Social work

Social work is the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal. Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques to one or more of the following ends: helping people obtain tangible services; providing counseling and psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups; helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services; and practicing in relevant legislative processes.

The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behavior; of social, economic and cultural institutions and of the interaction of all these factors.

There are different specialties within social work, for example: rural social work, occupational social work, school social work, clinical social work, preventive social work, police social work and others.

Rural social work is practice oriented to helping people who have unique problems and needs arising out of living in agricultural or sparsely populated areas.

School social work is the specialty oriented towards helping students make satisfactory school adjustments.

Psychiatric social work or clinical social work issocial work in a mental health setting.

Occupational social work or industrial social work is the provision of professional human services in the workplace through employer-funded programs.

Preventive social work is the professional application of social work theory and methods to the treatment and prevention of psychosocial dysfunction, disability, or impairment, including emotional and mental disorders.