How Social Workers May Develop Integral Self-Help

Abstract

As we saw in Chapter 2, to all intents and purposes integral self-help is part of the service provided by the social work organisation. It follows that professionals have a direct role to play in ensuring an adequate level of resourcing and support. The factors which affect the degree to which a given activity is considered to be integral include the nature of its focus and the level of professional support. Integral self-help is thus initiated and implemented as part of a social work provision, facility or programme. Inherent in this statement is the paradox of self-help as something provided, but this should not prevent an appreciation of its constructive aspects. It is inescapable that a good deal of self-help in fact is fully-funded and supported by social work organisations. In Chapter 3, we shall examine the implications of this for social workers in their practice.