Unit 3
Approaches to social case work
Case work, aims at individualized services in the field of social work in order to help
the client to adjust with the environments. The approaches aim at developing the
client's effectiveness in coping with his problem and/or so influence the problem as
to resolve or vitiate its effect. The person is the one who is "in need of help in some
aspect of his social-emotional living, whether the need be for tangible provisions or
counsel.
“Approach helps us to explain the motivating forces behind human behavior
and impact of social values & socio cultural practices”.
It is presumed that any person who has some problem with his thinking (cognitive),
feeling (affect) or acting or their interaction will not be able to function properly and
adequately in his social roles (like that of a father, chairman, citizen, man, scientist,
etc.) assigned to or achieved by him.
Social Functioning means functioning in different roles one has achieved or has
been assigned by society according to his position.
Bartlett (1970) defines social functioning as "the interaction between the coping
activity of people and the demand from the environment".
Approaches of social work
The origin of the approach of social work can be traced backed to the methods of
helping by friendly visitors, who tried to help the poor by adopting ‘scientific
philanthropy’ which means helping the poor to overcome their problems , by
improving their way of life and opportunities.
The first approach of social work to help individual in need was developed by Mary
Richmond. She was the leader of charity organization society, under her leadership,
social work education was started in 1904, and she wrote the first social work
textbook ’social diagnosis’ in 1917. In which she elaborately discussed how social
worker could help the client. The theory she gave had great impact on the social
work practice, especially on the development of psychosocial approach of social
work . This approach was also known as ‘Medical Approach’, as she used medical
term “Diagnosis”, and her approach fit well into a medical frame work for practice,
since it was suggestive of the idea that cases could be viewed either sick or well, and
also known as “Traditional Practice Method”.
Her whole approach focused mainly on technique for assessing and helping the poor
, to overcome their problems. According to her, social diagnosis is an attempt to
arrive to the exact situation of the problem. So diagnosis can never be final, in the
process of casework it may change as we dealing with social reality which cannot
be measured. Freudian psychoanalytic approach of psychotherapy became very
popular in 1920’s, which had a great impact in the practice of social work especially
psychiatric social work. Many social work educational institutes inculcate
psychoanalytic principles in their teaching curriculum , Smith college (The first
school of Psychiatric Social Work) change their concept to Freudian concept ; social
workers that trained in this college were inculcating psychoanalytical therapy and
counseling in their casework .
Major Types of Approaches of Social Work
1. Psycho Analytical Approach
2. Behavioral Modification Approach
3. System Approach
4. Psychosocial Approach
5. Problem Solving Approach
6. Crisis Intervention Approach
7. Functional Approach
Psycho Analytical Approach: This approach is based on analytical thinking and concept. The founder of
psychoanalytic Approach was Sigmund Freud. While his theories were considered
shocking at the time and continue to create debate and controversy, his work had a
profound influence on a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology,
anthropology, literature, and art.
The term Psychoanalysis is used to refer to many aspects of Freud’s work and
research, including Freudian therapy and the research methodology he used to
develop his theories. Freud relied heavily upon his observations and case studies of
his patients when he formed his theory of personality development.
Sigmund Freud developed this approach to study important role played by
unconscious process in behavior. There are 3 concepts in this approach.
1- Topographical  Mental invents in conscious, subconscious and unconscious.
Before understanding Freud’s theory of personality, we understand his view of
how the mind is organized. According to Freud, the mind can be divided into
two main parts:  The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware
of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about
rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part of
consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our
awareness. Freud called this ordinary memory the pre-conscious.
 The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and
memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the
unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or
conflict.
According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and
experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences.
2- Structural – Personality functioning in term of Id, Ego, Super Ego.
The Id: The id is the only component of personality that is present from birth.
This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious and includes of the instinctive
and primitive behaviors. According to Freud, the id is the source of all psychic
energy, making it the primary component of personality. The id is driven by the
pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants,
and needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state
anxiety or tension. For example, an increase in hunger or thirst should produce
an immediate attempt to eat or drink. The id is very important early in life,
because it ensures that an infant's needs are met. If the infant is hungry or
uncomfortable, he or she will cry until the demands of the id are met.
The Ego: The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for dealing
with reality. According to Freud, the ego develops from the id and ensures that
the impulses of the id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.
The ego functions in the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious mind. The
ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the id's desires
in realistic and socially appropriate ways.
The Superego: The last component of personality to develop is the superego.
The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized moral
standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society--our sense of
right and wrong. The superego provides guidelines for making judgments.
According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five.
3- Defense Mechanism Most notably used by Sigmund Freud in his
psychoanalytic theory, a defense mechanism is a tactic developed by the ego to
protect against anxiety. Defense mechanisms are thought to safeguard the mind
against feelings and thoughts that are too difficult for the conscious mind to cope
with. In some instances, defense mechanisms are thought to keep inappropriate
or unwanted thoughts and impulses from entering the conscious mind.
According to Sigmund Freud, personality is mostly established by the age of
five. Early experiences play a large role in personality development and continue
to influence behavior later in life. Freud's theory of psychosexual development
is one of the best known, but also one of the most controversial. Freud believed
that personality develops through a series of childhood stages during which the
pleasure-seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous areas.
This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the driving force behind
behavior. If these psychosexual stages ( Freud’s stages of personality
development) are completed successfully, the result is a healthy personality. If
certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage, fixation can occur. A
fixation is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this conflict
is resolved, the individual will remain "stuck" in this stage. For example, a
person who is fixated at the oral stage may be over-dependent on others and may
seek oral stimulation through smoking, drinking, or eating.
Psychosocial Approach
In this process social case worker finds out the data of the following aspects:
• Picture of the problem
• Client feeling and reaction
• Client’s efforts to solve the problem
• Prevailing social conditions
• Psychosocial development of the client
• Personality development of the client
Social case worker on the basis of dynamic diagnosis and etiological factors
classifies various aspects of the client’s functioning and thus prepare a route pattern
for the treatment process.
Nature of problem brought and goals
sought by the client in their relationships
Nature of person
socio- psychological makeup of
the client
Nature and Purpose of agency and kind of help
This approach has great contribution on psycho social study of the person and
psycho social treatment. It was one of the first models to be developed and applied
to practice of social case work. Its psychological origin dates back to 1920’s when
psycho analytical principal and theory were incorporated into the then largely
sociological approach of case work( Medical Approach of Mary
Richmond).Essentially this approach has Freudian theory base modified and adapted
for the use of social work practice .So this approach is developed by Gordon
Hamilton and Florence Hollis .The theory of Gordon Hamilton was known as
“Diagnostic Approach “ the philosophy of Social case Work in 1941 in which word
Diagnostic was used to Expressed psycho social problem . This was later called as
Psychosocial approach along with the approach given by Hollis, Hollis saw her
approach of Diagnostic school. the aim of this model is to alleviate the client’s
distress and to decrease malfunctioning in the person situation system , or conversely
to enhance client’s satisfaction and self- realization. In this approach problems are
seen individual and social , for the sociological or environmental context of the
problem , social functioning of the client is emphasized which means diagnosing and
treating the person in environment ,
Treatment plan:
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•
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To prevent the psychological background
To conserve client’s strength
To restore social functioning
To create opportunity for development
To increase capacity of self-direction
To increase the social contribution of client.
Gordon Hamilton emphasized “ The person in situation gestalt or configuration “,
which means the person and their situation (environment) are inter systematic ,
interdependent or interrelated , person must be seen in the context of their situation
, family , social group , work place etc .In psychological parts this approach largely
follow Freudian school of thought , it recognizes person’s ‘past’ and its influence on
‘present’ and ‘future’, and the influence of the unconscious and preconscious
materials on the current behavior .
The approach further stresses that the individual is unaware of the influence of the
past, because they act through unconscious and preconscious materials, but resulted
in the person’s attitudes, reflexes and perception. Thus the model emphasizes the
need of changing in perception. The helping process was conceptualized in Solving
of the client problem in social work methodology is assessment of needs & making
hierarchy of needs. Finding history of problem & impact of social functioning of
client.
Functional Approach:
Functional social casework was developed by Jessie Taft (1937) and Virginia
Robinson (1942), the then faculty members of Pennsylvania School of Social
Work. Taft and Robinson, both were influenced in their work, by the philosophy
and teachings of Herbert Mead and John Dowey and later by Otto Rank, a disciple
of Freud, who broke away from him in the later part of his life. The functional school
was further developed and sustained by Kenneth Pray (1949) and Ruth Smalley
(1967). Its development can be regarded as a reaction to the diagnostic school of
social work which was heavily influenced by the Freudian concepts of personality
and treatment in the 1920s and for many years thereafter.
The therapist (caseworker) assumes sole responsibility for treating the client. In this
approach, the client is helped to readjust to his past events which are affecting his
current functioning. This view of psycho-analysis and its effect on casework practice
continued till 1970s when neo-Freudians changed the concept of man from 'the
created' to the creator self. Functionalists considered human activity as purposive
and deliberate and not only as the result of pushes by internal and external forces.
Human personality is considered as always in the "process of becoming", constantly
working towards realization of all its capacities. functionalist helps the clients only
in one phase or fragment (part) of the total problem because of the assumption that
change in anyone hurting area of his life could bring in a 'salutary effect' on the total
psychological equilibrium of the client. Functionalists give utmost importance to the
use of agency function in helping process.
This is considered as unifying and direction-giving to the helping process. It gives
focus and contents to the helping interaction.
It is because of the use of the agency function that social work is called an
'institutionalized profession'. Functionalists believe that agency provides "reality
boundaries within which the ex-client can test and discover his ability to work out
his problem and make a satisfying adjustment or readjustment to the wider realities".
"The worker sets up the conditions as found in his agency function and procedure;
the client tries to accept, to reject, to attempt to control, or to modify that function
until he finally comes to terms with it enough to define or discover what he wants,
if anything, from this situation" (Taft, 1937).
Behaviour Modification Theory
Behavior modification is a therapeutic approach designed to change a particular
undesirable negative behavior.
By using a system of positive or negative consequences, an individual learns the
correct set of responses for any given stimulus. The practice has several offshoots
that attempt to alter behavior through different actions and has developed throughout
the years. Behavior modification has been found to be successful in treating
disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD), phobias, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety
disorder (GAD), disruptive behavior and autism, among other conditions.
Pavlov and Thorndike have invented the BM theory . the goal of this theory is to
identify the client’s specific problem causing behaviour and manipulate and replace
them with more appropriate one’s.
Techniques of behaviour Modification theory are:
Simple extinction: The reinforcement is removed to eliminate a maladaptive pattern
of behaviour. Through this technique, learned behaviour patterns are made weaker
and disappear overtime.
Systematic Desensitization: It is a technique to deal with a wide variety of
maladaptive emotional behaviour, particularly involving anxiety, irrational fears and
phobias and other forms of dysfunctions i.e. neurotic tendencies. There are five basic
steps in systematic desensitization: (1) assessment, (2) construction of anxiety
hierarchies, (3) training in muscle relaxation, (4) imaginary training, and (5)
implementation.
deals with anxiety, irrational fears, and phobias and other forms of maladaptive
behaviour.
Impulsive Therapy:
In this technique, instead of banishing anxiety, the social caseworker attempts to
elicit a massive flood of anxiety. With repeated exposure in a safe setting where no
harm is felt by the client, the stimulus loses its strength to elicit anxiety.
Aversion Therapy:
This technique is used for the modification of undesirable behaviour by the method
of punishment. Punishment may involve either the removal of positive
reinforcements or the use of aversive stimuli.
These technique falls into following 3 categories:
1. Classical Conditioning
2. Operant Conditioning
3. Modelling Conditioning
Classical and operant conditioning are two important concepts central to behavioral
psychology. While both result in learning, the processes are quite different. To
understand how each of these behavior modification techniques can be used, it is
also essential to understand how classical and operant conditioning differ from one
another.
Classical Conditioning
Operant Conditioning
•
First described by Ivan
Pavlov, a Russian
physiologist
•
First described by B. F. Skinner, an
American psychologist
•
Focuses on
involuntary, automatic
behaviors
•
Involves
applying reinforcement or punishment after
a behavior
•
Involves placing a
neutral signal before a
reflex
•
Focuses on strengthening or weakening
voluntary behaviors
Classical Conditioning
Pavlov dogs Experiment:
Before conditioning
UCS unconditioned stimulus (food) - UCR unconditioned response( Salvation)
Bell conditioned stimulus (CS)
- No response
During Conditioning
Bell and food (CS and UCS) – salivation ( UCR)
Bell (cs)- Salivation conditioned response (CR)
In his famous experiment, Ivan Pavlov noticed dogs began to salivate in response
to a tone after the sound had repeatedly been paired with presenting food. Pavlov
quickly realized that this was a learned response and set out to further investigate the
conditioning process.
Classical conditioning is a process that involves creating an association between a
naturally existing stimulus and a previously neutral one. Sounds confusing, but let's
break it down:
The classical conditioning process involves pairing a previously neutral stimulus
(such as the sound of a bell) with an unconditioned stimulus (the taste of food).
This unconditioned stimulus naturally and automatically triggers salivating as a
response to the food, which is known as the unconditioned response. After
associating the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus, the sound of the bell
alone will start to evoke salivating as a response.
The sound of the bell is now known as the conditioned stimulus and salivating in
response to the bell is known as the conditioned response.
Imagine a dog that salivates when it sees food. The animal does this automatically.
He does not need to be trained to perform this behavior; it simply occurs naturally.
The food is the naturally occurring stimulus. If you started to ring a bell every time
you presented the dog with food, an association would be formed between the food
and the bell. Eventually the bell alone, a.k.a. the conditioned stimulus would come
to evoke the salivation response.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning) focuses on using
either reinforcement or punishment to increase or decrease a behavior. Through this
process, an association is formed between the behavior and the consequences of that
behavior.1
Skinner theory is based on law of effect of thorndike
• Reinforcement: ( to repeat again and again one behaviour)
Of 2 types: positive : to reward person for repeating behaviour( giving cycle
for good result)
and negative : to take something from person so that he repeats the behaviour
if he is not repeating( child playing daily on mobile so parents take away
temporary and tells him to study first than give mobile)
• Punishment ( to weaken the bad behaviour) of 2 types:
• Positive : ( to give something which is undesirable) slapping a child for bad
behaviour, or giving extra homework
• and negative ( child not studying only pretending to study so mobile taken
for long term )
Imagine that a trainer is trying to teach a dog to fetch a ball. When the dog
successfully chases and picks up the ball, the dog receives praise as a reward. When
the animal fails to retrieve the ball, the trainer withholds the praise. Eventually, the
dog forms an association between the behavior of fetching the ball and receiving the
desired reward.
For example, imagine that a schoolteacher punishes a student for talking out of turn
by not letting the student go outside for recess. As a result, the student forms an
association between the behavior (talking out of turn) and the consequence (not
being able to go outside for recess). As a result, the problematic behavior decreases.
A number of factors can influence how quickly a response is learned and the strength
of the response. How often the response is reinforced, known as a schedule of
reinforcement, can play an important role in how quickly the behavior is learned 2 and
how strong the response becomes. The type of reinforcer used can also have an
impact on the response.
For example, while a variable-ratio schedule will result in a high and steady rate of
response,3 a variable-interval schedule will lead to a slow and steady response rate.
In addition to being used to train people and animals to engage in new behaviors,
operant conditioning can also be used to help people eliminate unwanted ones. Using
a system of rewards and punishments, people can learn to overcome bad habits
that might have a negative impact on their health such as smoking or overeating.4
Skinner (1938) studied operant conditioning by conducting experiments using
animals which he placed in a 'Skinner Box' which was similar to Thorndike’s puzzle
box.
A Skinner box, also known as an operant conditioning chamber, is a device used to
objectively record an animal's behavior in a compressed time frame. An animal can
be rewarded or punished for engaging in certain behaviors, such as lever pressing
(for rats) or key pecking (for pigeons).
Skinner identified three types of responses, or operant, that can follow behavior.
Positive Reinforcement
Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his
Skinner box. The box contained a lever on the side, and as the rat moved about the
box, it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would
drop into a container next to the lever.
The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put
in the box. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured
that they would repeat the action again and again.
Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an
individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you each time you
complete your homework (i.e., a reward) you will be more likely to repeat this
behavior in the future, thus strengthening the behavior of completing your
homework.
Negative Reinforcement
Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by placing a rat in his Skinner
box and then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some
discomfort. As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever.
Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off. The rats quickly
learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The
consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the
action again and again.
In fact Skinner even taught the rats to avoid the electric current by turning on a light
just before the electric current came on. The rats soon learned to press the lever when
the light came on because they knew that this would stop the electric current being
switched on.
Punishment (weakens behavior)
Punishment is defined as the opposite of reinforcement since it is designed to weaken
or eliminate a response rather than increase it.
Modelling conditioning
Bandura is known for his social learning theory. He is quite different from other
learning theorists who look at learning as a direct result of conditioning,
reinforcement, and punishment. Bandura asserts that most human behavior is
learned through observation, imitation, and modeling.
Albert Bandura ( American Psychologist) social learning theory states that
learning every single thing from personal experience is hard and could be potentially
dangerous. He claims that much of a person’s life is rooted in social experiences,
thus observing others is naturally advantageous to gaining knowledge and skills.
4 steps of modelling:
• Attention: concentrate and observe something.
• Retention: recall anything in memory which was observed earlier if same
situation comes.
• Reproduction: self doing i.e which he had observed earlier will do by himself
for ex dance steps seen earlier in any party.
• Motivation: if child dance in party he gets appreciation and he gets self
motivated and practice more perfectly by motivation.
In this design the basic design for the therapist is to demonstrate appropriate
behaviour for client. Who throw a process of imitation and rehearsal acquire the
ability to perform the behaviour in their own lives. In other words the client may try
to rehearse the behaviour always receiving the feedback from the therapist,
ultimately the client practice the behaviour in real life situation.