Unit – 2

Client-Case Worker Relationship

The worker–client relationship

 Successful treatment depends heavily on the quality of relationship between

client and worker.

 How to promote Positive Relationship?

1. Positive therapeutic relationship division from the worker’s demonstration of
non-positive warmth and concern, genuineness, accurate empathy, and
non-judgemental acceptance, along with his capacity to communicate
optimism and professional competence.
2. For client: he must mobilize some courage, hope and motivation to join to
trust in his ability to help.

Client - Case Worker Relationship

Relationship is the medium through which changes are brought in the behaviour and
personality of the client. Miss Virginia Robinson used the term relationship in social
casework for the first time in her book, “A Changing Psychology in Social Case
Work” in 1939. Thus the purpose of establishing relationship is to help the client with
his/her psychosocial needs and problems.

 One can broadly classify relationships according to quality also. It follows from
the above discussion that the social worker- client relationship is a
professional relationship, and that it has to be positive in nature. Only a
positive relationship can serve as a means towards the desirable end of
helpfulness.
 During a process of social case work a relationship is built between client and
social case worker which is professional in nature for certain time until the
client recover its strength and become self-dependent.
 The relationship between client and caseworker is one to one relationship.
 Relationship is the channel through which the mobilization of the capacities of
the client is made possible.
  Relationship is the medium through which the client is enabled to state his
problem and through which attention can be focused on reality problems,
which may be as full of internal conflict with emotional problems.
 Relationship is the professional meeting of two persons for assisting one of
them, the client, to make a better, a more acceptable adjustment to personal
problem.
 In social casework, caseworker and client are interdependent to each other.
Caseworker help client to solve problems. But without client case worker
doesn’t have existence. Thus, their relationship is taken as two sides of the
same coin because without one the existence of another is impossible

Professional relationships have some common features. They are bound by time to
specific purposes. When the purpose is met, the relationship ends.

1. This professionalism involves the process of sharing responsibilities,

2. Recognition of others rights,
3. Acceptance of difference to stimulate growth
4. Interaction to solve problem of the client to adjustment social environment.

RELATIONSHIP: the emotional interaction between people – the emotional bond.

 “Relationships never end, they just change.”
 “Relationships are always in the process of change.”

How might we describe our relationships?

 Casual Close
 Uncomfortable Good
 Bad Distant
 All are based on our feelings and our emotional investment with another
person.

Why is a “good” relationship important to you in Social Work?

 Provides “safe environment” for client to share feelings, problems, etc.
 Provides an atmosphere of trust and respect = good environment for change.
 Establishes environment that is non-threatening and non-judgmental.
Personality
 Clients indicated the following as the top four personality characteristics
important to them in a social worker.
 UNDERSTANDING
 EMPATHIC
 PLEASANT
 ABILITY TO PUT ONE AT EASE
 Other important characteristics are:
 Warmth
 Acceptance
 Interest in Client
Components of a Positive Relationship
 The kind of relationship we have with someone is based on our feelings and
our emotional investment with the other person.
 “A positive relationship is not as good as a negative relationship is bad.”
 Qualities of a positive relationship?
 Responsive, polite, considerate, friendly, respectful, honest…
 Qualities of a negative relationship?
 Impersonal, inconsiderate, unfriendly, belittling, condescending, critical,
rejecting…

Components of a Positive Client-Worker Relationship

 Positive Client-Worker relationships are characterized by:
 1. Allowing the client the right of self-determination.
 Work WITH the client
 Show confidence in client
 Believe in the client

 2. Genuine interest in the client

 Listening
 Reflecting feelings
 Warmth
 Respect
  Trust
 3. Respond to the client as a unique individual
 Do not stereotype

 4. Acceptance
 Non-judgmental attitude
 Compassionate
 Gentle

 5. Empathic understanding
 Social worker feels with the client – “the conscious awareness of
another’s feelings”

 6. Genuineness and Authenticity

 Be real
 Be human
 Be honest

 Confidentiality
 Social Work Code of Ethics
 “Respect the privacy of clients and hold in confidence all
information obtained in the course of professional service.”

Why have a good/positive working relationship with your clients?

 It will better facilitate the purpose of the interview
 It will facilitate effective interviewing
 It is not about “being liked”

 As a social worker, you will be working with serious social problems and
people who are severely mentally ill, child abusers, domestic abusers, rapists,
criminals, chronic substance abusers, etc. These people may be viewed as
manipulative, overly demanding, hostile, resistant, or overly dependent.
  Since it is not possible to truly like everyone, it is our behaviors rather than our
attitudes and feelings that become crucial. We will not condone unhealthy or
abusive behaviors, but we must accept the person and her/his right to receive
services.

 Your goal as a professional social worker is to be responsible to basic human

rights by employing genuineness and compassion in your efforts to
understand others…you must strive not to be “phony”.

Characteristics of professional relationship:

1. Empathy
2. Transference and counter transference,
3. Resistance - clients unwilling to change or grow within therapy.
4. Sustaining the relationship,
5. Non-possessive warmth,
6. Genuineness and
7. Self-disclosure;

1. Empathy:
Empathy is to understand the inner world of the client, what he thinks, what he
feels and how he experiences himself and the world, to feel into him, without
Losing one’s own identity, without getting caught up in those things. If we lose
our identity and feel with the client we get involved, are occupied with our own
feelings and that is sympathy. Empathy involves translating the understanding
of the world client experiences, behaviour and feelings into a response
through which the counsellor share that understanding with client.

The social worker has to use empathy to be of help to the client.

Empathising and related techniques help towards developing a one-to-one
relationship. In a positive relationship, marked by an emotionally non-
threatening atmosphere, the client feels accepted despite his shortcomings
and, as a result, the inner pressure to defend himself is considerably reduced
In such an emotional atmosphere the client is inclined to look at himself, at
others and at situations more objectively. An objective perception, separated
from subjective feelings, is the first step towards change of behaviour.
 2. Transference and counter transference:

Transference: “Transference is a form of displacement in which the individual

unconsciously displaces onto a current object those drives defences, attitudes,
feelings and responses which were experienced or developed in relationship with
earlier objects (mainly persons) in the individual’s life.”

Unconscious attitudes and associated feelings transferred from the past onto the
present relationship, usually irrational.

For instance, one could mistrust somebody who resembles an ex-spouse in

manners, voice, or external appearance; or be overly compliant to someone who
resembles a childhood friend. Transference may be positive (love, liking, etc) or
negative (irrational, hostile feelings.

Can be tackled by clarification (clarifying reality), interpretation, spacing the

interview, etc.

Counter – transference:

- Social worker also has unconscious tendency to transfer on the client.

- The job of the caseworker to recognize his feelings and must control them.

 Types of Transference:

Positive: E.g. Parents have shown to be friendly and helpful, the client will
transfer a desire to help, friendship, guidance, emotional support and interest.
Negative: E.g. Parents not shown interest and indifferent, the client will have
feelings of unfriendliness, suspicion and distrust.

 Uses of Transference (3 stages):

1. Understanding the transference – his behaviour, unconscious need of the
client.
2. Utilizing the transference – integrate past and present experiences and
earlier relationships.
3.Interpreting the transference – careful analysis of his unconscious defences.

3. Resistance - clients unwilling to change or grow within therapy. Professional

social workers frequently encounter a thorny situation called client resistance.
As resistance is inevitable in the intervention process and will very likely affect
the intervention outcomes, study of client resistance is important to social
workers and learning how to manage it will be pivotal to achieve expected
goals and objectives. 
4. Sustaining the relationship- professional relationship as the medium
through which the practitioner can engage with and intervene in the
complexity of an individual’s internal and external worlds. The social worker
and service user relationship is recognised to be an important source of
information for the worker to understand how best to help, and simultaneously
this relationship is the means by which any help or intervention is offered.

The model of relationship-based practice we are proposing has several core

characteristics:
• It recognises that each social work encounter is unique.
• It understands that human behaviour is complex and multifaceted, i.e.
people are not simply rational beings but have affective – conscious and
unconscious – dimensions that enrich but simultaneously complicate human
relationships.
• It focuses on the inseparable nature of the internal and external worlds of
individuals and the importance of integrated – psychosocial – as opposed to
polarised responses to social problems.
• It accepts that human behaviour and the professional relationship are an
integral component of any professional intervention.

5. Non-possessive warmth-
It refers to worker’s communication of respect, acceptance, liking, caring and
concern for the client in a non-dominating way.

6. Genuineness: Genuineness is willingness to be real, spontaneous, open

and non-defensives, enabling the client to become more genuine and
authentic person. Genuineness means being honest with oneself and with
client. Being able to say when you don’t understand, I am not very clear about
this rather than pretend and say
I fully understood.

7. Self-disclosure: The skill of self-disclosure involves the ability to

constructively share some of the counsellors own experiences, behaviour and
feelings with the client. While using this skill of self-disclosure, the counsellor
must see that the disclosure is appropriate, selective and focused. Self-disclosure
will become inappropriate if it becomes too frequent. The counsellor also must be
extremely careful not to overburden the client with his sharing.

Obstacles in effective worker-client relationship:

1. People seeking help in feel anxious – with feelings of shame and failure to
resolve difficulties.
2. Fear of dependence on another may create apprehension. (uneasiness, fear)
 3. Anticipatory fear- that the worker truly cannot understood their needs or
circumstances can also hinder effective relationship.
4. Attitude of client and worker
5. Resistance from client side
6. Violation of Confidentiality
7. Lack of open communication
8. Lack of genuineness
9. Lack of acceptance from worker side
10. Lack of proper record keeping
11. Intimate Relationship: - sexual relationship, physical contact, intimate
gestures.
12. Personal benefit:- monetary gain, goods and services, useful information
13. Emotional and dependency needs:-extending relationship with clients,
promoting client dependency, confusing personal and professional lives,
reversing roles with client.
14. Altruistic gestures:-performing favours, providing non-professional services,
giving gifts, being extraordinary available.
15. Unanticipated circumstances: - participating in social and community events,
mutual acquaintances and friends.

Types of problems faced by individuals:

The problem has two kinds “Intra Personal Problem” and “ Inter Personal Problem”.

Intrapersonal: The dictionary meaning of intrapersonal is “in mind, or relating to

internal aspects of a person, especially the emotions.” Intrapersonal is that problem
which is related to one’s own personality or self.

It is the problem, which does not affect other people but the concerned person
himself alone.

For example, if a client has only one kidney, s/he is blind from a single eye etc, or if
s/he is depressed and this depression is disturbing him/her, it means that s/he is
having an intrapersonal problem. Likewise, a very simple example is that if a student
has to write down the lecture in the class but he has no pen to write, it is his problem
and it is affecting him only.

Interpersonal: The dictionary meaning of inter personal is “between persons, or

something concerning or involving the relationship between people.”

Interpersonal is that problem which affects more than one person. It affects others as
well. For example, if a person is addicted to drugs, it not only affects him but other
people around him as well, or if somebody discriminates between people, or if a child
is hated and bullied by his peers. These are examples of interpersonal problems.
Similarly, crime, theft, burglary, and delinquency are a few more examples of
interpersonal problems. More simply if in the class room during the lecture,
someone’s mobile ring raises then the attention of all the students is diverted to that
ring. The person whose ring was raised is also affected and disturbed by this and all
other class fellows and their teacher too. Jealousy is an intrapersonal problem, but
when responded, it becomes an interpersonal problem.
Types of problems

There is probably no problem in human living that has not been brought to social
workers in social agencies. Lack of material resources, Misconceptions about
situations and relationships and lack of appropriate information, Illness or health
related handicaps, Emotional distress resulting from stressful situations, Personality
features or deficiencies, Problem of hunger for food and hunger for love, of seeking
shelter and of wanting to run away, of getting to married and of staying to married, of
needing money and of wasting money, of not wanting to live and of not wanting to
die, of making enemies and of needing friends, of wanting and not wanting
medications. In the heave of the so many problems, it seems to me important to
differentiate or categorize the different problems, so to understand them easily.

i Physiological Problem:

 Physiological problems are related to the physique of the person, i.e. the bodily
impaired functioning problems. e.g. all the disabilities of the body, problem of weak
eyesight, hearing impairment, speech impairment, or ganically handicapped both
internal
—heart, kidney, lung, intestine, appetite, nausea etc
— or external
—no leg or one leg, hand, blind, deaf, dumb etc.

Economic problems:

Every individual in this world is facing economic problems. Economically the society
is divided into three groups. Each of them is further divided into three sub-groups;
Upper Class, Middle Class, Lower Class
 Upper  : Upper-Upper Middle-Upper Lower-Upper
 Middle: Upper-Middle Middle-Middle Lower-Middle
 Lowe: Upper-Lower Middle-Lower Lower-Lower

But we divide them into two groups only,

namely; “Haves” and “Have-Nots”.
 
Haves mean those people who have chances for development or getting to be
developed.

Have—nots mean those people who are deprived of having the chances for
developing themselves or who have not found the chances for development.

Now all these groups have the economic problems. The haves will try to get more
and more financial rewards to buy a new BMW car or other latest model which no other person
has as a property.
The have-nots simply want more and more money because they really need
economic assistance. They are in the want of money, so that they can fulfill their
needs.

Economic problems are related to the management of needs and resources a

person have. If a person has managed his needs to his resource, then he will be
facing no economic problem.

iii Psychological Problems:

 Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. It is the study of what we think and
what we do.

Psychological problems occur when a person is disturbed by some external

circumstances. Psychological problem is the outcome of environment and
circumstances.

For example, a lecturer is hungry and he has to deliver the lecture right now after a
few minutes. Because of this situation his lecture would not be as good as if he has
eaten something and then comes to the lecture. Anxiety, depression, schizophrenia,
frustration, and anger are the examples of the psychological problems.

iv Relationship problems:
 Human being is a bio-psycho-social unit. Man lives in the society. He is engaged in
different interpersonal relationships, e.g. relationship between a buyer and seller,
teacher and student, parent and sibling, brother and sister, husband and wife etc.
Sometimes there comes some problem in maintaining these relations, e.g. anger
between husband and wife which leads to divorce.

Types of problems faced by families:

1. Nature of parent relationship

2. Personality of family members
3. Single parents or Absent parents
4. Chronically sick or disease parents or children
5. Extra marital affairs, divorce, death
6. Domestic violence
7. Family belief, values, culture, and gender roles
8. Nature of attachment with family
9. Lack of Intimacy
10. Lack of understanding and adjustment
11. Lack of communication
Distinctions between needs and wants

Needs point out the something you must have for survival.

On the other hand, wants refers to something which is good to have, but not
essential for survival.

BASIS FOR
NEEDS WANTS
COMPARISON

Meaning Needs refers to an Wants are described as the

individual's basic goods and services, which an
requirement that must be individual like to have, as a part
fulfilled, in order to of his caprices.
survive.

Nature Limited Unlimited

What is it? Something you must Something you wish to have.

have.

Represents Necessity Desire

Survival Essential Inessential

Change May remain constant May change over time.

over time.

Non-fulfillment May result in onset of May result in disappointment.

disease or even death.
Similarities and differences between casework and counselling Similarities:
1. Both have the same objective: Both case work and counselling attempt to
help those individuals who are in trouble, to solve their psycho-social
problems in such a way so that they find themselves capable of dealing with
their problem at present and also may solve in future if such problems arise.
2. Both deals with the same type of clients: A client is a person (man, woman,
child or anyone) who finds himself or is found to be in need of help in some
aspect of his social – emotional living, whether the need be for tangible
provisions or counsel.

3. Both deals with the same type of problems: Both case work and counselling
attempt to address problems client’s inner problems that exert pressure over
client’s social functioning.
4. The effectiveness of both depends on relationship: Relationship is the
medium through which help is provided to the client.

5. Both believe in the worth and dignity of the client

6. Both have common principles: Both accept client as he is and provide
opportunities for self expression. Both believe that the client has every right to
determine his own path for his own recovery from malfunctioning
Differences: -
1. In counselling help is provided to the client without social services whereas
in case work administration of services (concrete help) is a major
treatment strategy to solve problems.
2. Agency is not essentially required in counselling but social case work is
always practiced in agency settings.
3. Counselling is concerned most of the time with one type of problem but in
case work the client is studied and understood as a whole.
4. In counselling the emphasis is on the problem not on the person
concerned, but in social case work the emphasis is basically on client and
the type of service is provided.
5. Counsellor is independent in the counselling practice but the case work
services are provided through agency.

Similarities between casework and psychotherapy: -

1. Both social case work and psychotherapy help an individual who comes with
emotional problems and painful situations.
2. Interview is the technique used by both methods
3. Both attempt to put the client at ease and make it possible for him to express his
feelings
4. Both share the value of individuality, worth and respect for the client
5. Both believe in the client’s self determination
6. Both recognize the role of emotional and unconscious processes in influencing the
attitudes and behaviour of the client
7. Both provide emotional support to relieve immediate anxiety of the client
8. Both give importance to the transference
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