Wednesday 4 December 2013

Social Casework Interview



The casework interview refers to the meeting of the
social worker and the client in a face-to-face
conversation. It is not a casual conversation but a
professional activity on the part of the social worker,
because the conversation is geared to a specific or
general purposes which may be obtaining or imparting
information, giving help or studying and assessing the
client’s situation.
Purpose of Social Casework Interview
Interviewing is the base on which the theory and the
practice of social casework has been built over the years.
It is the main medium of help without which the social
casework process will never be possible.
Interviewing is one of the important casework technique
which functions as a conveyor for the transmission of
help to the client. The purposes it serves may be one or
more of the following:
1) Obtaining and imparting information
Interviewing is a two way process. Just as
information is received by the social worker, so also
information is imparted to the client regarding
official procedures and other matters about himself/
herself, his/her role as a social worker, and about
the function of the agency.
Generally the client is a perfect stranger to the
agency on his/her first visit. He/she may or may
not bring a note of referral from a third person
indicating the reason for referral. The social worker
has to gather data regarding the problem. When a
client is not able to furnish the required
information, members of his/her family are
interviewed for the purpose.
2) Study and assessment of the client’s situation/
problems
Data gathered from and about the client are sorted
out and analysed, from which relevant aspects are
linked to form a verbal picture of the problem
situation with clear indications of cause-effect
relationships. In this process, the social worker
applies the knowledge of social sciences for
understanding the behaviour of the clients and
others in a problem situation. Ordinarily a few
interviews are necessary before an assessment of
the situation can be made.
3) Interview as a direct tool for giving help
The information that the social worker elicits and
the social assessment that she evolves serves as a
blue print based on which she decides suitable mode
of help. During the interview many other casework
skills and techniques are also used. Casework
interview is operative as long as the individual is a
client of the agency. The interview is a channel of
direct help even at the first contact between the
social worker and the client.

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