Changing model of Social Work Practice- Wandofknowledge

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Changing model of Social Work Practice- Wandofknowledge

Ecological model

The practice of ecological social work has been around since the late 1970s, and as environmental awareness has increased in society, social workers have taken on a bigger role in caring for the environment.

The main idea behind this concept is the notion of a person-environment fit, which implies that there is at least one type of ideal environment for a society to live in. It’s more likely, though, that there are several types of ideal environment.

Clinical model

A clinical model outlines the steps and standards by which a clinical social worker expects to guide a client to behavioral change. Because every client is different, a clinical social worker is trained to integrate the best theories from fields such as psychology or education to create the right clinical model for each particular client.

Radical model

From the 1970s, radical social work or the ‘old’ radical social work approach focused mainly on Marxist social theories. It criticized the capitalist system and traditional social work and launched a call for changes that enabled social work to change capitalist society, favour the working class and eliminate its pathologizing approach to individuals needing help. Social work practice, i.e., casework, was criticized because of its individual approach perpetuating the social order, to promote instead, community work as a collective approach (Bailey and Brake, 1975; Dominelli, 1990; Fook, 2002; Ferguson, 2008). The aim was not to eliminate casework, but to raise awareness of its deficit approach to service users (Dominelli, 1988). This awareness and the simultaneous coming together of critical social workers, service users, students, and academics was of vital importance. Within the current or ‘new’ radical social work, socio-critical theories provide a theoretical frame alongside social and sociological theories.

System model

Systems model in social work practice is based on the idea that behaviour is influenced by a variety of factors that work together as a system. These factors include family, friends, social settings, economic class, and the environment at home. In this particular model, professionals observe and analyse the many systems that contribute to the subject’s behaviour and welfare. They then work to improve those systems according to the individual’s unique situation.

Developmental model

A developmental model serves as a guide against which client behaviour can be compared. For example, one model used to assess individuals’ behaviour is based on eight stages of psychosocial development from birth to late adulthood as defined by 20^th century psychoanalyst Erik Erikson. Based on Erikson’s model, an adolescent client’s behaviours can be assessed against a developmental stage that is marked by the struggle to find a fulfilling identity, whereas the behaviour of a client in late adulthood can be assessed against a stage of life that is marked by the struggle to feel fulfilled by past choices and achievements.

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