What is Social Work?
Social work is a broad profession that intersects with several disciplines. Social work organisations offer the following definitions:
"Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity are central to social work. Underpinned by social work theories, social sciences, humanities, and indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance well-being." –International Federation of Social Workers.
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"Social work is a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. It aims to help people develop their skills and ability to use their resources and community members to resolve problems. Social work is concerned with individual and personal problems and broader social issues such as poverty, unemployment, and domestic violence." –Canadian Association of Social Workers.
Social work practice consists of the professional application of social principles and techniques to one or more of the following ends: helping people obtain tangible services; counselling and psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups; helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services, and participating in legislative processes. The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behaviour; of social and economical, and cultural institutions; and the interaction of all these factors." –National Association of Social Workers.
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"Social workers work with individuals and families to help improve outcomes in their lives. This may be helping to protect vulnerable people from harm or abuse or supporting people to live independently. Social workers support people, act as advocates and direct people to the services they may require. Social workers often work in multi-disciplinary teams alongside health and education professionals." –British Association of Social Workers.
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Read: Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Study Social Work?
Read: Bachelor and Masters' Degree in Social Work in Bangladesh
The Significance of studying Social Work
Social work is a dynamic and distinct helping profession that is rich in meaning, action, and the ability to make a difference in the lives of individuals, families, groups, and communities. The primary goal of social work is to improve society's overall well-being, particularly for the most vulnerable populations. Many social workers provide direct services to clients, assisting them in coping with, managing, and overcoming issues such as poverty, abuse, addiction, and mental illness through counselling, connecting clients with needed resources, and empowering clients to effect change on their own lives.
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"The primary mission of the social work profession is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty." - NASW Mission Statement.
Job Areas of Social Work Students in Bangladesh
- Social Welfare Officer (Government or non-government and large industrial organisations),
- Labour officers,
- Rehabilitation Officer (Government, UNO or United States projects),
- Social Counselling,
- International Voluntary Organizations,
- Cancer Awareness and Rehabilitation Project,
- International Refugee Relief Project (Rohingya in BD),
- Event Management Officer,
- Advertising,
- Public relations and public welfare work,
- Social welfare practical research.
Subject-areas of Social Work
- Psychology
- Sociology (social problems)
- Economy (financial and state issues)
- Political Science (analysis of states and elements)
- Public Health and Demography
- Computer
- Social research and statistics
- Project management
- Social administration and activities
- Human resource development or management
- Social policy and planning
- Criminology
- Social development and NGO activities
- Social culture
- Psychiatric / Clinical and Medical Social Work
- Social work on individual, group and group issues and others.
Roles and Functions of Social Workers
Social workers play many roles in mental health settings, including case managers, advocates, administrators, and therapists.
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The major functions of a psychiatric social worker are promotion and prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Social workers may also practice:
- Counselling and psychotherapy
- Case management and support services
- Crisis intervention
- Psychoeducation
- Psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery
- Care coordination and monitoring
- Program management/administration
- Program, policy and resource development
- Research and evaluation
Psychiatric social workers conduct psychosocial assessments of the patients and work to enhance patient and family communications with the medical team members and ensure the inter-professional cordiality in the team to secure patients with the best possible care and be active partners in their care planning. Depending upon the requirement, social workers are often involved in illness education, counselling and psychotherapy. They are pivotal to the aftercare process to facilitate a careful transition back to family and community in all areas.
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Why Social Work is Different?
If we wanna talk about What makes Social Work different from any other helping profession? Then it comes in the following way,
The distinctive qualities of social work include its emphasis on the person-in-environment model and social justice. While social workers, like other counsellors, consider an individual's internal struggles, they also work with individuals to examine their relationships, family history, work environment, community environment, and the structures and policies that affect them to identify ways to help address a problem or challenge. Social workers do not work exclusively with people; they work with couples, families, groups, neighbourhoods, communities, and organisations. Additionally, social work practise is strengths-based, which means that social workers assist clients in identifying their problems, assessing their abilities and capacities, determining what they do well and how they do it, and then analysing ways in which those strengths can be applied overcome the identified problems.
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First, social work is a professional subject. Social workers and professionals like lawyers, doctors and psychologists deal with psycho-physical and social problems. Social workers serve the client according to their own professional standards. Moreover, social work has an excellent place to go in the corporate world, including in banks, with the opportunity to enter any government job. The main fields of social work students are the Department of Social Services of the Government, the Department of Women and Children, and Government Hospital; On the other hand, the private sector means that there is a priority for all development organisations or NGOs for social workers.
Moreover, anyone can build a career as a researcher and counsellor. You can go anywhere because you will get all the necessary materials when you graduate in social work. Again, you will get additional benefits from an internship before entering the job. Above all, you will know yourself, understand society, increase critical thinking and become your own counsellor.
Social workers serve in various settings, including public agencies, non-profit organisations, commercial corporations, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, police departments, courts, correctional facilities, and private practice. This breadth of the social work profession provides numerous entry points into the workforce and the opportunity to engage with various populations and issues throughout a career.