Supportive and Psycho-social counseling

Last Updated on July 17, 2024 by Muzammil Ijaz

Supportive and Psycho-social counseling /counselling

Supportive and Psycho-social counseling  plays a vital role in social casework. Social case worker must provide full support to help the client to get rid of his/her problems because it provide client with courage and confident to tackle problems. Thus, counseling provided to the client must be supportive in nature.

The term psycho-social is made of two word “psycho” and “social” where psycho means relating to psychological or mental and social means the factors relating to social behavior or society. Thus, Psychosocial means the combination and the interaction of the psychological and social factor in relation to the thought and behavior of the person.

The individual and his environment are inter-related with each other. The change in one system creates change in other system. In other words behavior and personality of an individual is the product of psychological factors and environmental factors. Thus, problem inclined is not only due to psychological factor but also due to environmental factors but also due to environmental factor where the individual live. The psychology and personality of any person is affected by social, cultural as well as religious factors. If individual is not good then the society will also be the same. In other word to make the better society we should make a good individual.

Similarly the actual behavior and appearance of the person is also a result of biological and social factors. The differences between individuals are due to differences in heredity characters and influences in environment. It is very important to know the pattern of person behavior which is determined by biological factor and which is by social factor. Thus, problems in individual are due to different factors like environment, social, culture, religious and heredity. For solving the problem the caseworker must have knowledge about these problems and must use different techniques of intervention like supportive and counseling systems.

 

Some factors related to psychosocial counseling are as follows:

  1. Social relation and environment of present and past should be
  2. External influence has to be addressed in order to promote better adjustment between his/her
  3. Specific approach should be used to collect data or social evidence like social study, diagnosis and treatment
  4. Each person and each family is unique, thus must be studied and listen separately.
  5. Gathering information and understanding clients
  6. Observation and arrangement of data in
  7. Conduct early interview for gathering
  8. Observe clients non-verbal behaviors and psycho- social study of children, parents, teachers and other concerned
  9. Many problems emerge due to the development phase of individual and family life cycle therefore early life history’s data is to be taken for psychosocial
  10. After determining the most probable strategy treatment need to be Supportive counseling based intervention/therapy related with following:
  1. Individual Therapy

Social worker helps people in various crisis and chronic life situation like addiction, physical disability, domestic abuse etc. The social work helps the client to identify his/her problems provide needs and services to tackle problem. Social worker provides services to special clients such as students. Children, elder people, sick people both mentally and physically ill person. Social work use varieties of counseling and supportive techniques to solve their problems by acting as guide, support and catalyst role.

 

  1. Family Therapy

In family therapy or intervention social work helps the family to solve their problems. For solving the family problems, social worker gets information regarding family history, family dynamics, tradition, beliefs, habits, norms and values etc. Then the social worker helps the family member to understand how this system affects the members of family. Social worker suggests family the various ways to strengthen, their family relationship to overcome their difficulties. In some cases social workers also tries to change their bad habits and life pattern.

Principles of Case work

Historical evolution and History of social casework 

  1. Couples Therapy

Couple therapy is used by social worker to help the people to enhance intimate relationship. Social worker work on problem such as anger issues, physical violence, unhealthy emotional attachment and harmful interaction habit. Social worker meets with each person individually as well as both together to diagnosis problem, suggest changes and recommend suggestion. Social worker deals mostly with couples refer from domestic violence; couples who have refer for parenting training or couples in stressful situation due to loss of child.

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Stages and phases of Case work

  1. Group Therapy

Group treatment or intervention is used by social worker to give new awareness and support for those who have similar problems such as homeless teenagers, young mothers who have experienced domestic violence. Social worker meets regularly with them for the group discussion about their problems and guides them to solve their problems. Social worker also helps to raise awareness to the client. Social workers may have one or more groups to meet with them for having treatment.

 

  1. Community Therapy

Community therapy is used by social workers when whole community is facing problems. Social worker tries to get information regarding their traditional beliefs, habits, dynamics, needs, wants etc. Social worker also tries to get information regarding the effects of these problems on the communities. Social worker then gives solution to strengthen their capacities and relationship and also helps to tackle their problems and change their bad habits.

 

  1. Alcohol and drug addiction intervention

Alcohol and drug addiction intervention is used by social worker to make client comfortable with group, family members and close person. The client need to ask to meet with groups and (s)he is allowed to tells his/her troubles and how his/her behavior is affecting him/herself and his family members. The client is also allowed to share his views why (s)he wants to change his habits. In this method social worker acts as a guide or supporter for changing and helping the client to stay away from these habits.