The term social work is used in this publication in a broader context than you may be used to.

We recognize the tension within the profession regarding whether our mission is social change in society or individual and family change. We agree that the overall commitment of the profession is to facilitate social change so that individuals experience fewer problems arising from conditions of poverty and isolation. We also firmly believe that we (both teachers and practitioners) have a professional and ethical responsibility to work with these individuals and groups whose lives have been greatly affected by more serious social problems. The work is based on our many years of experience in practical social work and pedagogical practice of university teachers at several Slovak universities.

For several years, we have been preparing students for practice and compiling a study program of social work so that the knowledge and skills of future social workers can be fully developed. The mandate of the social work profession continues to grow and develop, as does its curriculum. We strive to provide high-quality teaching, and students strive to learn several theoretical-practical models. It is really a challenge to help students understand the concepts of the theory and also to help them use the theory as an aid in evaluation, goal setting and intervention planning. This process is multidimensional and involves integration at many levels. Students must combine respect for client self-determination with professional expertise, social work values ​​and ethics with the pressures of a mental health care environment, and a strong focus on client symptoms using their own skills through theory and practice.

Last but not least, we want to thank our clients, colleagues and friends for their valuable advice and comments when compiling this teaching aid.

Michal Oláh

During the post-November development of social work in Slovakia, there was a conflict about what language should be used to describe the social worker and the client. In the Freudian model, the client was understood as the patient and the therapist as the doctor. Some social workers today consider themselves therapists, others are counselors, supervisors, consultants, coaches, teachers, guides, and even administrators. In some environments, clients are called sites, in others, patients. The language that describes the participants in the helping relationship is often a reflection of the theoretical perspective used (psychotherapeutic, holistic, pragmatic, somatic, etc.). Different theories use different language, and there is room for all these concepts.

We tried to prepare theoretical chapters "acceptable even for students" by illustrating the history of social work and selected techniques of current work with clients. In recent times, we have witnessed several significant changes that have significantly affected the social reality in society. Not only the orientation or the official philosophy of the state, its economic problems have changed, but also there has been a significant change in social stratification. Together with the changes in society, new hitherto unknown social phenomena and problems began to appear, which have a negative impact on the citizen and ultimately affect the lives and relationships of all of us without distinction. Individuals confronted with the new social reality encounter concepts such as unemployment, homelessness, drug addiction, etc. In response to the need for a professional solution to the growing social problems of individuals, their families and entire communities, the re-opening of a separate study field of social work at universities was.

Gradually, various forms of education of social workers began to develop. The study of social work as a newly conceived field creates prerequisites for the training of professionals directly conditioned by current social needs. It prepares workers for activities in the field, for work in special organizations and institutions, as well as for research activities. Within the department, there is therefore room for sociological, psychological, legal, ethical, philosophical scientific disciplines, so that the student can create an optimal synthesis of knowledge, which he integrates into a comprehensive special study field - social work.

Social work as a field of study responds not only to the dynamics of social changes, but also to the latest trends in the understanding of social work in the world, which it implements in the system of professional training of social work graduates.

This small publication also wants to be a brief introduction to the study of social work in the second revised edition with the addition of a new co-author.

Contents

I. HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK

  1. History of social work and its influence on the present 1.1 History of social work 1.2 Social work nowadays

  2. Development of social work in the world and in the Central European area 2.1 Practical social work 2.1.1 Social work as an unorganized form of help 2.1.2 Social work as an organized form of help 2.2 Development of practical social work in Central Europe 2.3 History of the Czechoslovak Republic and its influence on the development of social work

  3. Some important personalities in the history of social work (doc. PhDr. Mária Davideková, PhD.)

  4. Social work and its conceptual definition 4.1 Theoretical and methodological foundations of social work 4.2 Subject, content, tasks and functions of social work 4.3 Social work nowadays

II. THE RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL POLICY IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT

  1. Social work and social policy 5.1 Definition and meaning of social policy, its goals, principles, functions and tools 5.2 Basic pillars of social security 5.2.1 Social insurance 5.2.2 State social support 5.2.3 Social assistance

III. SOCIAL WORKER AND SOCIAL CLIENT

  1. Personality of the social worker 6.1 Social worker - conceptual definition 6.2 Competences of a social worker
  2. Social client 7.1 Types of clients

IV. SELECTED METHODS AND ETHICS OF SOCIAL WORK

  1. Basic methods of social work 8.1 Methods of social work with an individual 8.2 Methods of social work with a group 8.3 Methods of social work with the community

  2. Other methods of social work 9.1 Counseling and psychotherapy in social work 9.1.1 Counseling in the social system 9.1.2 Social worker and his place in psychotherapy 9.2 Streetwork as a method of social work 9.3 Supervision in social work 9.3.1 Supervisor 9.3.2 Main problems of supervision 9.3.3 Supervision in social work 9.3.4 The goal of supervision in social work 9.3.5 Orientations (schools) of supervision 9.3.6 Training and supervision standards 9.4 Social prevention 9.4.1 Characteristics of social prevention 9.5 Methods of working with the client in a task-oriented model (task-oriented approach) 9.6 Ethics in social work 9.6.1 Concept of ethics 9.6.2 The essence of ethics 9.6.3 Some ethical problems in social work 9.6.3.1 Sexual relations with clients 9.6.3.2 Other dual relationships 9.6.3.3 Suicidal client 9.6.4 Code of ethics of a social worker

V. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, THE ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND VOLUNTEERING IN SOCIAL WORK

  1. Social work in public administration 10.1 Social work at the state administration level 10.2 Social work at the local government level 10.2.1 Interest self-government 10.3 Public institutions in the social system 10.3.1 Social insurance company

  2. Non-governmental, voluntary and self-help associations 11.1 Non-governmental organizations 11.1.1 Functions of non-governmental organizations 11.2 Volunteering in social work 11.3 Self-help groups

VI. EDUCATION IN SOCIAL WORK

  1. Practical teaching of social work 12.1 Theoretical basis for practical social work 12.1.1 Three-column model for recording processes

  2. Professional education in social work 13.1 System of education of social workers in Slovakia 13.2 Institutional education of social workers 13.3 Further education of social workers 13.4 Profile of a social work graduate 13.4.1 Graduate profile according to CCETSW

© Authors: doc. PhDr. Michal Oláh, PhD. prof. PaedDr. Milan Schavel, PhD. PhDr. Zlatica Ondrušová, PhD. doc. PhDr. Pavel Navrátil, PhD. Reviewers: prof. PhDr. Pavel Mühlpachr, PhD., prof. PhDr. Pavol Dancak, PhD. Technical editing: doc. PhDr. Michal Oláh, PhD. Publisher: Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety Year of publication: 2009 Number of pages: 228 Print: BEKI design, s.r.o. ISBN 80-969449-6-7 EAN 9788096944965