Section Psycho-Social Counseling

Goals and Contents

»The following elements are essential for counseling provided by social workers: an orientation toward our clients and their social environments, competence and clarification support, and a focus on detail as well as on the bigger picture. This requires qualified approaches to counseling that can be taught and acquire, with verifiable standards regarding indication, approach, reflexivity, and effectiveness research. Using clinical social work as a recourse might lead to an increase in the recognition and distinction of counseling social work.« (Albert Mühlum: Beratung als Kompetenz Sozialer Arbeit: informierend, problemlösend, behandelnd. Jahrestagung 1999 der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Sozialarbeit)

»Counseling« is a core competence in clinical social work. The section »psycho-social counseling« addresses this competence by drawing on theoretical and method-based foundations, advocating a diversification of approaches to counseling, and the need for research on counseling that caters to members of specific professions or audiences. By presenting »best practice« projects, we introduce, reflect on, and evaluate different approaches to counseling.

The section's medium-term goal is to develop standards for counseling that will become the foundation of (billable) competencies in different areas of work.

Group members participate by

Materials

Organizers | Contact

Silke B. Gahleitner
sb@gahleitner.net

Uwe Klein
klein@eccsw.eu