Philosophy of Generalist Social Work Practice

Students trained on a bachelor level are generalist social work practitioners. The purpose of the undergraduate social work training is to provide a broad foundation of education so that the student has the versatility to work effectively in a variety of community settings and human service organizations with an ability to function in a variety of professional social work roles.

Undergraduate social work students are able to provide interventions for diverse clientele and use social work knowledge, values and skills to invite client system change. Through assessment and the critical thinking process, social workers affirm and evoke client system strengths, facilitate planned change through the helping process, and assist individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities to access available and needed community resources. Client systems participate in the intervention process as active players in a collaborative process.

Generalist social workers follow the NASW Code of Ethics and especially use the NASW core values: service, social justice, dignity & worth of the person, importance of human relationships, and competence, as guides to arriving at ethical professional decisions. Social workers require openness to continuous personal and professional growth. They are tuned in to the need for self-care in order to remain compassionate and effective in their work.

Generalist social workers value social, economic, and environmental justice. They have the desire to participate in social action to bring about social change especially for those persons who are vulnerable, living in poverty, and/or other oppressive conditions. Generalist social workers use scientific understanding of human behavior and eco-systems to preserve earth's resources to maintain environments for optimal human development. Professional social workers think systemically on micro, mezzo and macro systems levels.