Client and case worker relationship.

RELATIONSHIP OF THE INTERVIEWER AND THE INTERVIEWEE

• All human beings form relationships with other human beings but the
relationship formed by a caseworker with the client is special and unique.
• This relationship facilitates the whole interviewing process.
• For many a client, talking with someone who listens with a non-
judgmental understanding instead of criticizing or admonishing is a unique
experience.
• This relationship with a person who does not ask anything for himself
personally but focuses his/her interest entirely on the client and yet
refrains from advice or control is a very satisfying one (Garret).
• The establishment of a relationship between the client and the caseworker
serves as a prerequisite to a successful interviewing process.
• Establishing Rapport
• Transference
• Counter Transference

SPECIFIC INTERVIEWING PROBLEMS

• During the interview process, the interviewer and the interviewee may at
times face a variety of problems or blocks those prevent or impede the
interviewing process.
• The most obvious of these is physical and the most complex is
psychological. However, many a time they may appear in combination.
• For effective interviewing one must be alert to such barriers and take
remedial steps.
• Some of the specific interviewing problems are explained here which could
be due to any of the following factors.
• Environmental factors
• Socio-cultural factors
 • Psychological factors
• Factors related to the client/caseworker
Environmental Factors
• Physical setting and seating arrangement
• Noise
• Lack of privacy and frequent interruptions
Socio-cultural Factors
• Biases
• Complexes that affect people due to religious affiliations
• Class and status differences
Psychological Factors
• Differences of age, intelligence and attitudes
• Personal inadequacies and personality complexes

Factors Related to Client and the Caseworker

• Lying and fabrication
• Boredom and frustration
• Hiding back vital information
• Non-cooperative client
• Misunderstanding the message

Factors Related to Case-worker

• Inability to vary the pattern of interviewing to accommodate the
differences in race, class, culture
• Exploiting position and power to dominate interviewee
• Selective attention and listening
• Stereotyped thinking and categorization of client on the basis of
preconceived assumptions
 • Overemphasizing personal need gratification and rewards
• Priority to own needs over the needs of the client
• Professional failure, self-control in case of the client’s hostility, rejection
and abusive behaviour
• Coming unprepared for the interview
• Bureaucratic approach with more inclination towards procedural details
and strict interpretation of rules. Task-oriented approach rather than
person-oriented approach
• Too active or too passive.
• Counter-transference reactions.

Recording in social case work

• After the interviewing process is over the caseworker has the obligation to
record the interview.
• The language of interview now has to be translated into the language of
the record (file, forms, computer).
• According to Kadushin recording can be seen as a part of the interview
process.
• Through the act of recording the interview continues in the mind of the
interviewer after it is terminated.
• It is a retrospective living of the encounter.
• As a consequence the interviewer of necessity, has to selectively decide
which aspects of the interview were more significant.
• She has to systematically organise a somewhat chaotic experience.

What is a Case Record?

• A record literally means ‘a formal writing of any fact or proceeding’ and
when used as a verb means ‘to set down in writing or other permanent
form’.
Recording in Social Work
1. By maintaining records, a worker can improve his professional skills and
techniques, can learn by his own errors and can thus make his help more
effective and systematic.
2. Records not only help a worker to evaluate his own work, but he can also
improve upon his own methods.
3. Records can create interest not only in the worker but also in the client and
help in building worker-client relationship.
4. Records add to the body of knowledge of social work and also make this
knowledge communicable.
5. Records make supervision and teaching easier and effective.
6. Records can be used for social research and planning.
7. Through records a worker can show his agency what work he has done.
8. Records ensure continuity of work, if another replaces one worker.
9. Records are useful for future references.
10. Records help in providing service on a systematic basis.

Principles of Case Records:

1. The contents of the records should be kept confidential.
2. Objectivity, accuracy, simplicity and brevity should be the guiding factors in
preparing records.
3. Records should be written in very simple language and a simple style.
4. Reaction of the Client/group should be recorded beginning and /or ending in
his/their own words
5. Abbreviations should be avoided in records
6. Summary is a good device for organizing and analyzing facts.
7. Narrative is a good style for reporting facts.
8. If possible, notes should be not be noted down before the client but after the
interview is over.
9. Client‟s emotions- anger, happiness, irritability, etc., should be suitably
recorded.
10. Records should be supplemented with letters, etc.

TYPES OF RECORDING
(A) Process
(B) Summary
(C) Verbatim
(D) Non-Verbatim
PROCESS RECORDING-
• Process recording is a form of recording used frequently by the
caseworker.
• In this type, the process of interview is reported and is a rather detailed
description of what transpired with considerable paraphrasing.
• It preserves a sequence in which the various matters were discussed.
• It includes not only what both the worker and the client said but also
significant reaction of the client and changes in mood and response.
• In this the interview and observation go hand-in-hand. It may be verbatim
or non-verbatim reproduction.
SUMMARY RECORDING-
 Summary is a good device for organising and analyzing facts.

• Summary points into meaning and relative importance of material

gathered.
• A careful summary made at appropriate intervals reduces bulk, clarifies
direction and saves the workers, time.
 • Summary is commonly assumed to be a review or recapitulation of
material that has already appeared in the record.
• It may be either topically arranged or may appear as condensed
chronological narrative.
• The closing summary is a summary made at the time the case is closed. To
be most effective it should be written by the worker who was responsible
for the case at the time of closing.
VERBATIM RECORDING-
• It is reproduction of factual data in the individual’s own words.
• It is commonly used in casework because of its accuracy and objectivity.
However, it should not become a mechanical reproduction of information
because casework as an art requires an intelligent selection and
rearrangement of material.
• As a part of training of the worker, verbatim recording may be of value in
developing objectivity.
NON- VERBATIM/NARRATIVE RECORDING-
• Narrative recording has been and still is a predominant style of recording.
• It is the style found in newspapers and magazines. It is the way we speak
of the day’s events, it is the way we write letters, and it is the ways we
keep diaries.
• Narrative form of recording is preferred for reporting acts of practical
helpfulness, events and most collateral visits or conferences.
• It may be used for the contents of the interview in all instances except
when the process itself and use of relationship have special significance.

INTERVIEW
What is an Interview?
• Involves communication between two individuals.
 • Interview means face to face conversation, or questioning, for the
purpose of eliciting information to understand and analyze issues
/problems in question.

Format of interview schedule

1. History of the problem
2. Personal history
3. Habits
4. Occupational history
5. Income
6. Sex experience (if it is needed)
7. Family details

What is a Social Casework Interview?

• The casework interview refers to the meeting of the social worker and the
client in a face-to-face conversation.
• It is not a casual conversation but a professional activity on the part of the
social worker, because the conversation is geared to specific or general
purposes which may be obtaining or imparting information, giving help or
studying and assessing the client’s situation.

Purpose of Social Casework Interview

 Obtaining and imparting information:

1. Interviewing is a two way process.

2. Just as information is received by the social worker, so also information is

imparted to the client regarding official procedures and other matters about
himself/herself, his/her role as a social worker, and about the function of the
agency.

 Study and assessment of the client’s situation/problems:

 1. Data gathered from and about the client are sorted out and analysed,
from which relevant aspects are linked to form a verbal picture of the
problem situation with clear indications of cause-effect relationships.
2. In this process, the social worker applies the knowledge of social sciences
for understanding the behaviour of the clients and others in a problem
situation.
3. Ordinarily a few interviews are necessary before an assessment of the
situation can be made.
 Interview acts as a direct tool for providing help.

Home Visits

• Home visits gives an opportunity to observe the client in his family,

neighbourhood that is in normal and natural settings.
• Generally behavior in the agency is restricted.
• The case worker visiting to the client house is called as home visits.
• It is to study about the client’s family environment whether it is
normal/abnormal.
• To study the social, physical, emotional aspects of the family.
• It is necessary to plan the treatment even within the family itself.

Importance:
1. Case worker creates awareness of the client’s condition with his family
members.
2. It is to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression.
3. It facilitates to maintain the relationship between the client and the case
worker.
4. It is the powerful techniques compared to other technique.
• Families experiencing significant difficulties present a challenge to the
helping professions, especially when the safety or well-being of children
and other family members is at risk.
• Commonly there are multiple problems that are embedded in the social,
emotional and psychological functioning of individual family members and
in their patterns of interaction – both with each other and with their wider
social networks.
• Historical and structural factors in society that are beyond their control,
such as poverty, racism, sexism, unemployment and shortage of affordable
housing, add further layers of difficulty and reduce the family’s capacity to
thrive.
• These difficulties are intertwined and deeply embedded and will not be
resolved through a simple programme or therapeutic intervention.
• Commonly these families do not believe that change is possible and are
reluctant to seek help, or actively resist it.
• Bringing services to the family in their own home seems a self-evident
solution.
• A home-based intervention does not require a client to come to an
appointment, attend a programme or participate in a group.
• The worker joins the family in their home base and sees their reality
through being part of their lived daily experience.
• The worker is on the spot and they can address issues as they arise.
• This type of service requires a special kind of professional engagement
that values and respects the family, conveys warmth and caring, and
hooks into the family’s own underlying yearning to live their lives
differently.
• This work requires well-integrated professional practice that can support
and encourage yet also firmly address anything that will jeopardize the
safety and wellbeing of children and other vulnerable members, and do it
in a way that maintains a real human relationship with the family.

Listening
• Listening involves skill it is part of communication skills.
• According to Patrick O' Neill, listening is the 'ability' to welcome different
points of view and suspend judgment and evaluation of others. Listening is
the 'ability' to put compassion and intimacy to work in a relationship.
• Listening is the key to maximize human resources in the areas of
Creativity, Productivity and Problem solving.
• Understanding the clients’ words and feelings as accurate as possible.
• Social case worker should have sharp intellectual memory to solve the
problems of the client.
• Active listening will strengthen the social case work process.
• Good listening skills are at the heart of a social workers' communication
efforts.
• A case worker who applies the same good listening skills will develop
insight into her clients problems and be able to respond effectively.
• Listening is critical to communication, as communication goes both ways.
• A case worker that makes the time to listen to her clients will benefit
herself and her employees, and that will make her job easier.
• Good listening skills are as critical as having the ability to speak to people
from different backgrounds.

Communication Skills
• As part of their jobs, effective social workers learn communication skills
that allow them to interact with people from all lifestyles and
backgrounds.
• Social workers employ strong communication skills to help people feel
comfortable around them.
• They make it easy for people to approach them. They may alter their
communication style to suit the group they talking to.
• Social workers operate in diverse settings; they may need to communicate
in bureaucratic settings, office meetings, schools, churches or face-to-face.
• A case worker who learns to tailor her communication style to the
person/group she is with will benefit from learning this aspect of social
worker communication skills.
• Good communication skills hinge on self-awareness. A social worker uses
self-awareness to ensure that she doesn't impose her own beliefs or ideals
onto her clients.
• A social worker’s nonverbal behaviors can go a long way when it comes to
communicating. Social workers should make eye-to-eye contact when
speaking with clients and those involved with their care.
Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication
• Verbal communication is a key skill in social work practice and "refers to
face to face interactions and involves the impact of the actual words we
use in speaking" (Thompson, 2009).
• It is importance for social workers to be aware of how and what they say
in certain situations; for example, in regards to the issue of formality.
• If the social worker does not access the situation correctly they may be
conceived as being too formal or informal and thus will inevitable create
barriers.
• Non verbal communication is a major component for interpersonal skill
repertoire and includes posture, facial expression, proxemics(social
distance), eye contact, and personal appearance (Kadushin and Kadushin,
1997), and it can support or contradict verbal communication.
• "Non verbal decoding refers to the capacity to understand the emotions
conveyed through others' nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body
movements, and voice tone. Nonverbal encoding refers to the capacity to
express emotion through nonverbal cues.

Rapport Building
• Rapport is a state of harmonious understanding with another individual or
group that enables greater and easier communication.
• In other words rapport is getting on well with another person, or group of
people, by having things in common, this makes the communication
process easier and usually more effective.
• A social worker’s nonverbal behaviors can go a long way when it comes to
communicating. Social workers should make eye-to-eye contact when
speaking with clients and those involved with their care.

Observation
• It is the process of noting down things/people/process/situations.
• It is the most important component in the case work process.
• Here the following things to be observed general appearance of the client,
facial appearance of the client, gestures and postures of the client,
emotional feelings of the client, rapport of the work with the client.

Collateral Contacts
• The contact other than the family member is called as collateral contact.
• The case worker collects information about the client in his working
atmosphere, with his friends and also from the society where he is
maintaining relationship.
• Eg: Friends, neighbours, colleagues, employers etc.
• A collateral contact is a source of information knowledgeable about a
household's situation.
• The collateral contact typically either corroborates or supports
information provided by household members.
• Collateral contacts are often used in child custody cases to obtain
information about a child, parent or other person responsible for the child.
• In these cases, the collateral contact often has knowledge of the family
situation without having personal involvement in the situation.
• Collateral contacts provide a third-party validation of the household
circumstances and help ensure correct information(in most cases)
• A caseworker often asks for the names of several persons for use as
possible collateral contacts.
• The caseworker can request this contact information during face-to-face
interviews, during a home visit, by telephone or in writing. The caseworker
uses the collateral contact to support statements made by household
members or to determine eligibility factors.
• The caseworker normally determines whether the specific case requires
collateral contacts and what kind of information to request from these
contacts.

Similarities and differences - case work,

counseling and psycho-therapy.
Similarities-
1. Both have the same objective: Both case work and counseling attempt
to help those individuals who are in trouble, to solve their psycho-social
problems in such a way so that they find themselves capable of dealing
with their problem at present and also may solve in future if such
problems arise.
2. Both deals with the same type of clients: A client is a person (man,
woman, child or anyone) who finds himself or is found to be in need of
help in some aspect of his social – emotional living, whether the need be
for tangible provisions or counsel.
3. Both deals with the same type of problems: Both case work and
counseling attempt to address problems client‟s inner problems that exert
pressure over client‟s social functioning.
4. The effectiveness of both depends on relationship: Relationship is the
medium through which help is provided to the client
5. Both believe in the worth and dignity of the client
6. Both have common principles: Both accept client as he is and provide
opportunities for self expression. Both believe that the client has every
right to determine his own path for his own recovery from
malfunctioning .

DIFFERENCES-
 1. In counseling help is provided to the client without social services
whereas in case work administration of services (concrete help) is a major
treatment strategy to solve problems
2. Agency is not essentially required in counseling but social case work is
always practiced in agency settings
3. Counseling is concerned most of the time with one type of problem but
in case work the client is studied and understood as a whole.
4. In counseling the emphasis is on the problem not on the person
concerned, but in social case work the emphasis is basically on client and
the type of service is provided
5. Counselor is independent in the counseling practice but the case work
services are provided through agency.

Psychotherapy-
• Operates in a medical wing.
• Special types of tools and techniques are employed.
• Deals with individuals having severe or acute problems.
• Considers psychology as the only basis for studying individuals.
• Does not recognize the importance of socio-economic factors for solving
the problem.
• Touches a few problems but goes very deep in studying those problems.
• Involves one-to-one relationships
• Treats each individual as a unique personality and helped accordingly.
• Deals with issues of transference and counter transference.
• It is usually a long term relationship (20-40 sessions) over a period of 6
months to 2 years.
• Makes use of various tools to understand the psychological makeup of the
clients.
• Concerned with deeper and complex intra-psychic conflicts and
personality issues.
• It focuses on reconstructive change.
• It is provided in both outpatient and inpatient settings.
• Emphasizes the past more than the present.

Similarities between case work and psychotherapy-

1. Both social case work and psychotherapy help an individual who comes
with emotional problems and painful situations
2. Interview is the technique used by both methods
3. Both attempt to put the client at ease and make it possible for him to
express his feelings
4. Both share the value of individuality, worth and respect for the client
5. Both believe in the client‟s self determination
6. Both recognize the role of emotional and unconscious processes in
influencing the attitudes and behaviour of the client
7. Both provide emotional support to relieve immediate anxiety of the client
8. Both give importance to the transference.
 Understanding the client system
Who is the client system?
• In social work practice, a client system may be an individual, family, group,
organization, or community. For an individual, key elements in his or her
history are important to identify. Possible key elements for individuals
include:
1. Gender, age, education level, family history, and mental health history
2. Client strengths, capacities, and resources
3. Client expectations and preferences for problems addressed, outcomes to
be achieved, and modes of treatment
• If the client system is a family, a community, or an agency, key
characteristics of the group or the type of organization that are critical to
the search need to be identified.
Possible key elements for client systems that involve more than one individual
include:
 Extended family kinship networks
• Organizational structure of client system
• Leadership of client system
• Communication patterns for client system
• Client system strengths, capacities, and resources
• Client system expectations and preferences for problems addressed,
outcomes to be achieved, and modes of intervention.
• For all client systems, factors related to race, ethnicity, and other cultural
variables should be considered for their relevance in the search.
• Possible factors include characteristics associated with social inequalities
that may the client system’s present situation (i.e., age, race or ethnic
background, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, income,
insurance, etc.), as well as neighborhood context or other community
variables.
 • A client system is the group of people that a social worker is responsible
for helping.
Eg: Children, Adults, Elderly, Women, People with special needs- widows,
disabled, patients, victims of disaster etc.
• Their tasks are designated by the needs of the individual or the family that
they are needed to help.
• Some social workers use the term client services in the same context as a
client system; it typically depends on the state in which the person works.

Structure of Personality
• Personality is the overall picture of the characteristic behaviour of the
individual.
• Behaviour includes thinking, feeling, speaking and doing. The concept of
personality growth is complex and requires special knowledge and skills to
identify different aspects of the personality.
Factors Influencing Personality
• A well balanced personality means fulfillment of needs and adaptation to
the environment. But, over the course of time one finds a large number of
obstacles to adequate personality development.
Faulty parenting
• Inability of parents to fulfill the needs of their children due to lack of
material resources, ignorance or lack of parenting skills lead to impaired
personality development.
• Parents sometimes indulge into severe child rearing practices that results
into a strenuous relationship between parent and child, resulting into
personality malfunctioning.
Socialization
• Most of the ego functions of growth develop through the process of
socialization. Those parents, teachers and elders (primary socializing
agents) who have some understanding about children’s needs are able to
rear children in such a way that fosters the operation of ego functions.
• There are things that child should have, and many things that child does
not need, and possession of which may have adverse effects. The
socialization has to operate within the agenda of legitimate freedom and
restraints.
Over protection
• Overprotection hampers the development of ego apparatus.
• When the children have a smooth and comfortable life without their
having to flex their own physical, intellectual and emotional muscles, there
is very little scope for the operation of ego functions like impulse control,
tolerance of frustration, postponement of gratification, reality orientation
and the like.
Strong superego
• It means a person is guided by certain principles and standards of
behaviour.
• If the parents themselves have a very strong superego, then it is easier for
children to imitate them and form a strong superego in them.
• But families which try to inculcate values in the children by punishment
and intimidation, it is likely that the children may accept parental teaching
in a superficial way or reject them, or develop a superego which is rigid
and punitive.
Superego-ego balance
• In a healthy ego-superego relationship, the guilt feelings generated by the
superego are handled effectively by the ego, so that other functions of ego
are not affected by the guilt feelings.
• When the superego is rigid and punitive, the superego-ego duo becomes
ill-matched, creating situations in which guilt feeling overwhelm the ego,
thus affecting the personality as a whole.
• For example, there are individuals who commit suicide because they are
not able to cope with their own guilt feelings.
 Techniques
Counselling,
Supportive,
Resource enhancement
Clarification,
Interpretation,
Suggestion,
Developing insight,
Identification, and
Environmental modification,

Counseling
• “counseling is an interaction which occurs between two individuals called
counselor and client which takes place in professional setting and is
initiated to facilitate changes in the behaviour of a client”.
• Counseling is a method of guidance of an individual. It helps the client to
grow to greater maturity by allowing the individual to take responsibilities
and to make their own decisions.
Counseling has six major goals and they are:
Achieving positive mental health
• Resolution of problem
• Improving personal effectiveness
• Modification of behaviour
• Helping to change
• Decision making
Supportive
 • Supportive techniques may be implemented at the onset of treatment to
create an atmosphere in which the patient feels stable, which in turn
allows treatment to progress.
• Supportive techniques are maintained throughout treatment to foster a
positive therapeutic alliance
• Luborsky (1984) lists the following techniques as supportive:
1) demonstration of support, acceptance, and affection toward the patient;
2) emphasis on working together with the patient to achieve results;
3) communication of a hopeful attitude that the goals will be achieved;
4) respect of the patient's defenses; and
5) focus on the patient's strengths and acknowledgment of the growing
ability of the patient to accomplish results without the therapist's help.

Supportive Techniques are:

• Always use strengths perspective while interacting with client.
• Use of supportive communication throughout the problem solving
process.
• Instilling hope so the client believes that change is possible.
• ST include using the positives while assessing a clients situation.
• Using positive phrasing while communicating with client or on his behalf.
• Opportunity for growth seen in all adverse situations . “Glass half full
Approach.”
• ST requires non-judgmental attitude.- Client should not be fearful of being
judged.
• Empathetic communication is an essential ST- client feels social worker
understands their problem and feelings.
• Social Worker must be warm and friendly , treating the client as a valuable
partner in the problem solving process.
• Making the client realize their quality attributes – helps in boosting self –
image.
Resource Enhancement / Enhancing Resources
a. Providing or Procuring Material Help:
Some clients apart from the emotional and psychological support
may require material help that is help in the form of money or material. Some
agencies have this provision though in a small way.
Eg: medicine, baby food, food, medical appliances etc.
The social worker has to explore specific resources available in the community
as aid to clients. This way of getting help from various quarters for the benefit of
the clients is done with proper planning, It is called as POOLING OF RESOURCES.
B. Change in Physical Environment: Providing or procuring material help for a
client is often referred to as environmental change.
Change in physical environment aids in better functioning in some clients.
Eg: change of dormitory for an institutionalized child, community centers for
children who had no facility at home to study, change of department for a
troubled worker etc.
c. Enhancing Information & Knowledge Information and knowledge are the two
non-material resources required for human functioning.
The lack of this can create problems or aggravate the existing problems.
Sometimes lack of information may be further confounded by misinformation or
superstition.
Eg: Disease & superstition like epilepsy, mental illness etc.
Clarification
• A skill that enables the social worker to seek specificity on what the client
is thinking, feeling, and experiencing.
• Asking for examples, specifying the meaning of words (i.e., “I was
loaded”), and identifying the frequency and duration of problems are ways
to clarify the client's message.
Interpretation
• the action of explaining the meaning of something.
 • A skill that enables the social worker to go beyond the stated problem and
begin to delve more deeply. Interpretation can provide the client with an
alternative way of viewing the problem.
• Helps to: Get to underlying trends, patterns, and issues related to the
problem. Focus on client's strengths.
• For example, an interpretation to a client might involve saying, "You felt
nervous during your job interview because of the time your previous
employer told you you'd never get another job in this field again."
Suggestion
• something that implies or indicates a certain fact or situation.
• The importance of suggestion in the case work and counseling relationship
is emphasized as a feature which underlies the work of therapists from a
wide range of systems of psychotherapy.
Developing Insight
• The essential question that Carl Rogers (American Psychologist ) –
• Humanistic asks in the development of insight for a client is “How may this
individual come to an effective understanding of him(her)self?” He explains
insight as the “understanding of self”.

Elements-
(i) accepting one’s impulses and attitudes – good, bad or previously repressed;
(ii) understanding the pattern of one’s behavior and seeing its connections and
consequences
(iii) looking at a new reality based on a fresh understanding and acceptance of
oneself
(iv) planning new or more adaptive behaviors and actions to cope with reality.
Identification
• Key Activities of the Case Worker in Problem Identification include:
• Finding out the client's views; what do they see as the problem/s.
• Identifying the problem in terms of need rather than the solutions to the
need.
 • Exploring the client's strengths or the good things in their lives.
• Developing a working alliance with the client.
• Brokering other services if casework is unacceptable or inappropriate.
• Collecting all ideas regardless of their merit. This means trying to get a
large number of ideas gathered rather than high quality or feasible
solutions. The Case Worker must refrain from evaluating and clarifying the
ideas until the next stage in the process.
Environmental modification
• There may be aspects in the client’s environment that may be contributing
to the problem situation.
• Bringing changes in the environment could be helpful.
For example, a drug addict could be told to avoid the company of friends who
persuade him to take drugs.
 An alcoholic’s wife could be advised to take extra care not to label her
husband as an alcoholic when he is on the road to recovery.

 Quarrelling siblings could be told to temporarily stay apart. Spouses

constantly quarreling could be advised to go on a short holiday during which
they could rediscover their joy.