Social Case work, Historical Development and Principles Introduction: All human beings are part of the society and everyone in the society has different social role and duties. While performing his role and duties, individual faces many problems in one or other form, which hinder his performance as a social being. Casework is the oldest and the most developed method of solving individual’s problems and improving his social relations.

1. Social Case Work: Historical Development and
Principles
Dr. Gouri Manik Manas

2. Contents
• Introduction
• Definitions
• Purpose of Social Case Work
• Nature of Social Case Work
• Problems faced by Individuals and Families
• Types of Problems
• Concept of Social Case Work
• Basic Assumption of Social Case Work
• Historical development
• Principles of Social Case Work

3. Introduction
All human beings are part of the society and
everyone in the society has different social
role and duties.
While performing his role and duties,
individual faces many problems in one or
other form, which hinder his performance as
a social being.
Casework is the oldest and the most
developed method of solving individual’s
problems and improving his social relations.

4. Definitions of Social Case Work
Mary Richmond (1915):
“Social Case work may be defined as the art of doing
different things for and with different people by
cooperating with them to achieve at one and the same
time their own and society’s betterment.”
Swift (1939):
“Social Case work is the art of assisting the individual
in developing and making use of his personal capacity
to deal with problems which he faces in his social
environment.”

5. Cont….
Hollis (1954):
“Social Case work is the method employed by social
workers to help individuals find solution to problems of
social adjustment which they are unable to handle in a
satisfactory way by their own efforts.”
Perlman (1957):
“Social Case work is a process used by certain human
welfare agencies to help individuals to cope more
effectively with their problems in social functioning.”

6. Cont…
According to Perlman “A PERSON with a PROBLEM
comes to a PLACE where social worker helps him
through a well-defined PROCESS.”
PERSON: man, woman, child, and aged, anyone with social
emotional living.
PROBLEM: arise from some need /obstacle /accumulation
of frustrations or maladjustments which threaten the
adequacy of the person’s living situation or the effectiveness
of his efforts to deal with it.
PLACE: social service agency, social welfare department.
PROCESS: progressive transaction between caseworker
and client.

7. PURPOSE OF SOCIAL CASE WORK:
• Basic purpose is to enable the client to enjoy with
some degree of permanence. More satisfying,
effective and acceptable experiences in the social
situation in which he finds himself.
• Essential task is the facilitation of the social
relationship.
• (Witmer) Chief aim is to help them mobilize their
capacities for the solution of their problems.
• Help them so that they will be better able to meet
future difficulties with a more effectively organized
personal strength.

8. Cont…
• à (Moffett & Hollis)Bring about a better
adjustment between individual clients and his
situation or environment.
• (Bowers) Better adjustment in the social
relationships of the individual and the
development of individual personality.
• In general, the purpose of social case work is to
help an individual client to solve his psycho-
social problems in such a way so that he finds
himself capable of dealing with these problems at
present and also may solve in future if such
problems arise.

9. Nature of Individuals
Every individual is unique and his/her needs
are different from others in society.
To understand human behaviour and the
individual difference Grace Mathew has
given following proposition.
An individual’s behaviour is conditioned by
his/her environment and his/her life
experiences. Behaviour refers to reacting,
feeling, thinking, etc.

10. Cont….
 For human growth and development it is
essential that certain basic needs should be met.
 The basic needs may be – physical and mental.
Physical needs refer to needs for food, shelter
and clothing.
 Emotional needs are real and they cannot be met
or removed through intellectual reasoning.
 Behaviour is purposeful and is in response to the
individual’s physical and emotional needs.

11. Cont….
According to Maslow’s prioritization, needs can be
categorized as follows:
• Physiological needs: This refers to basic needs of
food, shelter, cloth, air, and water.
• Safety needs: It is the nature of human being that it
like to be on the safer side and avoid physical damage
and hazards.
• Need for belongingness and love: Every human
being loves to be love and to belong a particular group
and with the prestige in that group. If a person is
deprived from parental love, affection of siblings and
peer group, there are chances of development of violent
behaviour in him.

12. Cont….
• Esteemed needs: It is general psychology of human
being that it like to be at the top position, to have
status in the society and acceptance in his own group.
• Need for self-growth and identification: After
fulfillment of above needs there is need for
opportunities available to a person for self-growth
and to prove his capabilities for his remarkable
identification in the society.
• Need for cognitive understanding of self and the
world around: When the person recognize himself
and the world around him it is said that all his needs
are fulfilled.

13. Problems Faced By Individuals and
Families
Problems may be caused due to the non-fulfillment of needs
or inability to perform his social roles.
Causes of Human Problems:
According to Encyclopedia of Social Work Vol.1, the reason
for human problems may be divided into five categories:
1) Lack of material resources
2) Misconception about the situation and relationships and
lack of appropriate information
3) Illness or health problems related to a disability
4) Emotional distress resulting from stressful situations
5) Personality features or deficiencies

14. Types of Problems
• Types of Problem In general we can categorize the problems
faced by individual as:
Clients
Obstacles
Psychological
Health
Cultural
Economical Religious
Political
Sociological
Others

15. Concept of Social Case Work
According to Gordon and Hamilton
“social casework which is both a tool and
area of work consists of processes which
develop personality through adjustment
consciously affect individual by individual
between man and his social environment”.

16. Cont…
• Miss Richmond gives this definition of
casework. “Social casework is art of
doing different things for and with
different people by cooperating with
them to achieve at one and at the same
time their own and their society’s
betterment.”

17. Basic Assumptions of Social Case Work
According to Hamilton the chief assumptions of social casework
are:
 Individual and society are interdependent and complimentary to
each other.
 Various factors operative in the society influence human
behaviour and attitude.
 Some problems are psychological and some are interpersonal in
nature.
 In the process of social casework conscious and controlled
relations are established for achieving its aims.
 Social casework enables an individual to solve his/ her
problems by channelizing his/her energy and capacity
positively.
 Social casework provides everyone equal right to progress. It
also provides help to every needy and disabled person

18. Historical Development of Case Work in
West and India
 Individuals in every society right from ancient times were helped by
others to solve their problems.
 However it took professional shape in the late 19th and early 20th
century.
 Ancient times – individuals in every society have been helped by
others to solve their problems.
 Late 19th and early 20th century – it took professional shape
 1869 – Origin of Charity Organization Society in London.
 The main aim of the society was to find out ways and means of
helping the poor and needy and thus to organize used ‘volunteers’,
called ‘friendly visitors’.
 They visited the homes of the poor for the purpose of assessing their
need, for rendering material assistance and for giving them guidance
and advice.

19. Cont…
 These friendly visitors were subsequently called ‘paid agents’.
 These paid helpers gradually developed systematic procedures in
performing their tasks; they collected data, helped them after
assessing and also maintained records (personal data, type of help
rendered).
 Case work gradually developed into a professional method.
 1877 – Organized efforts were taken by the American Charity
Organization Society in U.S.A., similar to that in London.
 The ‘paid agents’ received training in investigation, diagnosis and
treatment for which the New York School of Philanthropy was
established towards the end of the 19th century.
 1895 – End of 19th century in England, a concept called ‘Almoners’
(outside visitors) was introduced. Sir Charles Loch appointed
Almoners to help hospitals to serve patients effectively. Almoners
were similar to friendly visitors and paid agents.

20. Cont…
 1898 – The first School of Social Work was established in New
York.
 1911 – Case work had emerged in USA as an accepted formal
technique. Since the early social workers handled cases of families
in need, they were called caseworkers in USA.
 1914 – 1917 – The first training programme for casework started
at this time, based more on the medical model – Summer training
– started by many schools of social work – recognized by
professionals.
• 1917 – Mary Richmond wrote her first book called ‘ Social
Diagnosis’ which set forth a methodology of helping clients
through systematic ways of assessing their problems and handling
them. The book also introduced the principle of individualization
and client’s right to self-determination.

21. Cont…
 Impact of I World War – The First World War made a wide impact on
social case work. Psychiatry in this period became more important. The
contribution of Freud and his followers influenced the method
employed by the caseworkers in dealing with the individuals. CGC
movement and treatment, prevention of mental problems and
delinquency strengthened the psychological orientation of this
approach.
 1920s - Various definitions of case work under the influence of
Freudian theory (internal factors – individual responsible for his
problems).caseworkers realized that ore responsibilities should be given
to individuals to make decisions of their life. Professionals also began
to move into other fields like prisons, schools, etc.
 1930 – Economic depression – Case workers had to consider the
economic factors which were causing distress to clients, leading to
emotional distress and breakdown. Focus shifted from individual to
modification and manipulation of the client’s environment to enable
him to adapt to his situations satisfactorily.

22. Cont…
 After World War II, with the problems of morale,
leadership, propaganda, separation, communication, etc.,
social workers found social sciences more useful. There was
increase in personal problems on the part of clients due to
financial crises.
 1950s – This was an era of private practice. Professional
agencies started growing in this field. Case work started
going into the community. Richmond (1922), Hamilton
(1951) and Pearlman (1957) also emphasized on the
problems of social functioning.
 1960s – Lot of importance was given to research and social
action. Heredity vs. environment – casework method adopted
new techniques and principles.

23. Social Case Work in India
 American case work had its influence in India, as the
first professional social workers who did case work in
the Indian setting were trained in the American Schools
of Social work.
 1911 – N.M. Joshi, one of the founders of the Trade
Union Movement established an organization called the
Social Service League. The League conducted training
programmes foe volunteers, whose services were later
utilized for relief work among people suffering form
famines, epidemics, floods and other disasters, and also
for welfare programmes among the poor and the
destitute.

24. Cont…
 1936 - The Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of
Social Work was started in Bombay, the training for
social work changed into a full time career oriented,
educational programme. 1946 – Case work figured,
both as a theoretical course and also as a method of
practice in the academic programme.
 Social work as a profession and as an academic
programme has been enlarged and enriched by new
perspective, ideas and theories.

25. Principles of Social Case Work
Individualization
Purposeful
expression of
feelings
Control of
Emotion
Self
determination
Acceptance
Principle of
non-
judgmental
attitude
Principle of
Confidentiality

26. Cont…
I. Individualization: Individualization means analyze an
individual not from a single aspect but from various aspects.
Every Individual is different from others & unique in itself.
Problem of every individual is different from another &
depend upon her/his intelligence, so the mode of helping
(Technique) must be according to the Intellectual level, socio-
economic situation and ego strength, ones capacity and
resource.
II. Purposeful expression of feelings: Case worker must give
the chance to the client to express her/his feelings freely,
especially her/his negative feelings because maximum time
feelings are negative in nature. The case worker listen
purposefully clients feelings neither praising nor condemning.
Don’t point out any one as good or bad because of one‟s
psycho-social problems.

27. Cont…
III. Control emotional involvement Without feeling any one’s
emotion with sensitivity, it’s impossible to find-out her/his
problem & get a solution of that problem.
– Emotion comes from 3 ways as
– Sensitivity
– Understanding
– Response
IV. Self determination Self determination we means let the
client to take her/his own decision in own way, give chance
her/him to decide, what is right or wrong for them.
V. Acceptance A case worker must be accept an individual as a
person of “worth & dignity”, not treat as a problem and always
accept ones positive feelings and negative feelings

28. Cont…
VII. Principle of Confidentiality Case work relationship has a
principle to take the problems of the client in confidence and keep it as
secret.
References:
1. M. Richmond, Social Diagnosis, Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1917.
2. The short history of American Casework presented here is based on an article by
H.H. Perlman. M.H. Perlman, "Social Casework" in H.K. Lurie (ed),
Encyclopedia of Social Work, National Association of Social Workers, New
York, 1965.
3. H. H. Perlman, Social Casework: A Problem-solving Process, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 1957.
4. J. Fischer, Effective Casework Practice, an eclectic approach, McGraw-Hill
Book Company, New York, 1978.
5. Francis Turner, "Some Considerations on the Place of Theory" in Turner Francis
(ed.), Social Work Treatment, The Free Press, New York, 1974.
6. G.B. Banerjee, Papers on Social Work, An Indian Perspective, Tata Institute of
Social Sciences, Bombay, 1972.
7. S.Rengasamy, Madurai Institute of Social Sciences.