Three Levels of Practice 1

Interrelationship of the Three Levels of Practice SW 3010 12/5/12 004321864

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Introduction In this paper I will be discussing the three levels of practice. Social work is often divided into three levels of practice; macro, mezzo and micro. Macro level social work is interventions provided on a large scale that affects entire communities and systems of care. Mezzo social work happens on an intermediate scale, involving neighborhoods, institutions or other smaller groups. Micro practice is the most common, and is direct social work with an individual client or family (Macro, Mezzo, and Micro Social Work, 2005). These three levels of social work practice at times overlap and always influence one another in some way, shape, or form, therefore it is important to understand the distinctions between these social work approaches (Macro, Mezzo, and Micro Social Work, 2005). Throughout the paper I will deliberate on the three levels of social work practice and how they relate to the case study we observed. I will talk about how each practice relates and intertwines with one another in order to efficiently help the client to better herself and her situation.

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Through macro social work their mission to effectiveness is to help clients by dominating in large groups. Macro social work generally deals with issues that are experienced in mezzo or micro social work practice, as well as social work research. The purpose of Macro practice is to empower clients by involving them in universal changes. Mezzo social work practice lands right in the middle of Macro and Micro practice, dealing with small to medium sized groups and issues. These issues can entail working in neighborhoods, schools or other local organizations. Social workers that engage in mezzo practice are a lot of times engaged in micro and/or macro social work as well. Being engaged in both or sometimes all practices ensures the individual needs of the client are met and understood in order to be able to work with larger social issues. Micro practice is the most common kind of social work practice. In micro social work, the social workers are involved

with individuals and/or families and helping to try and solve their problems. In many cases social workers participate in both micro and mezzo practice. (Hepworth, D. h., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., Strom-Gottfried, K., & Larsen, J. 2006).

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Social work practice methods focus on strengths, capacities and resources of client systems in relation to their broader environment. Effective practice requires knowledge related to all three levels of practice. Because Humans experience a broad array of problems, no single approach or practice model is sufficiently comprehensive to adequately address them all. During the case study we observed many different ways to affectively use each level of practice. The client was a struggling, single mother of three, who had just gotten all three children taken away from her. This client appeared to be a hopelessly devoted mother, despite her finance struggles and some poor decisions on how to parent or discipline her children. Although her being a devoted and loving mother was unclear at first, it was easier to unravel once we were able to hear her story and get a better understanding as to where she was coming from. She was a single mother who has been on her own ever since her parents disowned her when she got pregnant with her first daughter at the early age of sixteen. Through her disownment of

her parents she has ever since struggled with her own parenting techniques from their abandonment and lack of compassion towards her. With her lack of guidance she has been misguided on how to properly provide and care for her own children. She seems to be

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feeling abandoned by everyone and alone with very little help or resources to guide her in the right direction. The client has been court ordered to speak to a social worker in hopes of getting her children back and also her welfare check that helps care for her children because of her inadequate finances. Without her welfare check she receives she

would not be able to provide for her children, therefore not being able to gain back custody of her children. Although the client made a poor decision on what she thought would be the most effective way to get through to her teenage daughter, which was placing her hand over the stove to feel the heat. This was her way of trying to teach her daughter that if she continues to do the things she is doing she is eventually going to get burned. The client got carried away and actually ended up burning her thirteen year old daughters hand on the stove by accident, which she swears was never her intention. Listening to her story and her background it is clear that this woman needs some help. It seems to me that she is a loving and devoted mother but is lacking the resources and guidance that is necessary in raining three children. Through properly

using all three levels of practice this will allow the social worker to provide helpful and effective resources in furthering her in her life and with her children.

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On a Micro level it would be important for the social worker to encourage her to find educational resources and friend support; to have someone to talk with that shares a similar situation, one that she can better relate to so she isnt feeling so hopeless and alone. On a Mezzo level it might be encouraging for her to go to some parenting and support classes. Classes that would educate her better on her parenting skills and help her better cope with her issues. As the social worker it might be effective

encourage her to help develop parenting classes and/or refer her to one which would then be more on a Micro level of practice. On a Macro level there could be many ways to help her and better her living conditions with her kids. First, there could be grants written towards making recreational programs, or organizing facilities and activities for kids; maybe even changing policy of classes and organizing neighborhoods and communities. Through the grants maybe there could be free bus services or a development plan to clean up the streets to make it a safer environment free of drugs and corruption. worker can also encourage their client to take part in organizing and developing a safe neighborhood. By giving the The social

client options it opens their eyes to a wide variety of options that they can choose for themselves because in the end they are

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their only solution; we, the social worker are only there to help them see that and try and guide them in the right direction. According to the Code of Ethics, social workers practice within their area of competence and develop and enhance their professional expertise (Hepworth, D. h., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., Strom-Gottfried, K., & Larsen, J. 2006). Ethically, social workers are held responsible for being aware of evidence of effectiveness. Although it is not possible to be aware of all evidence, they can be expected to be at lease somewhat knowledgeable about the primary concerns of the client group and the social problems they are dealing with. It is also the social workers responsibility to be aware of the chosen practice for that particular client or group and their problems based on the available data that is presented to them (Direct Social Work Practice, 2006). With this available data it is

extremely vital to the client and the social worker that the information is used to best benefit the client and their issues. It is also important to create a comfortable and trusting environment in order to get as much useful information to help the client flourish and succeed. It is clear that the client has dealt with her share of problems over the course of her life and has struggled with abandonment, financial security and issues on how to manage a

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family with only herself to rely on. With these matters the client has ethically dealt with particular values and trust issues, which is most likely why in the beginning of the interview she came off cold and resentful towards the social worker as if she was under attack and immediately on the defense. At that point it was exceptionally detrimental that

the social worker didnt become alarmed or defensive in order to be able to build a trusting and comforting environment with the client. Over the deration of the session it was easy to see

that the client had opened up more and had gained a somewhat trusting relationship with the social worker, especially in comparison form before. With gaining the clients trust the social worker was able to build a great foundation to help assist the client. The client had been given limited opportunities over the duration of her lifetime and has now been provided with some resources that will help her better her childrens and her life. The client had finally felt comfortable enough to open up with someone all because of how she was approached, which was in a non-invasive and non-judgmental way. The way the social worker

approached the issues the client was dealing with allowed her to trust enough so they were both able to work together in finding the best solution to her problems.

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References Hepworth, D. h., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., Strom-Gottfried, K., & Larsen, J. (2006). Direct Social Work Practice: Theory and Skills. Canada: Thomas, Brooks/Cole. Macro, Mezzo and Micro Social Work | Social Work License. (n.d.). Definitive Guide For Social Workers | Social Work License Map. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://socialworklicensemap.com/macro-mezzo-and-microsocial-work/