrowed the methodology from the West.

Lack of indigenous literature.

Lack of recognition to the field of social work.

More focus on urban settings and silent on its relevance to the rural areas.

It is time consuming.

Notes only. Not for detailed reading.

Sukanya Sathish, Lecturer, Dept. of Social Work, Christ College.

Posted byMSW 2007-2009 at10:27 AM3 comments:

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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

supervision in social case work

FIELDWORK PRACTICE AND USE OF SUPERVISION IN DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL SELF AND

THERAPEUTIC SKILLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION TO AND HISTORY OF FIELDWORK TRAINING 4

OBJECTIVES OF FIELDWORK TRAINING 5

COMPONENTS OF FIELDWORK TRAINING 5

INTRODUCTION TO AND HISTORY OF FIELDWORK SUPERVISION 7

OBJECTIVES OF FIELDWORK SUPERVISION 9

FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISORS IN FIELDWORK TRAINING 9

Introduction 9

Functions of Faculty Supervisor 10

Functions of Agency Supervisor 12

METHODS OF SUPERVISION 12

Methods of Faculty Supervision 12

Methods of Agency Supervision 14

SUPERVISION IN CASEWORK 15SUPERVISION IN A PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT 17

Administrative Supervision 17

Supportive Supervision 18

IMPLEMENTING SUPERVISION EFFECTIVELY 18

CONCLUSION 20

BIBLIOGRAPHY 22

INTRODUCTION TO AND HISTORY OF FIELDWORK TRAINING

Social work education is a combination of practical training and theoretical learning. The origins of

social work education can be traced back to the Charity Organization movement who from the very

beginning encouraged discussions between visitors and paid agents. Gradually, the organization began

to conduct more formal training programmes. The training was directed at new recruits who were
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selected to be paid agents. The new agents were apprenticed to more experienced workers,

participated in group teaching sessions conducted by the general secretary of the organization and

were assigned readings from a well developed library. Simultaneously, literature devoted to the

principles and methods of charitable work and related subjects was growing. The development of a

knowledge base accompanied by the realization that social service transcended charitable intentionsand required intelligence and skill, saw the emergence for the need for social work education.

The development of a knowledge base made it possible to offer courses on social work at colleges and

universities. However, the credit of introducing training programmes for students of social work goes to

the New York Charity Organization Society. In 1898, it conducted a six week training program for

twenty seven students of social work. This programme was seen as the beginning of professional social

work education. This summer course expanded to become the New York School of Philanthropy, the

first full time school of social work.

As social work education evolved, it became even more apparent that mere classroom lectures were

not enough to comprehend practical situations, in professional education. It was this fact that led to

the realization that formulating an extensive well planned fieldwork programme was inevitable.

Fieldwork training thus started as field instruction through apprenticeship in social agencies.

A fieldwork programme provides an opportunity to students to apply their theoretical knowledge

taught in the classroom appropriately in different practical situations. It is considered to be learning

through doing. It can be seen as a way to transform knowledge through certain skills and techniques

into action.

The significance and purpose of fieldwork training can be summed up in the definition given below:

Fieldwork in social work is carried out in and through social welfare agencies and communities, where

the student learns skills, tests out knowledge according to an educational plan. The whole programme

is student and field specific. Fieldwork training is a supervised practice of student social worker under

the guidance of trained social work educator or field personnel.

OBJECTIVES OF FIELDWORK TRAINING

Through the fieldwork programme, students are helped to become competent professional social

workers. Various objectives of fieldwork have been specified by organizations such as the Social Review

Committee (1978) on Social Work Education in India, as well as the Delhi School of Social Work. These

objectives can be summarized as follows:Participation in the process of helping and change

Development of positive attitudes towards self and others

Acquisition and development of skills in collaborative teamwork, planning and organization

Experience of shouldering responsibility to deal with critical situations

Experience of confrontation with oneself as a means of self growth and its use in action

COMPONENTS OF FIELDWORK TRAINING


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There are four components of fieldwork training in social work education:

the social welfare agency

the trainee student

the faculty supervisor, and

the agency supervisorA student is placed in one or more social welfare agencies for fieldwork training throughout the

academic year. The student will have to operate in different settings in each agency based on the

programmes being run by the agency. For example, agencies working in a hospital setting will operate

in an environment which is different from agencies working in a community setting.

The faculty and the agency supervisor aim at imparting training to the students who are learners.

Fieldwork training for a student is preceded by a meeting with the faculty supervisor to seek guidance.

This meeting is more in the nature of acquainting the student with the relevant part of the theory,

which needs to be related to what is learnt in practical situations. At the agency, students are once

again guided by the agency supervisor on the procedure, methods and practices to be followed for

learning in practical situations.

Thus the student operates between the work assigned at the agency which could be a client or a group,

the agency and the supervisors.

The above relationship can be diagrammatically represented as follows:

INTRODUCTION TO AND HISTORY OF FIELDWORK SUPERVISION

As has been stated above, supervision is fundamental to the process of fieldwork training. The primary

responsibility of a fieldwork supervisor, whether from the faculty or from the agency, is to perform

three major roles, viz teaching, administering and helping.

Like in the case of social work education, supervision also has its roots in the Charity Organization

Society movement. The societies realized that financial assistance was only one aspect of the service

rendered by it. The more important component of help was offered by the "friendly visitors",

volunteers who were assigned to families to offer personal support and influence behaviour in a socially

desirable manner.

As volunteers, the friendly visitors" were generally assigned to a limited number of families. Limited

caseloads together with a high turnover of volunteers meant that the agencies faced a continuous

problem of recruiting, training and directing new visitors. These tasks were assigned to a limited

number of "paid agents" who were employed by the Charity Organization Society. Thus the paid agents

were the early predecessors of modern supervision.

The origins of social work education also speak of the creation of educational institutions who wereassuming the main responsibility for training a cadre of social work professionals. However, since the

number of schools of social work was limited, the bulk of students received their training through

apprenticeship programs at social agencies under the tutorship of more experienced agent supervisors.

In the current context, primary responsibility for professional education vests with the schools or

institutions of social work. However, agency supervision continues to perform an educational function

as a supplement to formal social work training institutes.


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Supervision is also highly steeped in its origins in social casework. At the outset, the paid agent would

investigate the family to be visited and thereafter select a visitor who would be of most likely benefit

to the family. The paid agent supervisor would try to show the visitor one or more things that could be

done on the first visit, or how to gain access to a family without seeming to have come to visit. The

decision of what was best for the family was based on a discussion of facts by the visitor with the paidagent supervisor, after which the supervisor knowing what was best, told the worker what needed to

be done. However, as social work developed, a greater appreciation of the need to actively involve

clients participation in planning of their own solutions to problems, led to a change in the approach of

supervision. Supervision moved from telling the supervisees what to do to a greater encouragement of

supervisee participation in planning of the solution.

Today, the need for supervision is felt even in the areas of Group Work and Community Development.

The objective of supervision can perhaps be explained through this definition found in the Encyclopedia

of Social Work, 1965:

"Supervision is a traditional method of transmitting knowledge of social work skills in practice from the

trained to the untrained, from the experienced to the inexperienced student and worker."

OBJECTIVES OF FIELDWORK SUPERVISION

The supervisory process in social work aims at the development of a field practicum, integration of

theory and practice and creation of an environment through which the students should be able to learn

practical aspects of social work theories and philosophies.

The objectives of fieldwork supervision are both short range and long range. The short range objective

is to allow students to maximize their knowledge and skills to the point where he or she can perform

independent of supervision. The long range or the ultimate objective is efficient and effective social

work services to clients.

The objectives of fieldwork supervision can be summarized as follows:

To allow students an opportunity to learn the practical aspects of social work by creating a process of

learning in different situations and in different fields of social work

To enable the students to develop the art of dealing with humans in various situations and develop a

social attitude and perspective through their interactions and experiences

To allow students to enhance their interest in the social work profession

To provide them with a head start in their career in the field of social work by providing adequate

practical exposure

FUNCTIONS OF SUPERVISORS IN FIELDWORK TRAINING

Introduction

Before looking at the functions of faculty and agency supervisors in fieldwork training, a brief

description of the content of fieldwork supervision can be looked at. The basic content of fieldwork


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supervision is derived from material developed by Helen Harris Perlman who points out that what every

social worker needs to know is concerned with people, problems, place and process the four ps. To

this might be added the fifth p- personnel, the person of the worker offering the service. The nuclear

situation for all of social work is that of a client (individual, family, group or community- people) with

a problem in social functioning coming, or referred to a social agency (place) for help (process) by asocial worker (personnel)

For each of these areas people, problem, place, process and personnel the supervisor has to teach

something, irrespective of how diverse the agency or the setting is. The supervisor has to teach

something about the how the particular agency is organized and administered, the causes of social

problems, how human behaviour will respond to the stress of these social problems and the sequential

nature of the helping process. In addition the supervisor has to educate the student (who in this

context is the personnel) toward the development of professional identity by helping the student

develop those attitudes; feelings and behaviour that help maintain effective helping relationships with

clients.

With this perspective on supervision, the functions of the faculty supervisors and the agency

supervisors will be discussed.

Functions of Faculty Supervisor

The prime responsibility of a faculty supervisor is to teach students theory and to orient them to

practice, in their respective fields. This process involves

a) framing the practical and theoretical curriculum;

b) teaching the students fieldwork i.e., the meaning of professional relationship, to develop an insight

into own and others behaviour and help them grasp the techniques necessary for successful discharge

of their professional responsibilities; and

c) creating an environment for students to learn in practical situations

There are essentially four phases in fieldwork training orientation, induction, implementation and

evaluation. The functions of a faculty supervisor in each of these phases are briefly given below:

Orientation Phase

In this phase, the faculty supervisor needs to perform the following:

Introduce students to the fieldwork programme of the school

Explain their expectations from the students on professional training

Describe the process of supervision and the role of the supervisor

Induction Phase

The induction phase is more of an introductory and guidance phase before the students are actually


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sent out to social welfare agencies or communities for field work. In this phase, the faculty supervisor:

Introduces the students to the agencies where they will be placed for field work

Educates students on how to use the supervisor-supervisee relationship to seek guidance during

fieldwork and in report writing

Implementation PhaseDuring this phase, the student social worker is working on the field at which point the faculty

supervisor may be called upon to perform the following:

Clear doubts of the supervisees in solving the problems of the client

Help the students analyze their feelings through a sharing of their experiences

Extend support to the student in achieving faster growth and awareness

Carry out on the spot supervision

Ensure that relations between the agencies and the school is being maintained

Evaluation Phase

Evaluation is the objective appraisal of the students total functioning on the job over a specified period

of time. In this phase, the faculty supervisors need to:

Formulate a pattern of evaluation

Carry out an evaluation

Assist the school in maintaining records of fieldwork for inspection by examiners

Functions of Agency Supervisor

The agency supervisor has the crucial task of ensuring that students are able to achieve the maximum

learning while on the field. The functions of an agency supervisor can be summarized as follows:

Practical application of the principles of social work in providing suggestions to problems of individuals,

groups and communities

Ensuring that as far as possible, solutions are achieved by the three basic methods of social work

casework, group work and community organization as well as the three indirect methods of social work

social welfare administration, social work research and social action

Helping students develop skills necessary to handle people in various situations, to solve their problems

and make them self sufficient

Providing necessary skills to enable students to manage an office on their own in the future. This

involves preparation of case sheets, reports, proposals, handling of accounts and administrative paper

work etc.

METHODS OF SUPERVISION

The concept of fieldwork supervision in social work education is dual as it comprises supervision by

faculty members and by practitioners or agency supervisors. It is evident that each has their own

unique functions to perform in fieldwork training. Hence, the methods adopted by the faculty

supervisor and the agency supervisor are suited to their respective functions.


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Methods of Faculty Supervision

The methods followed by faculty supervisors at schools are given below with a brief description.

Individual Conference of Faculty and Students

An individual conference is a purposeful interaction between the faculty supervisor and the student toachieve the following objectives:

To guide each student individually in understanding the process of field work practice

To assist students identify any gaps in their learning during the practicals

To develop and nurture a professional relationship between the students and the faculty supervisors

There are certain advantages to individual conferences which are listed below:

Individual conferences meets the need of the individual worker

It provides a forum for the students to discuss regarding the problems they face

It gives the students the privacy required to express their thoughts and feelings to the faculty

supervisor

Faculty supervisor is in a position to exercise better control over the student and take better care of

their needs

Group Conference of Faculty and Students

In a group conference, the faculty supervisor attempts to educate students in a group with the

objective of achieving the following:

To exchange ideas of each student within the group and help each member of the group learn from the

experiences of the other

To increase co-operation and mutual support between members of the group

To encourage students to speak their mind so as to increase their confidence through group interaction

Group Conferences also provide certain advantages in supervision which are listed below:

It brings about economy of time and effort since information can be disseminated at a stretch to all

supervisees at one time

It brings about a wider variety of teaching and learning experience

It provides skills to the faculty supervisor to supervise students more effectively than in an individual

conference

Field work seminars of the Students

The purpose of field work seminars is:To enable students to learn how to present the work done by them in the field work agency

To develop their art of presentation, self confidence and help them overcome stage fear

Spot Instructions by the Faculty Supervisor

The objective of spot instructions is to:

Allow faculty supervisors to help students learn in practical situations by giving them on the spot

instructions


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Maintaining a Record of Field Work

Since it is very difficult to remember all that is learnt on each day of field work, students need to

maintain a record of what they have done during field work. The faculty supervisor uses the field work

records for:

The purpose of guidance, evaluation and referenceAs a reference to students when they are dealing with clients, and to guide the students for further

practice

Evaluation of Field Work Performance

As mentioned earlier, a students performance needs to be objectively appraised so as to assess his/her

growth as a professional. This process is carried out periodically by the faculty supervisor to understand

the abilities and progress of the students. The other benefits are:

To help students clear their confusions

Enable the faculty supervisor to bring any inadequacies that are impeding the professional growth of

the students to their notice

Methods of Agency Supervision

Agency supervision begins when the students are placed at the social agencies for field work. The

methods followed by the agency supervisor can be explained through a series of steps:

An orientation to the students on the programmes and work of the social agency

Guidance to students on observations to be made in the field

Guidance to students on how to interact with clients professionally. This could comprise written or oral

instructions on how to work with clients, groups or communities

Assist the students to participate in the work of the agency

Guidance on methods of collecting information on the field

Interaction with the students on their professional observations of work done on the field

Help students to establish contact with concerned people who will help them in finding solutions to

their problems

SUPERVISION IN CASEWORK

Casework is one of the direct methods of social work. It helps individuals to solve their problems

effectively on their own. Students are given practical training in casework at social welfare agencies to

train them in dealing with any kind of problem in the field.

Casework training has the following objectives:To provide students an opportunity to study the nature and scope of casework practice in different

fields of social work

To enable students to understand how casework principles are applied in practice

To assist students to study the process of casework, to study ways of diagnosing problems, preparing

treatment plans and evaluating casework practices

To help students learn techniques and skills in interviewing people


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To enable students to prepare casework records for practical use

In casework training, the onus is on the student to acquire as much knowledge and experience as

possible. In this venture, the faculty and the agency supervisor can be of immense help to the student.

Firstly, acquiring theoretical knowledge before doing practicals is essential. Students should request

their faculty supervisors to orient them on casework theory in brief, if not in detail. The teaching bythe faculty supervisor should be supplemented by the students with additional reading on social work

concepts, skills, principles and components of casework etc.

Relating theory to facts is another relevant part of casework training. This kind of comparison of facts

to theory could give rise to a need to have a deeper insight into aspects like social system and social

structure, the scope of social casework in different fields of social work etc. All this increases the level

of understanding of the student, but there may be concepts, terms, processes, procedures and

practices which may not be clear to the student. In these cases, discussion with the faculty supervisor

will help students get a clearer picture of casework.

With this theoretical preparation, students should observe physical handling or dealing of some cases

by the agency supervisor. This observation by the students will help them increase their understanding

of the casework process.

Once the students, have gained sufficient practical knowledge to deal with cases individually, they

should request the agency supervisors to allot some simple cases for study and practice. They should

request the agency supervisors to allow them to go through the personal files of the clients allotted to

them for better handling of the cases. In situations, where this request is denied by the agency

supervisor, the student can ask the faculty supervisor to intervene, if sincere efforts to obtain the

information are not successful.

A formal introduction of the student to the client must be done by the agency supervisor. This helps

the students to initiate the process of establishing a rapport and professional relationship with the

client. The student then goes through a process of collecting information from the client, the family

and other related persons using the techniques that have been studied and observed.

Once the information is collected from the concerned individuals, the data collected should be

interpreted for the right meaning and the responsible causes or set of causes should be arrived at.

After this interpretation and preliminary conclusions regarding the reasons, the students should discuss

the matter with the agency supervisor as well as with the faculty supervisor to confirm their diagnosis.

Ensuring that the diagnosis is correct is essential to ensure that the treatment is correct and that the

reputation of the agency is protected. The role of the agency and faculty supervisor in validating and

correcting if required the interpretations of the student is extremely important.The overall process of casework undertaken by the student should be recorded and submitted to the

agency supervisor and the faculty supervisor for evaluation. The process of evaluation will help the

students to identify their weaknesses and help them overcome this in the future to perform better

casework on scientific lines.

SUPERVISION IN A PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT


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The purpose of social work education, whether theoretical or practical is to create social workers who

are able to execute their tasks professionally, effectively and efficiently. Hence, it is important to

briefly touch upon the methods of supervision available to social workers in a professional setting.

Administrative SupervisionSocial workers work in organizations which have their administrative hierarchy, a set of clearly

formulated rules and procedures, and clearly defined roles and statuses, all designed to achieve

specific objectives. These organizations need to have a process of achieving their objectives in a

coordinated and cooperative effort. Hence, organizations have first line supervisors, administrative

personnel directly responsible for and in contact with direct service workers.

In an organization setting, the first line supervisor needs to organize the work place, and human

resources to achieve the objectives of the organization in accordance with agency policies and

procedures. The supervisor needs to perform certain key tasks for the supervisees who are under his

supervision. These are:

Staff recruitment and selection

Inducting and placing the worker

Work planning and assignment

Work delegating

Monitoring, reviewing and evaluating

Co-coordinating work

Acting as a channel of communication

Supportive Supervision

Supportive supervision is concerned with helping the supervisee deal with job related stress and

developing attitudes and feelings conducive to the best job performance. The main sources of job

related stress for the supervisee are the demands of administrative supervision, the clients, the nature

of social work tasks and at times the relationship with the supervisor.

The role of a supervisor in supportive supervision is to prevent the development of potentially stressful

situations, remove the supervisee from stress, reduce the stress of the supervisee and help him or her

to adjust to stress.

IMPLEMENTING SUPERVISION EFFECTIVELY

Supervision can be made an effective process if certain aspects are kept in mind by the supervisors andthe students. These aspects are given below in brief:

The faculty supervisors should inculcate the principle of self discipline in students

To create responsible and mature social workers, faculty and agency supervisors should teach students

etiquette, manners and effective communication skills

Faculty supervisors should educate students about the necessity of spending sufficient time in field

work (a minimum of eight hours). Students who are irregular should be dealt with sternly


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The performance of the faculty and agency supervisors must be overseen by the higher ups in the

schools and agencies

The supervisors should look into the problems faced by students on the field

Regular individual and group conferences must be held a day before the field training commences

between the faculty supervisor and the students to give instructions and check the field work records

CONCLUSION

As with any process, supervision in field work training has its share of problems. With regard to

students, the effectiveness of supervision can be impeded due to factors such as lack of professional

interest in the student, the placement of students at agencies without considering their interest and

the lack of social attitudes and perspectives among students which makes it difficult for them to grasp

practical aspects.

In relation to faculty supervisors, lack of training and practical experience often acts as a deterrent in

imparting sound and effective supervision. In addition, the lack of infrastructure at schools to develop

a sound curriculum in field work could also hinder the process.

Agency supervisors are employees of the agency and have their own set of responsibilities to fulfill.

Often, this leads to a limited amount of time which they can spend with students assigned to their

agencies for field work training. Also, the limited number of hours that the students spend at the

agency could result in problems like non continuity in learning and lack of association with the work of

the agency. These factors could reduce the effectiveness of agency supervision.

However, not withstanding these types of problems, field work training and the role of supervision in

this training will have its desired effects if the students have the right attitude towards learning.

Students should take full advantage of fieldwork supervision and try to make the best of the situation

to learn professional skills and enrich their field knowledge to practice social work in the field on

scientific lines for effective solution to the problems of the needy and sufferers in society. The

following principles will help both students and supervisors to extract the maximum from this process:

We learn best if we are highly motivated to learn

We learn best when we can devote most of our energies to learning

We learn best when learning is successful and rewarding

We learn best if the content is meaningfully presented

We learn best if the supervisor takes into consideration the supervisees uniqueness

________________________________________________________________________


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Subedhar, I.S, Fieldwork Training in Social Work, Rawat Publications, 2001

Kadushin, Alfred & Harkness, Daniel, Supervision in Social Work, Rawat Publications, 2004

Posted byMSW 2007-2009 at12:02 PMNo comments:Labels:Social Case Work

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Assignment on Relationship

CONTENTS

I Introduction

II Empathy

III Skills in Building Relationship

IV Use of Relationship in Helping Process

V Transference

VI Counter Transference

VII References

RELATIONSHIP

Value of relationship can be gauged from the facet that no help can be administered to a client ofcasework services without positive relationship. In face, society is society because of relationship.

Society is said to be the totality in which human being engage in social relationship, or in other words,

it is a network of relationships. Every human action contains an element of relationship. This

relationship in turn affects ones thinking, feelings and action. When we think of something sitting all

alone in our room it is in terms of our relationship with people, may be friends, family members,

relatives, co-workers, or public in general. Our very existence is in terms of our relationship with

people around us. Lives cannot be lived without relationship to other people. All institutions are built

around relationship. Institutions minus relationship have no existence. Help or troubles emanate from

our relationship with the fellow human beings. Whether one is troubled or helped by someone,

relationship does exist between them.

Thus , relationship is an emotional bond between people who interact with each other . Our interaction

is initially determined by the bond we have with the person concerned and in turn this interaction

either strengthens or weakens this bond. It may, in other words, make us friendly or hostile to each

other. It can be said to be a transmission belt of communication, a set of attitudes and responses

between the interacting units. According to Northern (1969), relationship consists primarily of
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emotional responses which ebb and flow from person to person as human behavior evokes different

affective reactions. According to Perlman (1957), it is a condition in which two persons with some

common interest between them, long term or temporary, interact with feelings. Relationship leaps

from on e person to the other at the moment when some kind of emotion moves between them. They

may both express or invest the same kind of emotion: they may express or invest different or evenopposing emotions or one may express or invest emotion and the other will receive it and be

responsive to it. In any case, a charge or current of feeling must be experienced between two persons.

Whether this interaction creates a sense of union or of antagonism, the two persons are for the time

being connected or related to each other. The essence of the relationship has been called an inter

play, a mutual emotional exchange, an attitude, a dynamic interaction, a medium, a connection

between two persons, a professional meetings, and a mutual process. The purpose of the professional

relationship is described as creating an atmosphere, the development of personality, a better solution

of the clients problem, the means for carrying out function, stating and focusing reality and emotional

problems, and helping the client make a more acceptable adjustment to a personal problem (Biestek,

1957)

Coyle (1948) considers relationship as a discernible process by which people are connected to each

other and around which the group takes its shape and form While Biestek (1957) considers it as the

dynamic interactions of attitudes and emotions. Thus, relationship is a natural phenomenon occurring

between persons interacting with each other singly or in groups. Relationship can be, then, shaped,

manipulated or developed as we intend it to be.

EMPATHY

Perlman (1979) explains this as feeling with and into another person, being able to get into his shoes.

Thus, one tries to know what the client feels and experience without getting lost in the process. Rogers

(1966) explains empathy as the perceiving of the internal frame of reference of another with pertain

thereto, as if one were the other person but without ever losing the as if condition. Empathy

communicates that the worker understands the depth of the feeling of the client and that he is with

him. It requires an imaginative capacity. Comments like the following communicate empathy: I

understand that you are upset. I can understand how perturbed you are because of, It must be

difficult for you to Empathy does not mean the loss of objectivity. It can be learned and developedso that the therapist can understand the world of the client as he sees it.

Definitions of Empathy

Heinz Kohut: Empathy is the capacity to think and feel oneself into the inner life of another person.

Roy Schafer: Empathy involves the inner experience of sharing in and comprehending the momentary


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psychological state of another person.

D.M. Berger: The capacity to know emotionally what another is experiencing from within the frame of

reference of that the person, the capacity to sample the feelings of another or to put oneself in

anothers shoes.

Jean Decety: A sense of similarity in feelings experience by the self and the other, without confusion

between the two individuals.

Basic empathy is the ability to be in touch with and communicate ones understanding or the contents

of the clients experience. Accurate empathy refers to the precise identification of what the client

means and feels from moment to moment. Advanced empathy is the skill of perceiving and

communicating ones understanding of what the client intends but does not say; the ability to sense

half-hidden meanings and to voice them for the client, thus moving counseling forward. Empathy has

been called vicarious introspection (kohut). It is recognized as core condition in counseling,

philosophical empathy is the counsellors act of understanding the clients core belief systems and

helping him to bring these into explicit awareness for evaluation. Empathic symmetry is the balance of

empathy necessary in the arena of couple counseling.

Empathy involves two specific skills:

1. Perspective

2. Communication.

Perspective: When seeking to communicate with another, it may be helpful to demonstrate empathy

with other, to open-up the channel of communication with the other.

Either simulate pretend versions of the beliefs, desires, character traits and context of the other and

see what emotional feelings this leads to.

Or simulate the emotional feelings and then look around for a suitable reason for this to fit.

Communication: The caseworker can be effective in communicating empathic understanding when he: -

Concentrates with intensity upon the helpees expressions, both verbal and non-verbal;

Concentrates on responses that are interchangeable with the helper;Formulates his responses in language that is most attuned to the helpee;

Responds in a feeling tone similar to that communicated by the helpee;

Is most responsive (interacts with the helpee);

Having established an interchangeable base of communication, moves tentatively towards expanding

and clarifying the helpee;s experiences at higher levels;

Concentrates upon what is not being expressed by the helpee (the deepest level of empathy involves


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filling in what is missing rather than simply dealing with what is present); and

Employs the helpees behaviour is the best guideline to assess the effectiveness of his response.

LimitationsIt should be noted that the extent to which a persons emotions are publicly observable, or mutually

recognized as such has significant social consequences. Empathic recognition may or may not be

welcomed or socially desirable. This is particularly the case where we recognize the emotions that

someone has towards ourselves during real time interactions. The appropriate role of empathy in our

dealings with others is highly dependent on the circumstances. For instance, it is claimed that

clinicians or caseworkers must take care not to be too sensitive to the emotions of others, to over-

invest their own emotions, at the risk of draining away their own resource fullness.

Empathy may be painful to oneself: seeing the pain of others, especially as broadcasted by mass

media, can cause one temporary or permanent clinical depression; a phenomenon which is sometimes

called weltschmerz.

There are also concerns that the empathisers own emotional background may affect or distort what

emotions they perceive in others. Empathy is not a process that is likely to deliver certain judgments

about the emotional states of others. It is a skill that is gradually developed throughout life, and which

improves the more contact we have with the person with whom we empathise. Accordingly, any

knowledge we gain of the emotions of the other must be revisable in light of further informat. Thus

awareness of these limitations is prudent in a clinical or caseworkers situation.

Contrasting empathy to other phenomena.

One must be careful and not to confuse empathy with either sympathy, pity emotional contagion or

telepathy.

Sympathy is the feeling of compassion for another. The wish to see them better off or happier, often

described as feeling sorry for someone. Pity is feeling that another is in trouble and in need of help,

as they cannot fix their problems themselves. Emotional contagion is when a person (especially an

infant or a member of a mob) imitatinely catches the emotions that others are showing withoutnecessarily recognizing this is happening. Telepathy is a controversial paranormal phenomenon,

whereby emotions or other mental states can be read directly, without needing to infer, or perceive

expressive clues about the other person.

Counseling Relationships


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Clients and counselors sometimes have different perceptions about the purpose and nature of

counseling. Clients often do not know what to expect from the process or how to act. Seeing a

counselor is a last resort for many individuals. They are likely to have already sought help from more

familiar sources, friends, family members, ministers, or teachers. Therefore many clients entercounseling reluctantly or hesitantly. This uncertainty can inhibit the counseling process unless some

structure is provided. Structures help clarify the counselor-client relationship and give it direction;

protect the rights, roles and obligations of both counselors and clients; and ensure the success of

counseling.

Structure promotes the development of counseling by providing a framework in which the process can

take place. it is therapeutic in and of itself.

To help clients new directions in their lives, counselors provide constructive guidelines. Their

decisions on how to establish this structure are based on their theoretical orientation to counseling;

their personalities of their clients, and the major problem arise with which they will deal.

When counselors meet clients who seem to lack initiative, they often do not know what to do with

them, much less how to go about doing it. Therefore, some counselors are impatient, irritated and

insensitive and ultimately give up trying to work with such persons. The result is not only termination

of the relationship but also scapegoating- blaming a person when the problem is not entirely not his or

her fault. A role- reversal exercise call promotes counselor empathy in dealing with reluctant and

resistant clients. Many reluctant clients terminate counseling prematurely and report dissatisfaction

with the process. A resistant client is a person in counseling who is unwilling or opposed to change.

There are several ways in which counselors can help clients win the battle for initiative and achieve

success in counseling. One-way is to anticipate the anger, frustration and defensiveness that some

clients display. A second way to deal with a lack of initiative is to show acceptance, patience and

understanding as well as a nonjudgmental attitude. This stance promotes trust. Nonjudgmental

behaviors also help clients better understand their thoughts and feelings about counseling. It opens

then up to themselves and the counseling process. A third way to win the battle for initiative is for

counselors to use persuasion. All counselors have some influence on clients, and vice versa. How a

counselor respond to the client, directly or indirectly, can make a significant difference in whether the

client takes the initiative in working to produce change. Roll off and miller mention two directpersuasion techniques employed in counseling: the the foot in the door and the door in the face.

In the first technique, the counselor asks the client to comply with a minor request and then later

follows with a larger request. In the second technique, the counselor asks the client to do a seemingly

impossible task and then follows by requesting the client to do a more reasonable task. A fourth way a

counselor can assist clients in gaining initiative is through confrontation, in this procedure the

counselor simply points out the client exactly what the client is doing, such as being inconsistent. The


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client then takes responsibility for responding to the confrontation. The three primary way of

responding are: denial, accepting all or part of the confrontation as true, or developing a middle

position that synthesizes the first two. Doing something differently or gaining a new perception or a

problem can be a beneficial result of confrontation, especially if what has previously been tried has not

worked. Finally, sack recommends the use of pragmatic techniques, such as silence (or pause),reflection (or empathy), questioning, describing, assessing, pretending, and sharing the counselors

perspective, as way to overcome clients resistance. These techniques are especially helpful with

individuals who respond to the counselors initiatives with I dont know

Counseling can occur almost anywhere, but some physical setting promotes the process better the

others. Among the most important factors that help or hurt the process is the place where the

counseling occurs. There are certain features of a counseling office that will prove its general

appearance and probably facilitate counseling by not distracting the client. The distance between

counselor and client can also affect the relationship. Individuals differ about the level of comfort

experienced in interaction with others. Among other things, comfort level is influenced by cultural

background, gender, and the nature of the relationship.

The way that counselor and client perceive one another is vital to the establishment of a productive

relationship. Warpath points out clients come in all shapes and sizes, personality, characteristics, and

degree of attractiveness. Some clients are more likely to be successful in counseling than others. The

most successful candidates for traditional approaches tend to be YAVIS: Young, attractive, verbal,

intelligent and successful- less successful candidates are seen as Hounds or UUDs (dumb, unintelligent

and disadvantaged). These acronyms are cruel, but counselors are influenced by the appearance and

sophistication of the people with whom they work. A number of stereotypes have been built around the

physical attractiveness of individuals. The physically attractive are perceived as healthiest. The way in

which counselors interact with clients may be influenced by physical factors. The nonverbal behaviors

of the clients are also very important. Clients constantly send counselors unspoken messages about how

they think or feel. Mehrabian and his associates found that expressed like and dislike between

individuals could be explained as follows: a counselor must consider a clients body gestures, eye

contact, facial expression, and vocal quality to be as important as verbal communication in a verbal

relationship. It is also crucial to consider the cultural background of the person whose body language is

being evaluated and interpret nonverbal messages cautiously. The personal and professional qualities

of a counselor are very important in facilitating any helping relationship. Counselors who continually

develop their self-awareness skills are in touch with their values, thoughts and feelings. They are likelyto have a clear perception of their own and their clients needs and accurately assess both. Such

awareness can help them be honest with themselves and others. They are able to be more congruent

and build trust simultaneously.

Counselors who possess this type of knowledge are most likely to communicate clearly and more

accurately. Three other characteristics that make counselors initially more influential are: perceived


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expertness, attractiveness and trustworthiness. Counselors who use nonverbal cues in responding to

clients, such as head nodding and eye contact, are seen as more attractive than those who do not.

Trustworthiness is related to the sincerity and consistency of the counselor. The counselor is genuinely

concerned about the client and shows it over time by establishing a close relationship with the client.

It is essential, therefore, that the counselor respond to the question of trust rather that the verbalcontent of the client in order to facilitate the counseling relationship.

The goals of counseling change over time and change according to the intimacy and effectiveness of

the counseling relationship. In the first session, both counselors and clients work to decide if they want

to or can continue the relationship. Counselors should quickly assess whether they are capable of

handling and managing clients problems through being honest, open and appropriately concretive. On

the other hand, clients must ask themselves if they feel comfortable with and trust the counselor

before they can enter the relationship wholeheartedly.

Patterson and Eisenberg think that all clients enter counseling with some anxiety and resistance

regardless of prior preparation. Uncertain feelings in both clients and counselors may result in

behaviors such as seduction or aggression. Counselors can prevent such occurrences by exchanging

information with clients. Manthei advocates that counselors presentations about themselves and their

functioning is multimode: visual, auditory, written, spoken and descriptive. While such presentations

may be difficult, they pay off by creating good counselor-client relationships.

Interviews that focus on feelings or relationship dynamics differ markedly from information - oriented

first sessions. They concentrate more on the clients attitudes and emotions. Counselors should set

aside their own agendas and focus on the person of the client. Shertzer and stone call this type of

behavior rapport. Rapport is established and maintained by counselors who are genuinely interested in

and accepting of their clients. Ivey states that the two most important micro skills for rapport building

are basic attending behavior and client-observation skills. A counselor needs to tune in to what the

client is thinking and feeling and how he or she is behaving. Establishing and maintaining rapport is

vital for the disclosure of information and the ultimate success of counseling. One way in which

counselors initiate rapport is by inviting clients to focus on reasons for seeking help. Such no corrosive

invitations to talk are called door openers and door closers. The amount of talking the client engage in

and the insight and benefits derived from the initial interview can be enhanced by the counselor who

appropriately conveys empathy, encouragement, support, caring, attentiveness, acceptance andgenuineness.

RELATIONSHIP IN HELPING PROCESS

How relationship can and should be used to help persons with problem has been a serious concern of


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not only social work but of other professions too like that of psychiatry, psychology etc. Social work

always recognized the importance of human interaction and attempted to use relationship in a

conscious and deliberate manner to benefit the people it worked with. Social work literature is full of

description of relationship from various angles only because of its great importance in a helping

process.Richmond (1917), in her earliest work, has pleaded for an intensive study and use of social relationship

in social casework. Social caseworkers focus should be on skill in discovering the social relationships

by which a given personality has been defined: an ability to get at the central core of the difficulty in

these relationships: and power to utilize the direct action of mind up on mind in their adjustment.

None can deny the utility and importance of human relationship in promoting change and development.

When relationship is established and used by a social worker consciously, purposely fully and

deliberately to help client(s), it is called a professional relationship. It is characterized by conscious

purposive ness group out of the knowledge of what must go into achieving its goal (Perlman, 1957). In

face, relationship is the channel of entire casework process. It is the medium through which knowledge

of human nature and social interaction are used, and through which, they are given the opportunity to

make choices, both about receiving and using the help. Thus, one finds that relationship is the basis of

all help.

TRANSFERENCE

Transference has been historically embedded in psychoanalytical theory and is considered one of

Freud's most significant achievements. As Freud clearly formulated transference can be clearly

formulated, transference can be seen as occurring in all human relationships. It is a natural human

tendency that becomes magnified and intensified in therapeutic relationships because of the nature of

such relationships. That is, because therapeutic interactions focus on help giving, with one person

seeking to provide conditions for psychological growth in another, the tendency to experience and

manifest transference reactions becomes heightened.

Just what is transference? Despite the great complexity of this construct, two basic conceptions may be

educed. The first is the Classical Freudian view. In that view, transference is seen as the reliving of

Oedipal issues in therapy relationship. The therapist is reacted to as if he or she were any or all of the

participants in the clients early oedipal situation; most often the clients mother and/ or father.

Because of the exclusive focus on the oedipal context, this definition is quite narrow n restrictive and

of course requires that the therapist share the psychoanalytic view of the critical importance of theOedipus complex in human development.

In the broader conception, transference may be defined as a repetition of past conflicts with

significant others such that feelings, behaviors, and attitudes belonging rightfully to those earlier

relationships are displaced onto the counselor. To the extent that the client's reaction to the counselor

are transference based, the client is responding to the counselor as if the counselor represented

aspects of the transference source, for example, mother, father, sibling. For example, the person in


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therapy may begin to look at the therapist as if the therapist were the patient's mother, transferring

their feelings for the real mother to the therapist. It is important to understand that the client does

not really think or believe that the therapist is the mother, father, or sibling when transference

reactions are occurring. Rather, the client transfers significant aspects of the parent's reactions

towards him or her from earlier times onto the therapist, such that the therapist is erroneouslyassumed to be exhibiting those reactions (motives, attitudes, feelings, etc.).

In transference, the client may react to the therapist as if the therapist does not like him/her, is being

critical, will abandon him/her, is not trustworthy, is perfect, is wonderful and so on. In other words, an

array of affects, motives, characteristics, and behaviors may be attributed to the counselor

erroneously.

CASE 1

Over many sessions, this client felt sure that the therapist could give her solutions to her life problems,

which in fact were profound. She felt that the therapist really knew the solutions and was withholding

them. He was not giving her fair share what she deserved to have. Because of this she experienced a

chronic sense of deep anger toward the therapist. During one session in which she angrily criticized and

pleaded with the therapist to "tell her", he pointed out the bitterness in her request and how her

feelings must echo feelings from long ago. She responded by tearfully expressing how she never got her

share from her parents, how she was never taken care of. This interaction was a critical step in the

work toward her coming to understand her transference and work through the conflicts underlying

them.

CASE 2

During the early weeks of a long counseling experience, the client, among other things, could never

break silences by offering new material. Her mind would go blank. She feared and fully expected that

the therapist would feel critical of her initiating new topics and of any material she might initiate,

despite the reality of the treatment situation; that is, her initiation was welcomed. A significant

portion of counseling was focused on the client's injurious relation with her mother, a deeply

narcissistic woman who had few boundaries, and whose needs this client had to constantly attend to. In

close relationships, this client this client consistently carried with her a sense that the only way she

could be cared about was if she denied any of her needs and attended to the others. She became astranger to her own needs, and much of the counseling aimed at helping her learn about what she

wanted and needed, and psychically disengage from the often unconscious entanglement with her

mother.

RULES OF THUMB


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1.Transference is always an error

The perceptions that the client has of the counselor represent displacements that were appropriate

(not an error) to other relationships, from another time and place. It needs to be stated here that by

no means are all perceptions the client has of the counselor erroneous, nor are all emotional reactions

clients have towards their counselors based on misperceptions. It is important for the counselor tounderstand which are realistic and which are based on transference.

2. Transference may be positive or negative

The client may project positive attitudes into the counselor, based on needs tied to past conflictual

relationships, for example, because of the client's deprivations of the parent, she or he may need to

see the counselor as more loving or powerful than is realistically the case positive transferences are

often more difficult to appreciate than negative ones.

3. The emergence of transference in the counseling is facilitated by the therapist's neutrality and

ambiguity.

The concept of neutrality is one of the most misunderstood. By neutrality one does not mean bland

indifference or lack of caring. Instead we refer to the therapist's not taking sides and not imposing his

or her values and beliefs on the client. Ambiguity is a similar but not identical concept. It refers to the

tendency not to present a clear picture of one's feelings, life and attitudes.

In any event, it is generally agreed that counselor ambiguity and neutrality create an environment in

which transference is more likely to develop and emerge fully. This is not to say that transference does

not occur in active therapies, where the therapist is very open about his or her values and may take

sides. It occurs there, too; but ambiguity and neutrality allow it to develop and come into the open

more fully and in a way that many counselors believe to be less 'contaminated' (by the reality of the

counselor.

4. Transference is not conscious.

Although the client's feelings toward the counselor maybe fully conscious, the fact that they are

displacements from other, earlier relationships is not. The caseworker seeks to make them conscious,

with the aim of resolving or correcting transference distortions.

5. Transferences are most likely to occur in areas of greatest unresolved conflict with significant

others earlier in one's life.

The final rule of thumb implies that humans are more likely to misperceive the present based on thepast in areas in which there were significantly unresolved conflicts in past important relationships.

Thus, for example, if a central area of unresolved conflict in one's childhood had to do with

dependency, issues around are likely to be evidenced in the transference relationship with the

therapist.

To conclude it must be said that the concept of transference (and counter transference) is one of the

most complex in psychology today, and it has been extremely difficult to develop methods of studying


27/28


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able to understand where these feelings come from in his or her own life, a task that can be anxiety

provoking but extremely important.

Unfortunately, also just as with transference, empirical research on counter transference has been

spare.

Lastly, to conclude, one can say that transference and counter transference will be a hindrance tosocial casework only when the caseworker does not have adequate knowledge and sensitivity to

recognize and deal with these phenomena. Dealt with sensitively, these phenomena are a welcome

entity that aid in the wholesome growth and development of the individual.

REFERENCES

1. Gelso, C.J. , Fretz, B.R.; 'Counseling Psychology'; 1995; Prism Books PVT LTD, Bangalore, India.

2. Feltham, C; 'Understanding The Counseling Relationship'; 1999; Sage Publications, New Delhi.

3. Internet-http://www.contactpoint.ca/bulletins/v6-n3/v6-n3y.html

4. Upadhaya Social Casework

5. John S Koshy Guidance and Counseling, Dictionary of Counseling

6. Gibson and Mitchel Introduction to Counseling and Guidance

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