Assessment In Social Work Practice

3195 Words13 Pages
Assessment is a central element in social work practice. Discuss with reference to relevant literature and practise examples. Introduction It is a common misconception help by the public that social work practice is merely a series of well-meaning but otherwise uncoordinated activities (Haines, 1981). This, however, is not the case. Social work practise is a highly organised profession. A certain process is followed when dealing with a client. The stages of this process include assessment, action and evaluation. ‘Assessment involves gathering and interpreting information in order to understand a person and their circumstances; the desirability and feasibility of change and the services and resources which are making necessary to affect it. It involves making judgements based on information’ (Middleton, 1997, p.5). Assessment is particularly important as it creates the foundations of a social worker’s work with the client. The purpose of a workers assessment is to help them to understand the situation he is dealing with and to identify the relevant factors in a situation (Pincus, 1973). It is also important to realise that assessment does not only take place in the in the beginning of the case. Assessment is an ongoing, dynamic process which continues throughout the process of working with a client. As situations change and people change it is tremendously important to re-assess the client in order to deal with there issues appropriately. Assessment is the beginning of a process of change for the client. Meetings between clients are therefore not merely an unorganised, random act. It is organised and assessment is a major part of the process of change, developed between the social worker and the client. In this essay I will show that assessment is a core element in social work practise by outlining the many types of assessment that a social worker is involved
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