Compare, contrast and critically evaluate Crisis Intervention and Task-Centred Practice. Debate what you see as their effectiveness by outlining potential advantages and disadvantages and with reference to research regarding their effectiveness.
The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Code of Ethics (2002:1) states that;
"The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environment."
In order to promote such social change and provide high quality professional practice, social workers utilise various theoretical frameworks and apply them appropriately in order to help service users in the best way they can. The intention of this essay is to discus the key features of the task-centred practice and crisis intervention approaches, both of which are widely used methods of social work practice. With reference to research, the effectiveness and limitations of these approaches will be analyzed by outlining potential advantages and disadvantages, and by demonstrating that although these approaches have different origins, they do have some common features.
McColgan (2009:60) states that task-centred practice is;
"...a popular method of intervention in social work practice. It does not depend on any complex theory, is down to earth, makes sense and is easy to understand in its application."
Coulshed & Orme (2006:156) believe that the task-centred approach, also known as "brief therapy, short term or contract work" is probably one of the most researched and commonly used approaches to problem solving in social work practice.
Task-centred practice was developed out of research into effective social work practice by Reid and Shyne in 1969, who found that planned, short term intervention, was
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