Chapter 1

Action System People who agree and are committed to work together to attain proposed change
Adaptation Capacity to adjust to surrounding environmental conditions
Advocate Speaks out on behalf of clients to promote fair treatment or gain needed resources
Ageism Refers to discrimination based on predisposed notions about older people, regardless of their individual qualities and capabilities
Broker Links client systems to needed resources
Case manager Coordinates, on behalf of a specific client, needed services provided by agencies, organizations, or facilities
Change agent system Individual who initiates the planned change process
Client system Individual, family, group, organization, or community that will benefit from generalist social work intervention
Coping Human adaptation and struggle to overcome problems
Counselor Provides guidance to clients and assists them in a planned change or problem solving process
Critical thinking The careful scrutiny of what is stated as true or what appears to be true and the resulting expression of an opinion or conclusion based on that scrutiny, and the creative formulation of an opinion or conclusion when presented with a question, problem, or issue
Cultural competency The set of knowledge and skills that a social worker must develop to be effective with multicultural clients
Culture The sum total of life patterns passed on from generation to generation within a group of people and includes institutions, language, religious ideals, habits of thinking, artistic expressions, and patterns of social and interpersonal relationships
Discrimination The act of treating people differently based on the fact that they belong to some group rather than on their own merit
Diversity The vast range of differences among people, including those related to race, ethnicity, cultural background, place of origin, age, physical and mental ability, spirituality, values, sexual orientation, and gender
Dynamic Constant movement because problems and issues are forever changing
Economic justice Concerns the distribution of resources in a fair and equitable manner
Educator Gives information and teaches skills to other systems
Empathy Involves not only being in tune with how a client feels but also conveying to that client that you understand how the client feels
Empowerment The process of increasing personal, interpersonal, or political power so that individuals can take action to improve their life situations
Energy Natural power of active involvement among people and their environments
Equifinality Many different means to the same end
Ethics Involve principles that specify what is good and what is bad and clarify what should and should not be done (what is right and correct)
Facilitator Guides a group experience
Generalist approach virtually any problem may be analyzed and addressed from multiple levels of intervention
Genuineness Means that you continue to be yourself, despite the fact that you are working to accomplish goals in your professional role
Homeostasis Tendency of a system to maintain a stable, constant state of equilibrium or balance
Input Energy, information, or communication flow received from other systems
Interact Systems constantly interact with each other
Interdependence Mutual reliance of each person on each other person
Interface Exact point at which the interaction between an individual and the environment takes place
Macro skills for generalist practice Building upon the mastery of both micro and mezzo skills, macro skills are those used to work with large systems including communities and organizations
Macro social environment The organizations and communities with which people are engaged, and the social, economic, and political forces that affect these individuals
Mediator Resolves arguments or disagreements among micro, mezzo, or macro systems in conflict
Mezzo skills for generalist practice Skills used to work with small groups
Micro skills for generalist practice Skills used for working with individuals
Mobilizer Identifies and convenes community people and resources to identify unmet community needs and effect changes in community
Oppression Putting extreme limitations and constraints on the members of some identified group
Organizational structure The formal and informal manner in which tasks and responsibilities, lines of authority, channels of communication, and dimensions of power are established and coordinated within an organization
Output Energy, information, or communication flow emitted from a system
Person-in-environment People constantly interact with various systems around them
Planned change The development and implementation of a strategy for improving or altering some specified condition, pattern of behavior, or set of circumstances that affects social functioning
Populations-at-risk Certain populations or groups of people who, based on some identified characteristics, are at greater risk of social and economic deprivation than the general mainstream of society
Problem solving Same as planned change; however, has a negative connotation
Resiliency The ability of an individual, family, group, community, or organization to recover from adversity and resume functioning even when suffering serious trouble, confusion, or hardship
Sexism Refers to predisposed notions about a person based on that person's gender
Social environment Conditions, circumstances, and human interactions that encompass human beings
Social justice The idea that in a perfect world all citizens would have identical rights, protection, opportunities, obligations, and social benefits regardless of their backgrounds and membership in diverse groups
Stereotypes Fixed mental images of members belonging to a group based on assumed attributes that portray an overly simplified opinion about that group
Strengths perspective An orientation focusing on client resources, capabilities, knowledge, abilities, motivations, experience, intelligence, and other positive qualities that can be put to use to solve problems and pursue positive changes
System A set of elements that forms an orderly, interrelated, and functional whole
Transactions Communication and interaction with others in their environment
Triple A approach Critical thinking approach where you ask questions, assess the established facts and issues involved, and assert a concluding opinion
Values Involve what you do and do not consider important (what is good and desirable)
Warmth Involves enhancing the positive feelings of one person toward another by promoting a sense of comfort and well-being in that other person

(Directly from Text)