INTRODUCTIO

N TO SOCIAL
WORK
PRACTICE
SW
100
WMS GROU
U P1
WESTERN MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY
 Introduction

You have probably heard the term Case Work, Group Work,
Community Organization and definitely the Micro-macro
Conceptualization in Social Work practice. But do you really
know what it means? When was it developed? Who introduced
these conceptualizations? Is this an important concept, jargon in
the understanding of the social work profession that you have
chosen to pursue in the future?

These lessons will help you answer these questions. This will
introduce you to additional lessons, concepts, and ideas in your
pursuit of this course.
 Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

• Understand the essential elements required to

practice social work
• Identify and comprehend the generalist/integrated
methods of social work practice
• Obtain ideas on the strengths and perspective in social
work
 Try
this!
SCRAMBLED LETTERS
Before we begin the lesson, it is best to test your
mind with these scrambled letters. Fix and give
your own understanding to the word. Good luck!
Answers will be checked afterwards.
 SCRAMBLED
1. IALOCS KORW LETTER
6. SSASIEANTC
2. SEPRECPEVIT
7. ILCNTE YSSEMT
3. RSTNGEHT
8. SOCIAL
1. USPOPTR
WORK 6.
4. NITGREEATD
ASSISTANCE
9. ERISSTAENC
2. PERSPECTIVE 7.
5. UOGRP
CLIENT OWKR
SYSTEM
10.
3. OUPRG
STRENGTH 8.
SUPPORT
4. INTEGRATED 9.
RESISTANCE
 Think
Ahead!
CLOUD OF THOUGHTS
The purpose of this activity is to evaluate your
comprehension of what you know about the Essential
Elements in Social Work Practice and Dynamics of Planned
Change.

Now, let's engage in the activity. Imagine this is your brain.

You are tasked to develop a cloud of thought listing the
different essential elements in social work practice that you
have in your mind. Provide definition to your answer.
 Read and
Ponder
You may have different definitions and illustrative examples. This variation in
perspectives is natural. Congratulations on your early achievements in Social
Work 100!

The conceptual framework of social work is based on the premise for its practice
in the Philippines: social workers need to have a foundation of values,
knowledge, and skills that would equip them as they work with people in a
variety of problem situations. In the early mid-fifties, there was already talk in
the country about teaching the “genetics” of social work practice in the
undergraduate program, but the course description was not taught further; it is
still described in the brochures of American schools as a course service-focused
and highly specialized in content, while a lot of weight was given to methods;
however, its concentration remained to be in case work. Why? It’s common
knowledge that the first professionally trained social workers were educated in
the United States. Their numbers grow coinciding with the beginning of
professional social work education in the Philippines. In the United States, the
 Casework: focuses on assisting individuals or families in addressing personal
challenges. It involves assessment, goal setting, intervention, and evaluation.
Group work: focuses on leveraging the dynamics of a group to promote
personal and social development. It emphasizes collaboration, support, and
shared experiences among members.
Community organization: focuses on mobilizing communities to address
social issues and improve collective well-being. It involves identifying community
needs, building partnerships, and facilitating collaboration among residents and
organizations.

One of the major outcomes of the 1967 National Workshop on Social Work
Education, a concerted stock-taking as to what is happening and what is not in
social work practice and education, is the recommendation that, as a deliberate
force for change, schools should teach methods based on the holistic approach
means to provide support that looks at the whole person, not just their mental
health needs. The support should also consider their physical, emotional, social
and spiritual wellbeing; so that the individual, the group, and the community are
used as functional points of entry and should develop skills based on the generic
aspects of the methods used by the social workers. It has already been like that
In the United States, the most widely accepted concept of the integrated
method of social work practice is more commonly referred to as the
“generalist approach,” a sophisticated understanding of the relationship
between man and his environment (which will be explained further in the next
chapter). Indeed, the standard approach to service delivery by way of the
separate practice of casework, group work, and community organization has
been greatly questioned. “With the recognition that all social work methods
are needed and used in every field of practice, they may become less
important. What is increasingly evident is that every social worker has to work
with individuals, groups, and the community. In other words, the methods are
more frequently combined in practice, and there is more overlapping in their
content than was originally supposed.” Other authors come out with their
objections to the separate methods of casework, group work, and community
organization. Herbert Bisno objected to this separation of these 3 methods
and considered this a faulty conceptualization and illogical. He believed that
these approaches should be integrated, arguing that they are interrelated and
that effective social work requires a holistic view that combines all three
These nine methods are:
• Adversary
• Conciliatory
• Developmental
• Facilitative-Instructional
• Knowledge Development
• Testing Restorative
• Regulatory
• Rule-implementing
• Rule Making
Compton and Galaway also have additional to these objections where they
stated that the case work, the group work, and the community organization
are interconnected to work together towards the betterment of the social work
practice. According to them, this approach a.) encourages the dichotomous
thinking that the community organizer will work to produce change with each
other, depending on the nature of the groups; (b.) has led to the training of
specialists in each of these methods who tend to see the problem of their
clients in terms of their own methodological preference, rather in terms of a
Furthermore, the refinement of the traditional methods is the micro-macro
conceptualization of social work practice, which they see as similar to the
case-work group work-community organization model over which it is
supposed to be an improvement. “Micro approaches focus on the individual
either as an individual or as a member of a family or a small group and are
directed toward assisting the person in coping with environmental stress; their
strategies encompass more of casework, family or individual counseling, and
group activities aimed at helping individuals in a group setting. Macro
approaches more on community or a larger social system towards producing
change to this system; its strategies encompass community organization,
policy making, planning, and group work strategies directly towards outside of
the members themselves.” Discussion of the social work practice will be
organized
and guided by our desire of objection that we have just presented, but more
importantly, by our desire to present what we believe is a minimum
competence for working with Filipino clients. In doing this, we will prove that
the Filipino is a multi-problem client that therefore could provide them an
approach to solve the problem. Furthermore, the social work agencies today,
The direct service worker of a government unit, who takes charge of
many barangay, and medical social workers in a hospital, that now
follows the concept of comprehensive or total health care; they are
typically the examples of the social worker whom we had in mind in
organizing the theories and ideas in the next chapter.
 Read and
Ponder
The Essential Elements in Social Work Practice and Dynamics of
Planned Change
In social work practice, the process of planned change is crucial in addressing
the needs of clients and improving social systems. Lippitt, Watson, and Westley,
in "The Dynamics of Planned Change", offer a framework for understanding how
this change occurs. This framework revolves around four essential elements: the
client, the worker, the problem, and the process.
Essential Elements:
1. Client System:
The client system refers to the individual, group, organization, or community in
need of support. Lippitt and colleagues use the term “client system” because it
includes a wide variety of cases, ranging from individuals to larger groups and
communities. This is a compromise between focusing too narrowly on an
individual client or too broadly on the social system.
The client system can be:
- An individual with various internal aspects (conscious and unconscious mind,
2. Worker (Professional Change Agent):
The social worker, or "professional change agent," is responsible for facilitating
the process of change. Depending on the client system, the worker might be a
specialist like a psychiatrist, counselor, or community leader, working directly
with individuals, groups, or entire communities to bring about planned change.
3. Problem:
The problem is the issue that creates the need for change. It could be a
dysfunction within the client system or an external factor that disrupts normal
functioning. The professional change agent enters the scene to assess and
address this problem, guiding the client system through the change process.
4. Process (Phases of Planned Change):
The process involves a series of structured phases, each aimed at moving the
client system from identifying the problem to achieving and stabilizing change.
The seven phases outlined by Lippitt, Watson, and Westley include:
● Phase 1: The client system recognizes the need for help.
● Phase 2: The helping relationship is established.
● Phase 3: The problem is identified and clarified.
● Phase 4: Possible solutions are explored, and goals are set.
● Phase 5: Change efforts are implemented in real-life situations.
● Phase 6: The changes are generalized and stabilized.
●Phase 7: The helping relationship ends, or a different ongoing relationship is
established.

Lippitt describes two concepts useful in understanding the dynamics of

planned change. These are the concepts of "change force" and "resistance
force".
A "change force" is anything that makes someone more willing to accept or
make a change. It can be something Rational or Irrational, Recognized or
Unrecognized, General or Specific, and it can come from the client system,
their environment, or the change agent.

Here are some general forces that acts as reasons for change:
1. Our continuous search for opportunities to use or modify our environment or
features of this environment which we have created in previous attempts to
solve problems;
2. Our need to utilize and adapt to the changes we are constantly creating in
our environment;
3. The very competitive process of comparing ourselves with others (always
A "Resistance force" is anything that makes it harder for someone or a group
to agree to change. Like the "change force", it can sometimes be Rational or
Irrational, Recognized or Unrecognized, General or Specific and can come from
different sources: The Client System, The Environment and The Change Agent.
In simple terms, "Resistance Force" are things that make people less willing to
change. First of all, social work is a planned change, meaning that all activities
are part of a thoughtful and intentional effort to make improvements whenever
they are needed or deemed necessary.
In social work, problems often arise from needs, obstacles, or frustrations that
make a person’s life difficult or hinder their ability to cope. These problems can
come up from various areas like money, health, or relationships and usually
comes from how the person interacts with others and manages their social
roles.
The "client system" in social work can be an individual, a family, a small
group, or even a community. A community can be any group of people in a
specific place, like a neighborhood, a hospital, or a workplace.
"Systems made up of interacting subparts" means groups of connected
parts that work together. When these systems need help with something in
A "professional change agent" is a social worker who often gets help from
paraprofessionals, local leaders, and volunteers. Besides having professional
training and skills, a social worker should also have important personal
qualities, such as liking people, being warm and emotionally mature, being
honest, and being responsible.
Strengths Perspective in Social Work
Strengths Perspective is not a form or model of intervention, nor a helping or
problem-solving process but is an "approach," a way of looking at the
individual, family, group or community one is working with. It can serve as a
framework for social work practice. In 1989, the faculty at Kansas University
(U.S.A.) were the first to formally name and articulate the Strengths
Perspective in the journal Social Work, summarizing its main insight that;
All people possess a wide range of talents, abilities, capacities, skills,
resources, and aspirations...a belief in human potential is tied to the notion
that people have untapped, undetermined reservoirs of mental, physical,
emotional, social, and spiritual abilities that can be expressed. The presence of
this capacity for continued growth and heightened well-being means that
people must be accorded the respect that this power deserves.
● Realize that while trauma, abuse, illness, and struggle may be injurious, they
may also be sources
of challenge and opportunity Honor client-set goals and aspirations for
growth and change
● Serve clients' and communities' interests through collaboration with them
as directors of their own helping process
● Mobilize the strengths and resources of clients, relationships, and
environments
● Link goals to specific doable actions that activate strengths and resources
● Engage in social work with a sense of caring and hope
● Professional social work literature in the last two decades provides helpful
details to guide
Practitioners in the use of this approach in their work with clients, an approach
which has spread in many fields of social work.
 Read and
Ponder
The Generalist/Integrated Method of Social Work Practice
The Generalist/Integrated Method of Social Work Practice in the Philippines
emerged from the need to adapt social work methods to address national
development goals, particularly the eradication of poverty. Initially, social work
in the Philippines followed the American model, focusing on three distinct
methods: Social Casework (individuals), Social Group Work (groups), and
Community Organization (communities). However, by the 1960s, it was
recognized that this fragmented approach was not effectively addressing
societal issues. A shift was proposed towards a holistic, integrated method that
combines all three approaches. Social workers were encouraged to engage
with individuals, families, groups, and communities, reflecting the diverse
needs in the field. The goal was to produce well-rounded practitioners capable
of addressing complex, multi-problem situations, especially in poverty-related
contexts.
The integrated method of social work advocates for generalist practice rather
than distinct social casework, group work, and community organization. It
The integrated development approach also blends social and economic
concerns in policymaking. In the 1960s, the "developmental thrust" increased
interest in the integrated method, reducing the emphasis on specialized
methods and leading agencies to hire generalist social workers for broader
services. The Local Government Code of 1991 (RA No. 7160) transferred social
welfare programs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) to local government units (LGUs). The Mandanas-Garcia ruling further
enhanced LGUs' ability to provide services by increasing their National Tax
Allotment (NTA). The Professional Regulation Commission's Board for Social
Workers now reflects the need for generalist skills in licensing and
examination. The generalist method uses a broad set of skills to address
various client situations, focusing on the system needing change and
evaluating the plan according to the chosen strategy.
Generalist Social Worker are trained to work with individuals, families, groups,
and communities. The Generalist Approach emphasizes a broad and flexible
method of practice. It involves integrating multiple theories, techniques, and
interventions to address a variety of client needs. This approach aims to
 Generalist Social worker utilize the basic competence for practice that
requires the following "generics" of social work;
1) Philosophical base/Foundation: Basic philosophy underlying social work
practice, professional values, principles and ethics.
2) Knowledge foundation: Human behavior and the environment, social
welfare policy, programs and services and social work practice theory,
problem solving process; helping models approaches and techniques.
The basic concept underlying the integrated method of social work
❖ The concept of one client system as a point of entry explains that by helping
one person or group, a social worker can also address the needs of others
connected to them.
❖ The concept of "total problem solving" discusses addressing all aspects of a
person's life and situation, rather
than just focusing on one issue. It involves looking at a client's entire
environment, including their relationships, resources, and challenges, to find
comprehensive solutions.

❖ The concept that the client's problem or situation should guide the choice of
 In advocating for the integrated method of social work practice, we
acknowledge that social work is not one-size-fits-all. We recognize that:
(a) The focus and use of basic social work methods can vary depending on the
type of client, whether they are individuals, groups, or communities.
(b) Some client issues may need specialized knowledge and skills that go
beyond the basic methods of social work.

In the Philippines, where poverty and related issues are widespread, and given
that undergraduate social work education aims to prepare students for entry-
level practice, a strong foundation in the core elements of social work is
essential. This solid foundation in generalist methods is essential for
effectively working with any type of client, whether individuals, groups, or
communities.
 See if you can do
this!
ANSWER RELAY
That was fun and exciting. We hope that you have learned something good
today. To test your critical thinking, we have the last activity to unleash your
wisdom!
Now that you have learned about the social work practice, we prepare
something exciting and challenging. Let’s test your team's cooperation!

Instructions:
● Form a straight line with all the members included.
● A question will be asked by the facilitators. The first person in the group will be
the one to guess the answer. A 30 seconds time will be given to think of the
possible answer
● After 30 seconds, the person in front will relay the answer to his/her group
mates through whispering.
● The last person to receive the answer will be the one to run to the facilitators.
But before they can give the answer, they need to do a five-times spin.