Casework and Assessments *

Question 1

Casework…

Answer 1

Casework refers to direct intervention by workers with individual clients and/or their families.

Question 2

Indirect role of caseworker (3):

Answer 2

• Intervene with other organisations;
• Represent client;
• Liaise with colleagues/supervisers.

Question 3

Direct role of caseworker (6):

Answer 3

• Assessment
• Outline agency policy/ your role/ your constraints/ their confidentiality.
• Questioning/ clarification.
• Paraphrasing and summarising.
• Reflecting.
• Assessing risk.

Question 4

Key elements in assessment activities (7):

Answer 4

• Using professional and political skills to facilitate the process of assessment.
• Information gathering from as many sources as possible.
• Making links between the individual’s world and larger structured forces.
• An exchange of ideas between you and the client: working in partnership.
• Thinking through all available options.
• Helping to mobilise the mutually accepted option.
• Develop answers to specific questions.

Question 5

Important information is gathered into life domains which are important to consider during the assessment period. These include (7):

Answer 5

• Housing
• Health
• Financial
• Vocational (occupation/skills)
• Legal
• Social supports
• Leisure time and social life

Assess situations, not people. Take into consideration the total context.

Question 6

Assessment structure (Thompson 2002)- 5 steps:

Answer 6

1. Start from a picture.
2. Agree on objective.
3. Agree a way forward and develop an action plan.
4. Review plan and progress.
5. Gather relevant information.

Question 7

Duty of care (2):

Answer 7

• Duty of care refers to the responsibility we as workers in the community services industry have to avoid injury to a client, or relevant others who, it can be reasonably foreseen, might be injured by our act or omission.
• A duty of care exists when someone’s actions could reasonably be expected to affect or harm other people.

Question 8

Casework and the psychosocial/psychodynamic model:

Answer 8

• Questions & assessment: focus much more on inner psychological processes & events in the person’s past, particularly childhood.
• Interventions: dialogue leading to client gaining new insights and reframing of experience.

Question 9

Attachment in psychosocial models: Bowlby’s Theory (4):

Answer 9

1. Secure attachment.
2. Insecure, ambivalent attachments.
3. Insecure, avoidant attachments.
4. Disorganised attachments.

Question 10

Psychosocial model: assessment and intervention process (5)…

Answer 10

1. Identification of the problem: emotional imbalance/psychosocial problem.
2. Assess positive qualities such as strengths, understand the situation/problem.
3. Formulate goals or helping plan: formulate preferred outcomes, prioritise goals, specify and explore goals.
4. Implement goals and decisions: stimulate solutions or strategies for change, discuss advantages and disadvantages, work on coping strategies and work with social and cultural resources, look for underlying causes of the problem.
5. Ending the process/evaluation

How people relate to ‘outer world events tells us about their ‘inner world’ (Howe, 2002, p177).

Question 11

The Task Centred Model works on the assumption that a client makes better progress in 8 structured sessions (focus on problem-solving). Key values include (4):
Note: clients with chronic psychiatric illness are excluded.

Answer 11

• Values of respect, self-determination and empowerment.
• Aims to empower service user to address problems of every day life.
• Promotes independence.
• Commitment to accountability.

Question 12

Key principles of Task Centred Practice (8):

Answer 12

1. Seek mutual clarity with clients between the purpose and process of intervention. Develop a constructive relationship.
2. Aim for small achievements.
3. Focus on here and now.
4. Promote collaboration between workers & clients.
5. Build client capacities for action.
6. Planned brevity.
7. Promote systematic and structured approaches to intervention.
8. Adopt scientific approach to practice evaluation.

Question 12

Phases of task-centred work (Adams 2002) [5]:

Answer 12

• Entry
• Exploring problems
• Agreeing on a goal/written agreement
• Planning and implementing tasks
• Exit

Question 13

Crisis can include:

Answer 13

Serious illness
Accident/trauma
Assault
Death
Birth
Disasters
Divorce or separation
Loss of a job
Moving
Etc

Question 14

Crisis intervention = Dual opportunities

Answer 14

1. Resolve the crisis and emotional difficulties that arise from it.
2. Resolve other problem issues which may have contributed to or be related to the crisis, but have previously been ignored or declined.

Question 15

Crisis Intervention is (4)…

Answer 15

• Brief
• Intense
• Require the worker to function effectively in emotionally difficult circumstances.
• Is oriented to restoring coping skills to the client.

Question 16

Crisis intervention step summary (7):

Answer 16

1) Assist to alleviate tension through ventilation of feelings.
2) Create relationship of trust, and climate of hope.
3) Reality checking with person (problem not over-generalised or ‘awfulised’).
4) Person and worker collaborate on small step goals for restoring equilibrium.
5) Introduction of new skills for coping to be tested out by client.
6) Termination of relationship when sufficient coping skills are restored for the client’s autonomy.
7) It is important for the worker to balance compassion and empathy without creating dependency.

Question 17

Steps in risk assessment (4):

Answer 17

1. Gather information which includes the attitude of person, opportunity for harm, person’s behaviour and presentation, any history of risk.
2. Analyse and make sense of information to assess.
3. Make a professional judgement based on analysis. Consult with others.
4. Manage risk: decide on action and resources that will minimize risk and increase safety.

Question 18

Narrative Therapy:

Answer 18

Narrative therapy is about helping individuals make meaning of their life’s circumstances and experiences by retelling their story.
The process seeks to deconstruct dominant cultural assumptions that put the blame on the individual through stories and conversations.
Language is critical.

Question 19

An intervention…

Answer 19

… can be defined as any process to facilitate change.

Question 20

Referrals (2):

Answer 20

• Sometimes we need to refer clients to another service or to bring in specialist help.
• It is necessary to support your client in the referral process, and the letter of referral should only contain factual information about clients and should be accessible to the client.