Theories for Direct Social Work Practice

Joseph Walsh

Chapter 1 Thinking about Theory - all with Video Answers

Educators

Chapter Questions

01:49

Problem 1

Think of a time in your own life that a friend or other acquaintance has helped you with a personal problem. What was it about that person's approach that was helpful to you (validation, confrontation, active listening, concrete advice, or something else)? What does that tell you about your own problem-solving process? Compare what is helpful to you with what is helpful to your classmates.

Alyssa Mae L.

Numerade Educator

01:05

Problem 2

Social workers tend to emphasize the importance of the worker-client relationship in clinical practice, but not all practice theories give this factor equal emphasis. What elements of a helping relationship, if any, do you think are universally important?

Jennifer Stoner

Numerade Educator

01:05

Problem 3

Social workers often work in agency settings that are quite modest, or even drab. Some practitioners do not have offices at all, but work out of cubicles or even their cars. Given this, what do you think about the assertion in this chapter that the nature of the intervention "setting" is a curative factor for clients?

Jennifer Stoner

Numerade Educator

Problem 4

Should clinical intervention be evaluated beyond asking clients to state whether they achieved their goals, and to what degree? Can intervention outcomes ever be generalized across clients and client populations?

Check back soon!

03:30

Problem 5

Material in this chapter suggests that not all social workers engage in critical thinking. Assuming that critical thinking is a good thing to do, how can it be supported in agencies, both formally and informally?

Jennifer Stoner

Numerade Educator