Phases of the helping process in social work

CHAPTER ONE Introducing the Helping Process

· I work at an agency that serves adolescent females. The length of stay at our short-term facility varies from 14 to 30 days, depending on their situation. We have kids who are in state custody and need temporary housing, juvenile court placements, homeless, or in crisis. Individual and family therapy, psycho-educational groups, health assessments, and food, clothing, and shelter are provided by the agency.

— A caseworker in St. Louis, MO

There is a variety of helping professions committed to helping those in need. Those professions in settings such as mental health, substance abuse, criminal justice, welfare, education, child and youth services, and legal aid, to name a few, are committed to helping clients address issues that emerge from problems in living. These professionals, committed to viewing clients from a holistic point of view, support client growth in areas such as social, physical, and mental health and financial, spiritual, educational, and vocational issues. The helping process is a fundamental way that professionals reach out to those in need and provide the support and structure necessary to influence their potential to develop and grow in positive ways. In this text we present knowledge and skills that will help you prepare to help others.

This chapter introduces you to a model of helping that guides many professionals who work in human service delivery. Helping is a purposeful undertaking that generally moves through three phases. We say “generally” because people are often unpredictable, problems or situations change, or services are disrupted for other reasons. The three phases of this helping model are not discrete categories with specific time limits. Rather, they illustrate the flow of the helping process that is individualized to each person, situation, or both.

This chapter also introduces the three components of the helping process: case review, documentation and report writing, and client participation. Both a strengths-based approach to the process and the ethical considerations that undergird the process are important parts of this chapter. Focus your reading and study on the following objectives, which you should be able to accomplish after reading the chapter.