Social Work Terms

Ego Strengths

the individual's capacity for logical thinking, intellligence, perceptiveness, and self-control over impulses to achieve immediate gratification

Privilege

a legal rule that protects communciations between the therapist and client from being shared in court proceeding without expressed permission; Courts often honor this unless there is a risk of public danger or threat to the public good, in which case the social worker may be court ordered to share information

Reflective Listening

A technique in which the social worker clarifies and shows the client what their feelings are in the moment and encourages further expression and understanding of those feelings (often through paraphrasing)

Consultation

A problem-solving process in which advice and other helping activity is offered to an individual, group, organization, or community that is faced with a problem

Ego syntonic

traits of personality, thought, behavior and values that are incorporated by the individual, who considers them acceptable and consistent with his or her overall "true" self

Countertransference

a set of conscious or unconscious emotional reactions to a client experienced by the therapist; these feelings usually originate in the therapist's own developmental conflicts or past

Tardive Dyskinesia

A medication induced movement disorder that includes uncontrollable physical movements, especially in the face, lips, and tongue, and sometimes repetitive movements of the head, hands, and feet

Gender roles

the behaviors and personality characteristics that are attached to people because of their sex, often inaccurately

Negative reinforcement

In behavior modification, the strengthening of a response through the removal of adverse stimuli

Empathy

The act of perceiving, understanding, experiencing and responding to the emotional state and ideas of another person

Prejudice

an opinion about an individual, group or phenomenon that is developed without proof or systematic evidence (usually negative)

Advocacy

Championing the rights of individuals or communities through direct intervention or through empowerment. This is a basic obligation of the social work profession

Extinction

in behavior modification, the elimination or weakening of a conditioned response by discontinuing the reinforcement after the response occurs.

Transference

A concept that refers to emotional reactions that are assigned to current relationships but originated in earlier experiences (often the feelings a client has toward their therapist)

Reinforcement

In behavior modification, a procedure that strengths the tendency of a response to occur

Informed consent

the granting of permission by the client to the therapist or agency to use specific interventions, including diagnosis, treatment, follow up, and research. This must be based on full disclosure of the facts needed to make the decision. including risks, benefits and alternatives

Punishment

A penalty imposed for misbehavior. In behavior modification, the presentation of an unpleasant or undesired event following a behavior

Projection

A defense mechanism in which unacceptable aspects of one's own personality are rejected or attributed to another person or entity

Positive Reinforcement

Strengthening a desired behavior or response by presenting a desired stimulus contingent on performance of the response

Scapegoating

A phenomenon in groups in which members settle on a particular person to target or blame, though that person is often innocent, prevents true group cohesion and distracts from the actual group purpose

Supervision

An administrative and educational process used to help someone further develop and refine their skills, enhance staff morale, and provide quality assurance for clients

Empowerment

the process of helping individuals, families, groups, and communities increase their strengths and develop influence toward improving their circumstances

Ego Dystonic

Traits of personality, behavior, thought, or orientation considered to be unacceptable, repugnant, or inconsistent with the individual's perceptions - conscious or unconscious - of themself

Triangulation

The process in which one individual who feels pressured, distressed, or powerless in relating to another individual brings into the relationship a third person to act as an ally or a distractor

Enmeshment

A relationship pattern in which role boundaries between individuals are so vague or diffuse that there is little opportunity for independent functioning