Social Work Methods and Intervention Units In Society with Family

Social Work Practice with Family

A family is a primary group of people. It is a universal unit of society. Two or more people related by blood, marriage, or adoption and living together is known as family. It is considered as the basic unit of the society to meet the needs of individuals and those of other societal institutions. Everyone desires to live better and develop adequately in the family life where care and protection are ensured. Family plays vital role in the development of the society as well as in the life of individual Therefore, many problems found today in the society are due to the inadequacy of the family life or due to malfunction in a family role. In this context, a family becomes an intervention for social practice. A social worker has to understand various aspect of a family before treatment planning and intervention. If determines the development of individuals and it is the major source of individualization. It has the major potential to provide stability and support when there are problems in the environment. A family only may not face a problem but there may be a different problem arising in between the members. Thus, to coordinate and try to solve the problem social workers can help by playing a various role in the family. The two categories as below:]

“The family is social institution found in all societies that unites people in cooperate groups to oversee the bearing and raising the children. Families’ ties are also called kinship, a social bond based on blood, marriage, and adaptation.”

(Macionis, 2006)

Different types of problem have been solved by a family for example socialization process, regulation of their sexual activity, social placement and providing the financial security to them. Along with the modernization and industrialization, a family has been suffered by the different sort of the problems such as adjustment, family organization, property inheritance and marriage problems. In such condition social worker plays the significant role to relief the family from the burden that stabilizes the family.

Social worker’s role is as a coordinator in order to establish harmony between people and service agencies. In the process of the problem solving social worker often observe the activities of the family members, empowering them through the income generating programs, service in the sector of marriage agencies, family planning, child-rearing, and domestic violence. Social worker intervention is significant at the time of separation and divorce, preventing issues which arise within the family. The process of separation and divorce is expensive as well as takes a long period of time, if they take the support from the court, in such situation, social worker settle the problem through the use of parenting coordinator within the family.

The role of the social worker can be categorized into a different form.

1) The social worker as marriage consular.

2) The social worker as family consular.

Social worker as marriage consular

Marriage is a legally organized relationship between adult male and female which have certain rights and obligation. There are numerous problems before and after marriage such as the problem of matchmaking, incest taboo, divorce separation, property inheritance and family dispute by marriage these types of marriage problem solved by the marriage therapist who applies theories and methods regarding the marital diagnosis, prevent and treatment.

These marriage therapists must be the license holder. They assist an individual, couple, family and groups who is directly or indirectly related to family problems. They are applying psychotherapeutic principles, procedures, and services that integrate the couple. Basically, they use psychotherapeutic principle in their assessment, evaluation, and diagnosis which prevent the people from the emotional and mental function of an individual.

The news columnist Ann Canders once remarked that one marriage in twenty is wonderful, five in twenty are good, ten in twenty are tolerable and remaining four are pure hell (Cited by Macionis 2006:476). It is a crucial problem after marriage all most all the countries. The main cause of divorce and separation is a trend of individualism romantic love because women became less dependent on men, stressful marriage and divorce are socially acceptable. To relief, the family from such problem social worker must have sound knowledge of social setting by which he can diagnosis or provided the treatment service in a decent manner.

Social worker as family consular

Within the family, family members have been faced numerous problems like discipline, education, health, finance, violence, discrimination and exploitation. The intervention process of the social workers impacts on the wider area of their family. During the period of worker social worker must have to care the principle of acceptance, relationship, freedom of expression and freedom behavior. Social workers have to be equally intervention in the case of abuse (sexual abuse and drug abuse). Such case would be destroying the both physical and mental capabilities of family members. Family counselor plays the important role for the well-being of the family. They mainly intervene to give the life of orphanage, children, and elderly members, neglected and abused children.

The role of social worker would be different within the periods of family counseling.

• As a teacher

The teacher teaches their students good manner in terms of discipline and study. They often teach a moral lesson and enabling them in order to make independent. Similarly, the role of social workers closely resemble the teacher because their intervening process within the family to teach the significance of education and health, problem of a teenager, impact of abuse, exploitation, divorce, and separation, coping strategies between family members and much more. In order to solve the problems he/she teaches the family members through the help of community resources, team activities and family consciousness.

• As a Lawyer

In the special cases, social worker should intervene to teach the existing law of the state especially in the case of abuse, property inheritance, violence, and exploitation. In addition, they should advocate in favor of rights of children, women and elderly members of the family. They must decide the case on the basis of free value. Social worker plays the role of the lawyer in the special cases like divorce and distribution of parental property. They may initiate contact for referral and family may get free of legal service from the social worker.

• Psychologist

Family members have been suffered by the different sort of the mental problems rather than physical problem. In such situation, psychologist or psychiatrist help the family patient in order to prevent the members from the mental, behavioral and emotional disorder.

• Social worker as doctors

While the doctors intervene to the patient his/her role as a health worker to serve the family members. In general, it involves the counseling family patient in order to promote their mental health with emphasis on the prevention. Through the service of the social worker all the family members will be benefited, their role will be as a doctors, nurse, midwife and psychiatrist. They particularly help the children, adolescent and adults death with varieties of life stress and problems, including addiction, abuse, aging problem, grief, anger or depression and other depression issues.

The intervention of the professional worker often based on the code of ethics and his professional qualification. If the social worker work as a psychiatrist, s/he must be master’s in medicine or post-graduate education in psychiatry consist of four years of residency training of which at least three are in psychiatry.

Reference-

Shrestha, S. K. (2013). the concept of social work. Kathmandu: Taleju, Prakashan.