A scope of professional practice defines the processes, actions and procedures used by registered and licensed professionals. The social work profession’s dual focus of person-in-environment broadens the profession’s scope and introduces ambiguity as far as definitions of social work are concerned.
RSWs conduct holistic assessments and interventions, and they focus on social functioning. RSWs consider social, political, familial, temporal, spiritual, economic and physical components of their clients’ lives. Drawing from a range of interventions available, practitioners intervene directly with the client/s or into aspects of the environment, or both. This holistic approach has been seen as a valuable aspect of social work for decades, and has recently gained momentum across health care professions with the introduction of patient-centeredness and multi-disciplinary practice.
The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) offers a brief and concise scope of practice statement and meets the requirements of a legislative body or the general public:“Social work is the application of social work knowledge, values, focus and practice methods in a “person-in-environment” context to accomplish the core functions of social work:
• Helping people obtain basic human need services;
• Counselling and psychotherapy with individuals, families and groups;
• Helping communities/groups provide or improve social and health services; and
• Participating in relevant legislative and social policy processes.
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