Introduction to Social Casework: Historical Development 1 ...

1 Introduction to Social casework : Historical Development11 Introduction to SocialCasework: HistoricalDevelopment* Hema MehtaIntroductionAll human beings are part of society and everyone inthe society has different Social role and duties. Whileperforming his role and duties, individual faces manyproblems in one or other form, which hinder hisperformance as a Social being. casework is the oldestand the most developed method of solving individual sproblems and improving his Social relations. In this unitwe will discuss the concept of casework and itsusefulness in solving these problems. We will also studythe evolution and Historical Development of caseworkin the West and in Nature of IndividualEvery individual is unique and his/her needs aredifferent from others in society.

2 Consequently, thetreatment given or approach to one individual cannotbe used for the other individual. To understand humanbehaviour and the individual difference Grace Mathewhas given following proposition. An individual s behaviour is conditioned by his/herenvironment and his/her life refers to reacting, feeling, thinking, of human being are not visible to others.* Hema Mehta, Indore School of Social Work, Indore2 Social Work Intervention with Individuals and GroupsThe conditions and influences surrounding thepersons constitute the environment. For human growth and Development it is essentialthat certain basic needs should be met. The basicneeds may be physical and mental. Physical needsrefer to needs for food, shelter and clothing.

3 Mentalneeds can be in the form of emotional security,need of parents, child, and spouse. Emotional needs are real and they cannot be metor removed through intellectual reasoning. Behaviour is purposeful and is in response to theindividual s physical and emotional needs. Other people s behaviour can be understood only interms of ones own emotional and individual and every individual has his/her ownimportance. As every human beinghas his/her own setof qualities, he/she cannot be Bisno described the following attributes ofindividual nature: Each individual by the very fact of his/her existenceis of worth. Human suffering is undesirable and should beprevented or at least alleviated, whenever possible.

4 All human behaviour is the result of interactionbetween the biological organism and itsenvironment. Man does not naturally act in a rational manner. Man is amoral and asocial at to Social casework : Historical Development3 There are both individual and common humanneeds. There are important differences betweenindividuals and they must be recognized and allowedfor. Human motivation is complex and frequentlyobscure. Family relationships are of primary importance inthe early developments of individual. Experiencing is essential for learning these two attributes regarding individuals seemobvious at first glance they are often forgotten. Ourtendency to simplify events and our biases often preventsus from realizing the uniqueness of the individuals withwhom we are dealing.

5 We often observe how individualswith different natures are treated using the commonapproach. For example, we hear people say that beggarshave no self-respect and are lazy. To avoid this mistakecaseworkers have to remind themselves that each clientwho comes to the agency has his own outlook, feelingsand attitudes. Their problems may have somesimilarities but has important differences. Thus thetreatment must be differentiated according to the needsof the individual. The caseworker should attempt tounderstand the client s need and respond to him in anindividualized way according to his needs. Similarly thecaseworker should recognize the individual as importantsimply because he is human being.

6 Professionalacceptance of clients by putting aside personal bias isan important requirement of the caseworker. Thecaseworker may have to deal with terrorists, criminalsand other deviants who he/she may personally Work Intervention with Individuals and GroupsAccording to Maslow s prioritization, needs can becategorized as follows: Physiological needs: This refers to basic needs offood, shelter, cloth, air, and water. Safety needs: It is the nature of human being thatit like to be on the safer side and avoid physicaldamage and hazards. Need for belongingness and love: Every humanbeing loves to be love and to belong a particulargroup and with the prestige in that group. If a personis deprived from parental love, affection of siblingsand peer group, there are chances of developmentof violent behaviour in him.

7 Esteemed needs: It is general psychology of humanbeing that it like to be at the top position, to havestatus in the society and acceptance in his owngroup. Need for self-growth and identification: Afterfulfillment of above needs there is need foropportunities available to a person for self-growthand to prove his capabilities for his remarkableidentification in the society. Need for cognitive understanding of self and theworld around: When the person recognize himselfand the world around him it is said that all hisneeds are fulfilled. It is the top most need in theneed hierarchy, which governs the person atspirituality and very few persons achieve can say that each human being has a number ofneeds requiring satisfaction.

8 If these needs are notfulfilled it may result in frustration followed by crisissituation. The caseworker has to understand the client sIntroduction to Social casework : Historical Development5need in order to study, diagnose and to give treatmentaccording to his Faced By Individual andFamiliesProblems may be caused due to the non-fulfillment ofneeds or inability to perform his Social roles. Thesocial roles are connected with being a parent, spouseand wage-earning worker of Human ProblemsProblem of Social functioning causes distress to theindividuals. These individuals are not to be consideredas a unit of category but a unique person. Caseworkmethod tries to resolve individual problems throughscientific to Encyclopedia of Social Work , thereason for human problems may be divided into fivecategories:1) Lack of material resources2) Misconception about the situation and relationshipsand lack of appropriate information3) Illness or health problems related to a disability4) Emotional distress resulting from stressfulsituations5) Personality features or deficienciesGrace Mathew undertook a survey of 200 caseworkrecords, which was based on the reports of caseworkservices rendered for the clients in India.

9 From thesample obtained from Survey of casework Record; theproblems can be categorized as follows:6 Social Work Intervention with Individuals and Groups1) Problems related to illness and disabilities2) Problems due to lack of material resources3) School related problems4) Problems related to institutionalization5) Behaviour problems6) Problems of marital discord7) Problem situations needing a follow-up service8) Needs related to rehabilitation of peoplehandicapped by disabilities9) Predicaments and difficulties of client caught up inproblems that have been regarded as Social problemslike gambling, prostitution, alcoholism, drugaddiction and unmarried of ProblemIn general we can categorize the problems faced byindividual as:Figure.

10 Problems Faced by IndividualsPsychologicalIntroduction to Social casework : Historical Development7 Broadly we can say that in a society many problemsare associated with the individual and the prime aim ofcasework is to resolve individual problems in order tohelp him/her to be independent and effective in of Social CaseworkIn the words of Gordon and Hamilton Social caseworkwhich is both a tool and area of work consists ofprocesses which develop personality through adjustmentconsciously affect individual by individual between manand his Social environment . Miss Richmond gives thisdefinition of casework . Social casework is art of doingdifferent things for and with different people bycooperating with them to achieve at one and at thesame time their own and their society s betterment.