Why Is It Important To Involvement In Social Work?

Involvement merely means the act by which someone is participating or taking part in something. Not being involved therefore would be having nothing to do or say regarding the matter. However, involvement does not just mean to be actively included, but to enable influence. In relation to social work the involvement of service users and carers are vital, and therefore partnership working is central to their practice. The word meaningful creates the thought that something is of significance, value and worth. Therefore, if you add meaningful to involvement then it means that the way in which service users and carers are involved is worthwhile for them in the sense that it provides positive change, enhancement and control (Haffenden, 1991). Something
To succeed such partnership working, where social workers promote service user involvement, key features can be explored. Firstly, there must be recognition that each individual has unique knowledge, perception and experience; all of which is significant in understanding someone’s needs and how best to support them. It is important to view service users as positive contributors in which you can exchange ideas with to develop effective practice (Thompson, 2009). Mindfulness that service users have the most to lose when something is not working right, and the most to gain when it is, can help to understand the benefits of their involvement. Therefore placing them central to everything, listening to their views and involving them in their support is essential to achieve what they need and want. Fundamentally, the principle of involvement ensures that the service user is given opportunity to be included and for their voice to be heard (Parrott, 2010). The meaningful aspect, promotes action on the involvement, so that whatever is expressed by the service user is not only heard but taken action