A generalist intervention model is a multilevel approach that allows social workers to work within a variety of environments.
So, how does the generalist intervention model help social workers support service users or clients better?
The generalist intervention model follows four premises:
1–Social and physical environment is what makes people behave in a certain way.
2–By changing or modifying anything related to the social or physical environment, human behaviour can be altered.
3–Work with any level of a human system uses similar social work processes.
4–Generalist practitioners have responsibilities beyond direct practice to work towards social policies.
Social Workers and the Generalist Intervention Model
Social work programmes are usually entrenched in the generalist model.
However, once a social work student becomes a newly qualified social worker, there are opportunities to specialise in areas of interest such as becoming a mental health social worker, older persons social worker or a social worker in children’s services.
The generalist intervention model assist social workers in supporting service users or clients effectively.
The process follows 7 stages as follows;
1) Engagement
2) Assessment
3) Planning
4) Implementation
5) Evaluation
6) Termination
7) Follow-up
1.0 Engagement
In the engagement stage, the social worker approaches the clients and tries to build a relationship, and within that relationship, they try to build trust.
It is a process that requires active listening and empathy.
It’s the first time the social worker and the client meet; the importance of first impressions here plays a fundamental role.
First impressions are important because they last well beyond that moment; the client will remember that moment until the last interaction they’ll have with the social worker.
Any future interaction will be based – on an unconscious level – on that first impression.
This is called the primacy effect; in short, when someone experiences something before other things happen in a sequence, they remember that first thing more.