Our view of the social work
Social work is a theoretical as well as practical discipline derived from many branches of science. It draws on the knowledge and finds of psychology, sociology, economics, law, pedagogy, medicine and other sciences. Due to this “multi-paradigm” nature, social work has not been unambiguously defined yet. In spite of its broad coverage, the goal of social work is clearly determinable: an effort to professionally handle the problems of people who found themselves in straits. These straits are not only perceived in the context of the social reality, which sharply distinguishes social work from other helping professions. This perspective enables social work to perceive the problems of an individual as something exceeding certain limits and thereby impacting not only the very individual but his/her entire social environment too.
Different groups of people suffer from distress and straits. Clients of the social workers are not only limited to the homeless, drug addicts, mentally ill or people with learning difficulties; they also include battered wives or children, unemployed or refugees seeking asylum. In the course of aid, the social worker deals with the entire situation of the client. Thus, the worker takes account of social factors as well as psychic, biological and/or spiritual ones. This approach allows to correctly establish a social diagnosis on the basis of which the social therapy will be applied. In other words, people’s problems of social nature may spring from other than (just purely) social dimension, and this dimension needs to be identified so that the client may be provided with aid by a social worker him/herself or by other specialised staff, e.g. psychologist.
Our mission is:
- to support the ability of Czech and Slovak society and wider European societies to tackle the problems of people´s lives through social work,
- to support the quality of social work and the professionalisation of social work practice,
- to contribute to the development of social work as a science and to the improvement of the education in social work,
- to support the interests of the social services providers and users.
To complete its mission, the magazine will - within the community of social workers, associated and assisting staff of other branches and professions - support the following:
- attitudes which consider expertise and humane approach as equal criteria for assessing the quality of social work,
- attitudes which emphasise the link between the theoretical justification of the social work procedures and its practical orientation to the clients’ problems and their real opportunities,
- cohesion of all who are involved and engaged in the process of tackling the clients’ problems through social work,
- open, difference-conscious, informed and reasoned discussion within the community of social workers,
- willingness of social workers to see themselves through the eyes of others.
Professor Libor Musil on launching the magazine:
“In my opinion, there were more reasons for starting the magazine. In relation to the society, it is important to earn recognition to a profession which, in the eyes of the society, was reduced to a mere execution of official duties and to a layman helping activity which requires qualification. In relation to our colleagues, I would be glad to see there is a new space emerging for exchange of ideas, experience and for discussion as well. The existence of the magazine forms a base for a professional community which can formulate and pursue the same goals and interests. I see it as necessary for theorists/man of letters, practitioners with theoretical background and practitioners who are hardly bothered about theory to be involved in an open communication process. All the three categories may enrich one another and discover some views which otherwise may not be conceived. Researchers need to publish their finds and results somewhere and are eager to subject these to a wider discussion. The magazine is supposed to offer such an opportunity.”