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Summary of SWK291
Bachelor of Social Work (Singapore University of Social Sciences)
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Power and Culture
Power:
Culture: Workers need to acknowledge cultural differences, and respect client’s perspectives.
Power is a force in all social interactions – it is embedded in human actions and social structures.
Respecting culture is also in line with our values of social work
Having power means having access to information & resources, having choices, being able to act on
1) Service to humanity and Dignity and worth of person – All humans should deserve to be
one’s choices to develop strength and competence
helped, and respected and treated with dignity.
1) Personal Power – Ability to get what one wants, have control or competence. (Physical
2) Social Justice: minorities, powerless or oppressed should not be ignored and instead, fought
strength, health, control)
for, even if it might be against our own personal values. (however if counter transference is
2) Interpersonal Power – Ability to influence how others think or feel. (Beauty, personality)
apparent, for worker to acknowledge limitations and seek supervision)
3) Political Power – ability to influence distribution of resources. (MSF, organizational power)
Culture competence in an absolute sense is not achievable, but a more relative sense by becoming a
more informed “not knowers” of another’s culture. Through the understanding one’s own cultural
Powerlessness:
background and recognising and not ignoring the privileges and/or restrictions that society assign to both
Arises when more powerful people, groups or segments in society control access to resources and
own group and others (cummins p.g 53)
opportunities
Those in power often devalue the worth of less powerful groups by offering them little prestige, few
Concepts:
opportunities and limited resources
Ethnocentric (Believing one’s own culture to be better than others.)
Ethno-relative (Acknowledgement of cultural differences.)
Roles of a social worker
Advocate:
Therapist/counsellor:
Educator:
Broker:
Case manager:
Using the 6 steps model of
change to help clients
(honestly this is the widest
and common
understanding of Swkers
Develop new skills
Public education
Psycho education
Referring and linking
clients with
resources in the
community
Ensures that clients that requires
multiple resources or services
receives it in a timely and
appropriate manner (not to be
confused as "all together")
Environmental
This domain identifies and attempts to
alter those factors outside the person
that influence behaviour
- General Systems Theory(p.g 55):
The whole is made up of interacting
parts (sub-systems) and all systems
seek stability and balance to achieve
equilibrium (Homeostasis).
Two opposing views changing the
environment to help client and
changing the individual to cope more
effectively in the environment (p,g
154).
Being the voice for the
client or community.
Fighting for marginalised
or resources for clients
Group Leader:
Mediator:
Enabler:
More for groupwork,
in which the leader
brings the group
through a specific
purpose (e.g. psychoed, rehab, support)
Mediating between 2
disputing parties. Can
also be between client
and community
resource/agency.
Empower
clients in
finding
solution
(Swk106, SU27)
Theories (5 Domain for understanding human behaviour, Boyle p.g 32)
Psychological
Behavioural
Emotional
Focuses on change occurs in the
Maladaptive behaviour is learned therefore
Focus the identification and accurate,
mind. The change may be in
it can be changed or modified (p.g 483). The
uninhibited expression of feelings. The
mental structures (cognitive
goal of behaviour therapy is to help clients
expression of feeling is considered to
perspective) or from the psyche
learn coping skills or eliminate self-defeating
be the only way that people can
(psychology perspective).
habits (p.g 237).
genuinely learn about themselves.
- Erik Erikson Psychosocial
Stages:
- Conditioning Theories:
Classical and Operant conditioning
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
8 Stages of human development
Different stages present
different needs that the
individual attempts to fulfil.
Success or failure results in
impacts on the individuals
(p.g162) Using 3 observational methods to
determine maladaptive behaviour:
Naturalistic observation; analogue
observation; and self-monitoring
Humans motivation is based on a
“pyramid” of needs that needs to be
fulfilled in sequence but can be
dropped down based on life
circumstances.
Behaviourist vs psychoanalytic (p.g 163)
- Person centred theory (p.g 53)
- Cognitive theory (p.g 46)
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Biological/Physiological
Consists of all the systems and processes
necessary for physical function
Brain Development and it’s impacts on
youth behaviours
Brain develops back to front, with prefrontal cortex developing last. Hence at
youth age, it might be difficult to expect
them to “use their brains” (so to speak)
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Other theories/therapy to note:
4 Parenting Styles: Helpful for parenting cases. Parenting tend to fall under 1 of 4 categories, each with its relevant impacts on child. Can be understood with a matrix of Support and Demands.Parenting should
aim to be authoritative: which incorporates both Demands and support. Asian parenting tends to fall under authoritarian: which has high demands/rules but low level of support. Other 2 styles are Permissive and
Neglecting, the former involves parents who “gives in” too much (low demand, high support) and the latter involves parents who are uninvolved completely (no demands, no support) (potential child abuse:
neglect).
Choice theory: 2 concepts to note
1) Human’s 5 basic needs: Survival, Love and belonging, power, freedom and fun. Behaviour is motivated by human’s pursuit for the 5 needs. Behaviour is also chosen, which links to the next point:
2) Total Behaviour: Made up of 4 components. Thinking and Behaviour (can be controlled), Feelings and physiology (harder to control). This is helpful as a form of intervention more than assessment.
Helping clients realize that they are in control of their thinking and behaviour can motivate them to take better control of their behaviour. (e.g. When you are angry, it might be hard to control the
feeling of anger, and its even harder to control the physiological changes like increase heart beat, red face. But you can control your perception (thinking) to the situation and also the behaviour (what
you do in respond to anger)
Solution focused therapy: Focused on client’s desire outcome, unlike treatment models (problem solving model) that seek to identify a particular cause/probem for the clients (Boyle p.g 252). The therapy looks at
(1) what the client wants to change. (2) Then, construct well-formulated goals* that is in line with what they (clients) want to achieve.
*Concept of well-formulated goal (p.g 201):

Goals that are important to client

Describe goal in positive terms

Ensure goals are concrete, specific (measurable)

Establish small goals that are achievable.

Ensure goals that are realistic.
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Engaging
Rapport Building
Good use of Interviewing skills
facilitates sharing
Affirm clients for seeking help
Task:
-Facilitative conditions
Assessment
Both a process where workers
continuously assess situations
and make decisions and a
product where workers
document the identified
problem and planned strategies
for achieving goal and resolve
issues.
Grounded in THEORY!
1)Empathy- Helping clients feel
understood. Understand clients
from their frame.
2)Positive Regard- Treating
clients with respect and
acceptance, unconditionally.
3)Congruence – Genuineness
and Authenticity: Being
consistent as a worker between
what you say and do, and Being
sincere with clients in
helpithem.
Fitting together available facts
to YIELD MEANING [using
theories] to client and worker.
(“Turning the story into a case”)
Assessments should be multifaceted, and not just focuses on
individual or issue.
-Culture and roles
-Strengths and resources
-Family
-Environmental
Task:
1) Identify
needs/problem/issue
2) Use theories to make sense
and links between issues
3) Attend to presented risks
4) Assess strengths and
resources.
Planned change models and important concepts
Planning
Intervention
Contracting: An agreement
Intervention should always be
between worker and client to
based on theory, and related to
work on specific goals or issue
your assessment as much as
-Promotes client’s commitment
possible.
as well.
If assessment finds that there
GRIT
are unhealthy interactional
Goals (SMART Goals)
patterns between family
Roles
members, then intervention to
Intervention
tackle the issue should relate
Time frame/frequency
to improving interaction
patterns (i.e. GST, Parenting
Goals vs Task:
styles, Behavioural)
Goals are the desired outcomes
of an intervention
Good Understanding of theory
Task are what needs to be done will also help to formulate
to reach the desired outcomes.
relevant interventions
Goals > Intervention > Task
Goal: Reduce tantrum
behaviours from 3 times to
once a day
Intervention: Utilizing Operant
conditioning to implement a
reward system to encourage
child’s good behaviours
Psycho-education or education
is a valid intervention as well
-Poor parenting skills >
Intervention is to educate and
equip parents with skills
through engaging in parenting
support group.
Task: Parents to reward and
affirm child for every time he
manages to calm down
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Evaluation
Measuring intervention and
goals and how much it has
achieved.
2 levels of evaluation:
1) Evaluating IN session: from
client’s perspective on what
worker did well, what did not
go well.
2) Evaluating ON session: take a
step back and worker reflect on
what went well and what can
be improved.
Evaluate both effectiveness and
efficiency.
Why Evaluate?
1) Ethical Obligation of
providing best proven effective
forms of help
2) Allow clients to see concrete
improvements and change
3) knowledge building:
Evidence based work (through
evaluation) improves our
knowledge of which methods
work and which doesn’t.
4) Accountability: to funders
and doners.
Termination
Termination when done well,
further the degree of which clients
achieve their goals and promotes
continued maintenance of change.
Task:
1) Review what the original issue
was
2) Identify why there was the
challenge
3) Identify new skills learnt that
helped tackle the challenge
4) Discuss how these skills can be
“transferred” to similar issues in
future.
5) Explore how new skills can be
maintained (relapse prevention)
6) Discuss feelings of termination
(and address it if necessary)(both
worker and clients have feelings of
terminations)
For certain cases: step 5 is
important in terms of identify
“high risk factors”: potential
relapse or situations that may
promote maladaptive behaviours
again. Also talk about how they
can cope with it.