Social work as an art

Art

 Is defined as skill arising from the exercise
of intuitive faculties.

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FACTORS THAT COMPRISE
THE ART OF SOCIAL WORK

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Compassion and courage
 Compassion and courage to confront human

suffering
 Compassion means to suffer with others; it refers
to a willingness to join with and enter into the
pain of those who are distressed or troubled
 It is important to recognize that a high level of

compassion is not typical of most people.
 A social worker who lacks compassion is likely to
distance him/herself from client concerns.
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Compassion and courage
 Courage is being able to confront on a daily
basis human suffering and turmoil and, not

in frequently, the negative and destructive
behaviors of the human species
 Those who have fortitude or courage are able

to value and treat with dignity even those
who have hurt others.

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Professional Relationship
 The capacity to build a meaningful and
productive helping relationship
 Is the medium through which the worker
influences the outcomes of practice

 Is the fundamental tool that is use to help
people become open to the possibility of
change and actively engage in the change
process.
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Qualities of a Professional Relationship
1. Empathy – the ability to take on another’s
perspective
2. Non-possessive warmth –the quality of
relationship that communicates respect,
acceptance, and interest in the well being of
others
 Warmth is transmitted in many forms of
communication, from a reassuring smile to
an offer of concrete and tangible assistance.
 Inherent in all expressions of warmth is
acceptance and a nonjudgmental attitude.

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Qualities of a Professional Relationship

3. Genuineness – s/he must behave like a real

person and must truly like people and care
about their well-being.

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Creativity
 The creativity to overcome barriers to

change
 Creativity is important in social work

because each client’s situation is unique
and constantly changing.

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Dimensions of Creativity
1. Creative Thinking – characterized by the

integration of diverse facts and information
leading to the formation of original ideas
2. Imagination- a social worker with imagination
can identify a variety of place to approach and
solve a problem

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 Imagination is necessary in:

(a) Formulating several options in solving a
problem instead of only coming up with one or
two;
(b) Interpreting and implementing agency
policies where s/he must find ways to adapt or
bend a policy to meet unique client needs.

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3. Flexibility – ability to continually modify an
adapt prior plans and decisions
 The effective worker must be able to shift from
one approach to another and correctly decide
when a shift is appropriate.

4. Persistence – capacity to continue on a
course of action, despite difficulties and set
backs
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Hopefulness and Energy
 The ability to infuse the change process with
hopefulness and energy
 Is the social worker’s ability to communicate
the perspective that together the worker and
the client can improve the client’s situation.
 This is central to increasing the client’s
motivation to solve his/her problem.
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Hopefulness and Energy
 Hopefulness refers to a firm belief and a trust
in the basic goodness of people, in their

capacity to change in positive ways, and in
their willingness to work cooperatively with
others for the common good.
 Energy is the capacity to move things along,
get results, and bounce back from failures
and mistakes.
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Judgment
 The exercise of sound judgment

 Judgment
– is the power of comparing and deciding; the
ability to come to opinions of things
– assessing client situations, providing alternative
solutions, helping plan and conduct change
activities, and deciding when to terminate
services, deciding when the services needed by the
client are beyond the capacities of the worker or
agency
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Judgment
 Professional judgments depend on clear and
critical thinking by the social worker.
 Mature judgment is the type of judgment
expected of a social worker.
 To grow in practice wisdom, the social
worker must be analytical, reflective, and

open to learning from successes and failures.

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Personal and Professional Values
 The appropriate personal professional

values

 Value is a consistent preference that affects
one’s decisions and actions and is based on

person’s deepest beliefs and commitments.

 Values are our fundamental beliefs about
how things ought to be and what is right and
worthwhile.
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Personal Values
 The dilemma arises when there is a
differences of opinion over what is “right”.
 The social worker’s view of the “right” maybe
be different from the client’s, and both may

differ from those who fund and sanction the
agency that employs the social worker.

 Given that one person’s values and

conscience cannot serve as absolute guides
for all others to follow.
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Professional Values
 The NASW Code of Ethics (1996) is
predicated on six core values that drive this
profession:
 Service – help clients deal with issues of social

functioning
 Social Justice – social workers are committed
to promoting public understanding of the
effects of such oppression and encouraging an
appreciation of the richness to be gained from
human diversity.

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Professional Values
 Dignity and Worth of the Person ( and the

society) – social workers are committed to
considering each client a person of value, and
therefore treating the client with respect even
when his or her behavior may have been
harmful to self or others.
Social workers are committed to
improving societal conditions and
resolving conflicts between clients and
the broader society.
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Professional Values
 Importance of Human Relationships – social

workers understand that relationships are
central to human development as well as to a
successful helping process, whether serving
individuals, families, groups, organizations or
communities.

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Professional Values
 Integrity – a helping relationship cannot be

sustained unless clients can trust social
workers to be honest and to respect the clients’
right to privacy.
 Competence – social workers are committed to

bringing the best knowledge and skill possible
to the helping process.

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 The social worker’s personal values should
be compatible with the values of the social
work profession. If these two values systems
are in conflict, one of this two things is likely
to happen:
The worker goes through the motions of being a
professional worker but because his/her heart is
not in it, the lack of genuineness is apparent to
both clients and colleagues;
2. The worker rejects the profession’s values and
principles as a guiding force and responds to
clients entirely on the basis of personal beliefs
and values.
1.

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Professional Style
 The formation of an effective professional style

 Is the social worker’s unique mode of practice.
 “the social worker’s personality, craftmanship

and artistry in the application of knowledge and
skill are articulated through professional and
personal styles” – Siporin (1993, 257)

 Style is expressed in how social workers relate to

clients – their energy, creativity, wisdom, and
judgment, as well as their passion and
commitment to particular social issues.

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Professional Style
 One’s professional style must be appropriate
to the situation, the clients served, and the

agency setting.
 “know thyself” is an important admonition
for the social worker.

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Reference:

Sheafor, B.W. & Horejsi, C.R. (2003, 2006).
Techniques and Guidelines for Social Work
Practice, 6th, 7th ed., Boston: Allyn and Bacon

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Social work as an art

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Social work as an art