Guides For Social Workers

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30562, 3 October 1964, Page 4

Guides For Social Workers

Social Work and Social Change. By Eileen Younghusband. Allen and Unwin. Introduction to a Social Worker. National Institute for Social Work Training. Allen and Unwin.

Both of these hand-books are produced under the aegis of Britain’s National Institute for Social Work Training and between them offer 217 pages of useful information and interesting background for those engaged in social work. The first is the work of Dr. Eileen Younghusband who is President of the International Association of Schools for Social Work and one time Social Affairs Consultant to the United Nations. With the continuous Increase of world population and the problems which it brings, the work of the social scientists is gradually gaining greater prominence and importance as its practitioners develop from wishful thinkers to fully-trained professionals. It is to these people that the book is. addressed. Dr. Younghusband opens with a survey of social work as it was in the past and relates these findings to the present The emphasis in the past was often to be found in a desire to set things to rights, but today “social workers are very chary of doing things for people, or of persuading them to do anything at all against their will. They may be put in the way of getting things, but the final decision and the final steps should be taken on their own initiative. The ultimate goal is to help people to become more independent, more, free from the crippling results of their own defects and their environmental disabilities, more able to order their affairs and to lead happy and satisfying lives.” Dr. Younghusband points out that the trained social worker needs to know a great deal about the social services and the administrative setup of the environment so that he can fulfil the essential task of assisting thbse who are not aware of what assistance is available. Training is given due consideration but in addition, it is noted that the qualities of kindness, compassion, sensitivity, maturity, imagination and intelligence are essentials, but these are likely to lack much of their effectiveness unless matched with knowledge. There is a brief chapter on the Unmarried Mother which may have some application in this country and a lengthy section on Juvenile Courts. The second half of Dr. Younghusband’s books deals with international aspects of social work and discusses social work and its contributions to social change. It is a book which provides a comprehensive survey of what has been achieved in this field in the past but puts emphasis upon the changing patterns caused by the increasing complexity of life, and the part which social services can play in maintaining a cohesive society. It is a book which could be read with advantage by anyone who is seriously engaged in work of this nature, not for its application to New Zealand problems in particular, but for the background of knowledge which it can provide. The second handbook has been compiled by the National Institute for Social Work Training and is an introduction to social case-work with individuals and families.

It Is written particularly for students at the early stages of their training and its purpose is to present in simple terms a few of the important aims and concepts of case work and to illustrate some of its methods.

The first chapter deals with people in need of help. This covers such situations as: the harassed mother trying to cope with more problems than she can manage, strained relationships between individuals of groups, and breakdown between husband and wife relationships. It also deals with such problems as a craftsman who suffers a disability and is faced with a complete change in his way of life. The second chapter deals with method. The necessity for a good relationship between a worker and a “client” is made clear as is the purpose of such relationship. This exists for a purpose related to the “client’s” particular needs, and although, it may become strong because of the issues involved and the amount of interaction generated between the two people, it is no longer necessary once the problem has been solved and may be terminated. The foundations of good case-work

relationships are laid at the first interview and it is suggested that any act, over and above what may be reasonably expected, will gain a ready response and assist in establishing confidence. It goes without saying that such acts must be genuine. Care must be taken to clarify the problem so that it becomes exactly clear. The remedy can be applied to a situation only if all implications are fully appreciated and the technique for gaining such information is stated clearly and simply. Chapter three is given over to case histories. The first is a record of work with an adolescent threatened with blindness; the second with a family involved with external and internal problems, and deals with a middle-aged wife and mother found guilty of stealing. The final chapter is a philosophy on social welfare and outlines the general scope of the work. Individually these books make interesting reading for the serious social worker or sociologist, but collectively they provide an excellent coverage of the subject the like of which would elsewhere be scattered throughtout many text-books and reports.