Social Work Case Study: Olivia

Introduction

Social work refers to work done by trained individuals with the objective of improving the living conditions of people in the community who suffer from social deficiency. Social work has developed as a career over the years with professionals emerging to offer their professional services to the public. The discipline promotes human rights, social justice, and collective responsibilities. Social workers respect diversity in the dispensation of their services as the field has no bounds. Overall, this paper will identify goals of a social worker and also describe the application of the generalist intervention model in social work theory.

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Client: Olivia comes out as the client in the case above considering the psychological problems she experiences as a result of the circumstances at her home.

Social Work Goals

One of the goals of social work is to enhance a person's capacity to provide a solution to problem and operate optimally (Howe, 2017). This applies to Olivia's situation in that she suffers from a family problem that causes her psychological disturbance. The goal of a social worker, in this case, will entail enabling Olivia to exploit her resources that will allow her to talk to her father about his drinking behavior. Promoting social justice also stands out and in Olivia's case, a social worker may advise on policy change, particularly the policies on rehabilitating alcoholics.

The Generalist Intervention Model

I will stage a meeting with Olivia where I will engage her to understand her problem. After that, I will conduct an assessment and plan how to deal with her issues then implement and evaluate the same plan. I will then terminate the engagement and make follow-ups on how she is coping. Parker (2017) indicates that system theory entails analyzing the environment in totality to ascertain all the factors that inhibit one from functioning optimally. The system theory will apply here in that I will also engage her father to understand how he contributes to Olivia's psychological problems.

Olivia's Stage of Life

Olivia is at the self-discovery stage which involves trying out different activities to establish the one that works best for her. Olivia ought to interact with friends, travel to different places and also learn different skills before committing to one in her next stage of life as the process progresses. Parker (2017) avers that the self-discovery stage sets the foundation for the commitment stage.

Gender Issue

Violence against women stands out as a gender issue which led to the running away of Olivia's mother. Violence against women thrives in societies that have high number of alcoholics (Howe, 2017). The mother left the left, and now Olivia has to take up her roles which interfere with her education and also the growth and development of her two brothers who still need a mother's care. The absence of the mother has also made the home dysfunctional in that family strains Olivia with motherly duties in the pretext of preparing her for her future roles.

Conclusion

Social workers play an integral role in the lives of many people in the world. Enabling people to function normally requires more than the socialization skills. Olivia suffers from psychological problems as the conditions at home isolates her from peers and also overburdens her. Gender issues have become rampant in the world and a social worker can help address the problems through advising on the appropriate policies that can impact the society

References

Howe, D. (2017). An introduction to social work theory. Routledge.

Parker, J. (2017). Social work practice: Assessment, planning, intervention and review. Learning Matters.