Social Work with Families in Special Distress: Collaborative Practices

Abstract

Collaborative practices have emerged as an effective approach for conducting social work interventions with families in special distress. This study aimed to ascertain the perspective of the social workers located in basic community social services, in relation to the development of a collaborative approach with families in special distress. The main objective was to find out the level of importance and the level of implementation that participants (N = 121) gave to the different intervention criteria included in an Inventory of Collaborative Practices. The results indicate that criteria related to basic issues in social case work (active listening, respect, and empathy) as well as the management and bureaucracy of the specific case are the most valued and performed by social workers. The least valued and performed criteria have to do with issues that involve reflective processes in the helping relationship, both with the family and with the rest of the professionals. Implications for practice and quality enhancement are discussed, as they are key aspects in the development of collaborative interventions in social work.