The core of social work involves the working with a transactional network that is interconnected. Social work applies the ecological model due to its tendency of providing a framework for understanding and relating these networks more complexly. It is a model that ensures that social work is based on the person and the environment which includes the family members, various groups, and communities among others. The discussion will analyze how a social worker would apply the ecological model in understanding abuse based on a person-in-environment perspective, victims/survivors of abuse on various levels, and the strengths that a social worker might miss when assessing physical, emotional or sexual abuse.
The person-in-environment is a notion that outlines that the behavior of an individual can only be understood with proper considerations of various aspects of their environment that include the familial, social, political, spiritual, physical, and economical. According to Närhi, (2017), it is a better way of assessing the problem of an individual than either focusing on the problem or the environment solely. This ecological model can, therefore, be used to understand an abuse by forming a basis for organizing observations, making plans, and formulating strategies for intervention. An example of abuse includes domestic violence perpetrated by a husband. A social worker, when formulating the intervention strategies will have an obligation of analyzing the environmental factors that might have led to the problem such as the neighborhood, the upbringing of the husband, and mental related issues, among others.
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The social worker can also apply the ecological model in working on different levels. Such levels differ from each other. The three distinct levels include the macro level, mezzo level, and finally the micro level. Netting et al . (2016) asserted that the macro level is a large-scale intervention that mainly targets communities. The micro level is the smallest and the commonest level that involves working with an individual or a specified family. The mezzo level is an intermediary stage that includes working with relatively smaller groups and institutions. When a social worker is dealing with victims and survivors of abuse, it is important to understand the level of operation because nature, roles, and responsibilities differ across the groups. The most common problems solved at the micro level include helping individuals get housing, proper healthcare services, and other social services. It also involves family therapy and counseling. It is the most appropriate method for dealing with victims of abuse mainly because it gives a personal appeal hence drawing the best intervention mechanism from the social worker. In the mezzo level, the requirements of the clients are addressed with reference to the larger social issues. The macro level deals with the entire systems such as changing or abolishing policies that will ensure that the victims of abuse get a long-term solution to their problems.
Several strengths define a good social worker with as far as assessing physical, emotional, or sexual abuse is concerned. However, a social worker may potentially miss these essential qualities hence leading to a flawed process. The first strength that can be missed by a social worker in assessing an abuse is organization. This is an important quality, especially when dealing with medical records and case files of the abused victims. It ensures that every victim is assessed appropriately and accurately hence developing the best corrective measure. Courage is another important strength lacked by most social workers. It is a vital quality, especially when dealing with stress which is part and parcel of the social work. Therefore when dealing with the cases of abuse, courage would apply in ensuring that critical and tough decisions are made in the face of adversaries.
References
Närhi, K. (2017). The Changing Understanding of the ‘Person in Environment’in Organizing Public Social Work Practice. Routledge Advances in Social Work; .
Netting, F. E., Kettner, P. M., McMurtry, S. L., & Thomas, M. L. (2016). Social work macro practice . Pearson.
