SOCIAL WORK COUNSELING

Social workers help people in various crisis and chronic life situations, including addiction,
physical disability and domestic abuse. They help clients by assessing needs, identifying
services and responding to crises where someone is in immediate need of assistance. Social
workers work in direct-service or clinical capacities, commonly specializing in providing social
services to specific types of clients such as students, children and families, the elderly, the
terminally ill, the mentally ill or those suffering from addictions. Social workers use a variety of
counseling techniques when assisting clients.

Family Therapy

In family therapy, social workers address family processes to help people through difficulties.

They assess family history, dynamics, traditions, beliefs and habits and help clients understand
how these systems impact and affect the situations they are facing. Social workers introduce
family clients to ways to strengthen their family relationships to overcome difficulties, and help
dysfunctional families change bad habits and patterns.

Couples Therapy

Social workers use couples therapy to help two people in an intimate relationship work on
problems such as anger issues, physical violence, unhealthy emotional attachments and harmful
interaction habits. The social worker may meet with each person in the couple individually as well
as both together to discuss problems, suggest changes and recommend services. Social workers
may work exclusively with couples referred from domestic violence offenses, with couples who
have been referred for parenting training or couples in other stressful situations such as grieving
the loss of a child.

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Intervention

Alcohol and drug intervention is an aggressive technique social workers use to confront a client
with a group of family members and close acquaintances. The client is asked to meet with the
group, and the social worker leads the individuals in telling the troubled client how his behavior is
affecting them, that they want him to change and how they expect that to happen. The social
worker acts as a guide, support and catalyst for change, helping everyone involved to stay strong
and use healthy processes.

Group Treatment

Group treatment is used by social workers to encourage new awareness and support for those
with similar problems, such as homeless teens or young mothers who have experienced
domestic abuse. The social worker meets regularly with the group and guides discussions,
introducing healthy problem-solving and raising awareness of clients in distress. Social workers
may have one or more groups to meet with in a therapeutic setting, as part of private practice or
as court-ordered alternative to incarceration.