Critical Social Work

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In this paper, analyzing my artwork and readings, I will explain what critical social work means to me and the possibilities of integrating my approach in the social work practice.
It represents the story of a woman. A woman who has a fear of disclosing herself while entering the office of a social worker to seek help A woman who gathered her courage to walk into a social worker’ office. Visibly she seems distress walking in the office without shoes but no once can see her invisible scars. With the support of a social worker she seems to be walking out of the social worker’s office with confidence. My artwork represents that social workers can bring change, starting at a micro level, by being non-judgmental and supportive to their clients. …show more content…
The social workers can make a difference from the moment a client enters their office and that means being non-judgmental and critically self reflect while challenging the ideologies, beliefs and values.
Power is central to social work practice and as a social worker we strategize if we are going to exercise the power over clients or make a decision to stop the distribution of power. Social workers sit in a position of power and judgment to decide if the client fits into mandate or deserves the required services. According to Moffat (1999), “the worker makes the judgment in order to determine who is worthy of being designated as a beneficiary of charitable or public assistance…such judgment is that undeserving poor are morally suspect (p. 231). Homeless people are blamed by staff and organizations for their circumstances and get labeled as mentally ill. Thus, the …show more content…
When I examine the behavior of social workers when dealing with clients, I realize out how these marginalized clients are seen as a problem, “the mission statement of the agency does not identify a commitment to provide service to poor populations or all those citizens who are in need… are committed to promote: client independence” (Moffat, 1999, p.23). A worker has to follow rules and regulations of the organization and clients become problem because they create conflict to the rules, workers have to follow. Within organizations, social work policy and practice is dominated by managers who shape the daily experience of social work. According to Moffat (1999), “the particular matrix of power/knowledge-these strategies of power relations that exist in social assistance office is likely to presence effect of heightening dependency and increasing marginalization (p. 243). The organizations control what social workers do and it is expected that social workers exercise control over resources and in turn users. According to Patron (1999), “If discipline is modeled on gaze and based
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