User:Islary

== Monograph == ==

Jacob Islary

'''The Principle of Acceptance in Casework Relationship

Introduction

Acceptance is one of the principles of casework relationship that the caseworker has to practice while interacting with the client. It is a term widely used to describe the caseworker’s attitude towards the client. It facilitates the relationship process between the client and the caseworker and which in turn enables the casework to be effective. Acceptance of the client does not just occur. It grows from the realization and respect of the intrinsic value of human worth and dignity accompanied by the fundamental belief and faith that the inherent processes of individual development will lead a person toward greater maturity when such processes are fostered. Acceptance makes the casework process ‘client-centered’ and individualized and gives a new and unique character to the client’s efforts to help himself. It has a therapeutic effect too on the client as it helps him to accept himself as the caseworker accepts him.

The Concept of Acceptance Casework Relationship

The term ‘Acceptance’ in casework context is more easily agreed upon regarding it’s importance than understood or explained. The word ‘accept’ has various shades of meanings- as in the cases of an inanimate thing ‘accept’ means to ‘receive’, in the case of an intellectual concept it means ‘to recognize as true and significant and engage oneself by a favorable reply’ and in reference to a person ‘accept’ means ‘to treat him with respect.’ Thus while dealing with the a person ‘acceptance’ refers to an attitude- the attitude of respect because of the realization and respect of the intrinsic value of human worth and dignity. The term ‘acceptance’ should not be confused with approval. Acceptance refers to person and approval to an action that are considered good. Thus we accept a person as he is with all his strength or limitations though we may or may not approve of his actions. The objective of acceptance is not ‘the good’ but ‘the real’.

Definition of ‘Acceptance in Casework’ in Social Work Literatures

As aforementioned the term ‘acceptance’ is more explained than defined by various authors by application of various synonymous terms such as- believe, recognize, agree with, understand, acknowledge, admit, receive and allow. According to B.C. Reynolds acceptance is ‘the understanding of him (the client) as he is, and to respect his integrity as a fellow human being’, while F. Hollis and Hamilton understand the term acceptance as ‘an attitude’ of the caseworker that is genuinely warm, respecting, understanding, recognizing and non-condemning the kind that builds a bridge between the caseworker and the client for the greater benefit of the client.

‘Acceptance’ according refers to the ability of the social workers to ‘perceive, acknowledge, receive, and establish relationship with the individual client as he actually is, not as we wish him to be or think he should be … we acknowledge him and accept him, as he is if we are to help him. It means that we begin where the client is and, at every stage in the helping process, relate oneself to the client as he is at each given moment.’ Acceptance is also defined as ‘to receive what they (clients) offer of themselves, with respect and for their capacity and worth, with belief in their capacity to grow and mature, and with awareness that their behaviors can be understood as attempts at survival and coping.’ Acceptance can also be defined as “a principle of action wherein the caseworker perceives and deals with the client as he really is, including his strengths and weaknesses, his congenial and uncongenial qualities, his positive and negative feelings, his constructive and destructive attitudes and behavior, maintaining all the while a sense of the client’s innate dignity and personal worth.”

Defining ‘Acceptance’ in Ones Own Words

The term ‘acceptance’ in casework relationship may be defined as the act of the caseworker that recognizes, believes and accepts with a warm attitude the client as he is with all his strengths and weaknesses guided by a belief that the client has the capacity for growth and maturity, and given rise by respect for individual’s worth and dignity. Acceptance is what makes building rapport possible between the caseworker and the client. Acceptance enables the caseworker to be non-judgmental and give the client the right to self-determination.

Acceptance in relation to other Principles of Casework

The relationship between the casework principles can be narrated and explained in relation to their nature, origin and meaning rather than relative importance or priorities. There is a commonality as far as the origin of the casework principles are concerned- all the casework principles- Acceptance, Individualization, Purposeful expression of feelings, Controlled emotional involvement, Non-judgmental attitude, Client self-determination and Confidentiality arise from the caseworkers realization and respect for the worth and dignity of the individual (client). It is only when one is able to recognize and respect the worth and dignity of a person that these principles make sense. The principles of casework relationship are also known as ‘the principles of action’ because they influence, guide, and direct the caseworker to sensitively understand and respond appropriately while dealing with the client.

Acceptance as a principle in the casework process should be put into action from the first moment of the casework relationship. It is by accepting the client, as he is that the casework process begins. Acceptance of an individual as he is with all his strengths and weakness is individualization. Acceptance of the client as he is leads the caseworker to be non-judgmental, engage in purposeful expression of feelings, practice controlled emotional involvement, give the right to self-determination, and be confidential about the client’s revelations of himself.

Acceptance of the client as he is with all his strength and weaknesses is the basis of rapport building in the casework. However, it would be an injustice to say which principle comes first or second and one should realize that all the principles are interrelated and collaboratively influence, guide and direct the caseworker in the helping process.

Acceptance and the Need of the Client

The presumption that lies about the client who comes to a caseworker is that he is essentially a person who is dissatisfied with some aspects of his present living, sees the need for change, but cannot make the change unaided due to environmental pressure or limitations within his personality. It is also important to know that every individual has desire for change. However the client will reveal only some of his shortcomings for fear of disapproval by the caseworker. He therefore constructs, defenses behind which he uses to hide a part of himself. It is then that the caseworker as a professional should accept the client as he is with all his strengths and weaknesses. Accepting itself has a therapeutic effect on the client for as the caseworker accepts him the client begins to accept himself. Thus acceptance makes the casework effective by making the client free himself form undesirable defenses, so that he feels safe to reveal himself and look at himself as he really is, and thus to deal with his problem and himself in a realistic way.

Obstacles to Acceptance

There are many possible impediments that may stem from various sources such as the caseworker’s ‘lack of self-awareness in some area.’ It is also important to note that acceptance is not an all-in-all phenomenon. Every caseworker practices a certain degree of skill of acceptance and this degree vary form day to day and from client to client. The following are some the obstacles to acceptance- insufficient knowledge of patterns of human behavior, non-acceptance of something in self, imputing to the client one’s own feelings, biases and prejudices, unwarranted reassurances, confusion between acceptance and approval, loss of respect for the client, and over identification.

'''Application of the Principle of Acceptance in Fieldwork Practice Field Setting'''

The student social worker was placed in Kudumbashree as per the tie up of Rajagiri College with the Kudumbashree Mission- a state poverty eradication mission- Government of Kerala. He was placed as a Voluntary Executive of Kudumbashree (VEK) in Kumbalangi Grama Panchayat. Kumbalangi is also rated as S3 Panchayath - self sufficient, self reliant, self-sustainable.

Agency Profile

Government of Kerala launched Kudumbashree, the State Poverty Eradication Mission with an active support of Government of India & NABARD ‘to eradicate absolute poverty from the State within a period of 10 years.’ This project is implemented (by the State Poverty Eradication Mission of the Government of Kerala) through Local Self-Governments formed and empowered by the 73rd & 74th Constitutional Amendments. The Mission follows an approach that is process based rather than a project based.

Applying Acceptance in Casework

Casework is a process of working with individual with the main objective of enabling the client to solve his own problems. The presumption that lies about the client who comes to a caseworker is that he is essentially a person who is dissatisfied with some aspect of his present living, sees the need for change, but cannot make the change unaided due to environmental pressure or limitations within his personality. It is in this situation that the caseworker has accepted the client as he is with all his strength and weaknesses. However, acceptance does not mean approval. Acceptance refers to respecting the person as he is while approval refers to actions or intentions that are good. Thus the objective of acceptance is ‘the reality’ and approval ‘the good’.

My experiences while doing casework are that I found that my ability to accept the clients as they are helped me first of all to establish a rapport that in turn made the casework effective. It was acceptance of the clients as they are that made them to open up their true nature, which in turn facilitated the helping process. It was also acceptance of my own limitations that made me refer a client to another caseworker with whom the client felt more comfortable.

Applying Acceptance in Group Work

The practice of Acceptance in a group work leads to the feeling of oneness among the group members. Acceptance of one another is a must in the group work practice and it leads to a sense of cooperation. If every group member is made to feel that he is accepted in the group there is a natural tendency to participate actively in the group activities and programme. In my group work experience with the Little Birds, I found acceptance of each individual as they are in the group enabled the group to function without any friction. It also promoted sharing of personal information among the group members.

Applying Acceptance in Community Organization

Acceptance is an essential element of community organization. A community can be organized only if the members are ready to accept first of all each other and second the ideas regarding their own welfare. The social worker should accept the community as it is and in turn the community should accept the social worker as a guide or as a person who has a real interest in their welfare. However, acceptance of the social worker by the community members will depend on the integrity of the social worker and on the earlier experiences of the people with the same social worker or others.

In my practical experience I found that as social work students the community accepted us. But, we were not able to organize many programmes for the community, as our fieldwork facilitator was not accepted by many in the community. This made our attempts to bring the community together almost impossible and each time we tried, we were given assurance by the people that they would cooperate but this never happened.

Acceptance in Social Research, Advocacy and Social Welfare Administration

One often conceptualizes acceptance only in the context of Casework and Group work and do not give much thought about it in the methods such as Community Organization and even less in the methods of Social Research, Advocacy and Welfare Administration. However it should be kept in mind that Social Research, Advocacy, and Social Welfare Administration are very much possible only when one is able to accept the people respecting their dignity and worth. In research the researcher has to accept the people and their responses to his or her queries. Acceptance enables the researcher to get in to the community and thus gather ‘true and valid’ data from the respondents. In advocacy the social worker (Social Activist) has to consider and accept the members and their ideas and opinions if he or she wants to be effective and bring about real changes. Ideas and opinions get generated only when people feel that their expressions are counted. In the area of Social Administration the Social Worker (Administrator) has to realize and accept that the people need welfare activities. One has to be open minded to the realities of the need of the people. Thus the Social Work Research, Advocacy and Social Welfare Administration can be made effective if the social worker (for that matter any one) practices the principle of acceptance. Acceptance also promotes community participation.

Acceptance and Innovative Practices

When one speaks of people’s participation it is essential to keep in mind the principle of acceptance. It is the attitude and practice of acceptance that encourages and enables the people to actively participate in activities. It is acceptance that makes the people to brainstorm their ideas regarding a solution for a problem. Thus solutions can be found from among the common people themselves. Thus acceptance leads to participation, which in turn leads to development of innovative practices. Jalanidhi is a classic example of where opinions and needs of the people are sought and accepted through a participatory planning and implementation.

General observations

Acceptance leads to rapport building, which in turn helps at getting in the issue at deeper level. Acceptance also promotes participation, which in turn leads to sharing of ideas and thus planning and learning together and generation of indigenous innovative good practices. Acceptance makes evaluation critical and objective.

In my personal experience of casework especially while working with Mr. D’ I circled around the principle of acceptance and found it to be effective. It was through acceptance of him as he was that I was able to proceed further with the casework. It was acceptance that made me to deal with him at an individual level with our being judgmental and giving him the right for self-determination. The mere fact that I accepted him as he was made him open up more and more which made the diagnostic process possible and thus plan and apply appropriate intervention techniques. The outcome of the application of the principle of acceptance was that the client was motivated and enabled again to refocus in his primary duty as a student.

Conclusion

Acceptance is a widely used term in social work. One cannot think of casework with out the principle of acceptance. It is the basis through which rapport is built between the caseworker and the client, which in turn makes the casework effective. Acceptance is in fact one of the first principles of casework relationship that the caseworker has to put into practice while working with the people. However there are some obstacles that pose hurdle to acceptance, which in turn make the casework ineffective. Acceptance does not happen naturally but it has to be learnt through conscious efforts. One should also differentiate between acceptance and approval. Acceptance in itself is therapeutic as it enables the client to accept himself as the caseworker accepts him as he is. The principle of Acceptance is not only applicable in Casework, but also in Group work, Community Organization, Social Research, Advocacy and Social Welfare Administration.

Bibliography

Biestek, Felix P. S.J., “The Principles of Casework Relationship” Part Two, Pub. Loyola University Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1957.

Compton, Beulah and Galaway, Burt, “Social Work Process”, Ed. Third, Pub. The Dorsey Press, Homewood, Illinois, 1984.

Davenport, Russell W., “The dignity of Man”, Pub. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1955.

Hamilton, Gordon, “Theory and Practice of Social Casework”, Ed. Second Revised, Pub. Columbia University Press, New York, 1951.

Reynolds, Bertha C., “A Changing Psychology in Social Case Work- After One Year.” Pub. 1932.

Young, Mary Arden, “Supervision- A Worm’s Eye View”, Pub. The Family, April 1930