CHAPTER FOUR ISSUES RELATED TO ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING The Practice of Generalist Social Work (2 nd ed.)

Key Ideas  Assessment and planning in practice often is not a straightforward process.  There are many issues and dynamics related to the agency, clients, and outside systems that can impact assessment and planning processes and that need to be considered. © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Agency Perspective  Administrative tasks  Accountability  Financial constraints  Documentation  Record-keeping and what information to include © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Client Perspective  Involuntary, mandated, and nonvoluntary clients  Engagement with involuntary clients  Prepare yourself to deal with a variety of emotions coming from clients  Explore how clients see their situations  Legal and power issues  Avoid making assumptions about clients’ situations  Help clients see situations from the perspectives of others and anticipate legal processes  Create transparency around the unequal power dynamic between social workers and clients © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Client Perspective  Client anger and skills for working with anger issues  Recognize and control your own feelings of tension, anger, and defensiveness  Avoid returning angry or hostile comments  Acknowledge clients’ strengths in a genuine way  Focus on alternatives that are realistic to clients  Avoid moralizing or lecturing © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Client Perspective  Client crises: What constitutes a crisis? When, because of a stressful situation and/or a precipitating event, a system, such as an individual or family, that has had a satisfactory level of social functioning develops a state of disequilibrium, or loses its steady state. Coping mechanisms that have worked in past situations no longer are working, although there is usually some considerable struggle to cope. © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Client Perspective  Steps in crisis intervention  Assess crisis including lethality, danger to self or others, and immediate psychosocial needs  Rapidly establish rapport  Identify the issues pertinent to clients  Use active listening skills to deal with clients’ emotions  Explore alternatives by identifying clients’ strengths and previous successful coping mechanisms  Establish and implement action and follow-up plan © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Client Perspective  Suicide assessment  Focus questions on thoughts clients might have about death and suicide  Ask if clients have a plan, time frame, and method  Assess the lethality of the method  Know and assess risk factors for suicide  Know legal and agency procedures for responding to high- and low-risk clients © 2011 Taylor & Francis

The Social Worker Perspective  Painful events and triggers  Recognize that painful events will occur in practice  Be aware of personal signs of trauma and burnout  Get help and support  Practice self care Use self as resource Understand shared power Focus on practical goals Develop support systems Develop a healthy lifestyle © 2011 Taylor & Francis