Definition of social work

Discipline aimed at improving the conditions and development of the community in which it operates

Social work is a transdiscipline that deals with promoting social change in a given community, solving problems that arise from human relationships and to strengthen the people with the objective of increasing the well-being of the communities.

That is, basically, this area aims to improve material conditions, health, culture and education concerning the population in which it acts with its action. As a consequence that the work that this sector does does not generate any type of economic benefit, it is usually developed by the state or by organizations non-profit, such is the case of popular NGOs, as we will see later in the review, which are the ones that practically agglutinate all this work in their hands. Now, this does not imply that other social actors cannot intervene in this sense, of course they can, but the usual thing is that it is managed in the aforementioned hands.

The objective: marginal sectors and those with unmet needs

The most marginalized social sectors and those with unmet needs at almost all levels are often the recipients of social work. The mission is to assist in meeting demands but also to strive to provide these sectors with a better future.

Based on and using theories about human behavior, social systems, the principles of Human Rights and Social Justice, Social Work intervenes and directs its work towards the extremely complex relationships that occur in individuals and the environments to which they belong.

That no individual is relegated from development

Basically The mission of Social Work is to make it easier for all individuals to fully develop their potentialities, while enriching their lives and preventing the dysfunctions that can result in that road.

Meanwhile, professionals who work professionally in this discipline they are referred to as social workers.

Functions:

The functions of social workers include the following: orienting individuals to develop their capacities, which will help them solve the social, individual and collective problems that arise. arouse them; promote in these the faculty of self-determination, adaptation and development; promote the achievement of services and policies that coincide with resources socioeconomic that exist; provide information and social connections with those organisms of socioeconomic resources; offer psychotherapy or family therapy treatments where family conflicts or tragedies overwhelm and limit citizens; project programs in tune with governments to favor the social development of the most limited classes; guide families to solve their problems through dialogue and consensus and not through fighting; analysis of cases in order to fully interpret causes and arrive at effective solutions; follow those sectors that require on-site assistance, among others.

Regarding the contexts in which Social Work operates, they turn out to be highly variable, but attention and emphasis will always be placed on those sectors that require more than anything special attention, such as the elderly, individuals with disabilities, people who suffer from abuse, prisoners, victims of terrorism, immigrants, ethnic minorities, drug addicts and any other individual who falls into the category of socially excluded.

The relevance of the third sector: associations, foundations and NGOs

Currently Social Work is very active in what is known as the third sector, associations, foundations, NGOs and also in private companies and in educational contexts. In the latter case, social workers assume the role of mediators in the conflicts that arise between the members of the educational community, promoting the realization of therapies with the aim of finding the solution to the problem that is the cause of suffering.

As can be seen from all of the above, it is extremely important that this discipline be developed and promoted in all parts of the world. Where there is a humble needy or a minority that there are no answers to their situation of discrimination, there, it must be activating social work.