SUBJECT MATTER OF SOCIAL CASE WORK WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS

   



Social case work addresses the multiple, complex transaction between individuals and their environment. Its mission is to enable all people to develop their full potential, enrich their lives, and prevent dysfunction. On bases of these parameters, Grace Mathew has explained two major goals of casework service as:
Rendering help to cope with the problem which the client cannot handle unaided and
Enhancing the operation of clients ego tontines whereby he moves towards greater ability in handling his/her life and problems. The two goals are interlinked, or to be more precise, the second goal stipulated the special manner in which the first goal help for problem solving should be achieved
Social case work is a unique method of problem-solving. The uniqueness of this method from the other methods of social work is that it focuses on the individuals. Social case work is all about the basic unit of society-the individual. It helps and an individual to solve his psycho-social problems. Here the social worker is concerned with individual problem only. Here interventions come at the individual level. Professionally trained Social worker help a client with particular problems. It is concerned with the adjustment and development of the individual towards more satisfying human relationship.
According to Bowers, “Social casework is an art in which knowledge of the science of human relations and skills in human relationships are used to mobilize capacities in the individual and resources in the individual and resources in the community, appropriate to better adjustment between the client and all or any part of his total environment.” And to achieve these targets, Social case work had four components—person, problem, place and process.
The subject matter of social case work is thus an individual with unique circumstances. However, the individual is not understood as a biological entity just like is medical science. Rather in social work profession generally and in social case work domain specifically, individual can be any person [ regardless of his/her affiliations] with a problems having difficulties in social functioning.
Social case work believes that society’s betterment is dependent on the better social functioning of individuals in their social environment. As Mary Richmond elaborated the subject matter of case work as, Processes which develop personality through adjustment consciously effected, individual by individual by individual, between men and their social environment.”
“In a society that draws strength from the respect and the consequent contributions of individual, it should not be surprising that a regard for the peculiar meaning with experience has for the individual had led to the development of unique process which had come to be known as social case work.”