The aim of this essay is too critically evaluate the impact of Social Work involvement in the lives of service users when undertaking direct work (DW) and the barriers that are presented to social workers. In order to achieve this, this essay will look briefly at the historical context of direct work, policies and regulation underpinning the importance of DW, barriers to overcome, the impact of DW and its future in Social work. The findings will then be summarised. “Social Work is socially constructed through interactions with clients” (Payne, 2005:22) History/Trends in direct work
Direct work within social work (SW) has seen many changes over the last quarter of a century. During the post world war II the SW profession based their practice predominately on psychoanalytic methods. In the 1950s/1960s various practices emerged both within and outside the social work world; family systems, behavioural and cognitive are examples of a broad range of theories and methods used within this profession. Since the 1970s we have seen approaches that focus on empowering service users, approaches; …show more content…
Due to the ‘red tape’ are social workers anxious about direct work? It is through constant practice that experience and confidence builds, if there is limited exposure to contact with children and families, how are social workers able to feel confident in this area of their practice (Stein, 2009). The management within an agency will also influence practice, do they encourage their staff to develop these skills, offer time for reflection or is their primary focus on tick boxes and efficiency. Due to the emotional demands of social work opportunity for reflection is paramount when social workers undertake a form of direct work. Without this invaluable support, practitioners will shy away from using their emotional resource with those they serve, resulting in practitioners that are deskilled. ( Ruch,