Digital technology has had a major impact on most industries in recent years. This is easy to see in education, for example, where teachers now use a variety of tech innovations in the classroom to engage students better. Tech also sits at the heart of industries such as manufacturing, the automotive sector, banking, and engineering. This is certainly the case for social work, as even the briefest look at how the field operates today shows the central role that technology now plays.
Although social work can still often involve meeting clients in person, there is no doubt that professionals in this sector now use various technological resources in their roles. While technology helps them with recordkeeping and staying organized, it also includes examples that offer a different way to connect with clients.
But what are the most common types of technology used in social work, how are they most widely used, and what improvements have they delivered to the industry?
As befits any sector in the 21st century, social work now includes a variety of technologies that professionals in the field use regularly. The most widely seen are:
- Video conferencing apps
- Mobile technologies (phone and text)
- Social media platforms
- Online platforms/databases
However, first, let’s look at what a social worker does.
Social workers work to improve the lives of their clients. These clients may be referred to social services by teachers, medical staff, or sometimes the police. Their clients may face any issue – for example, domestic violence or housing issues – and it is the role of the social worker to take their case and champion their legal rights. These professionals must ensure due diligence to the law, including safeguarding and child protection.
Social workers are instrumental in monitoring their clients and keeping records of case updates. They collaborate with other agencies to ensure that the client and the community are best served. They may, for example, be required to give evidence in court or organize placing a child into social care. This role requires conscientious, ethical, and highly motivated individuals who feel strongly about justice.
Social workers require rigorous training, which can take many years through conventional routes. Social work training requires studying components of the law, ethics, regional legislation, procedure, and data protection.
In recent years, one of the key changes that technology has made to social work is access routes to the profession. Online social work programs are now incredibly popular and enable people to gain the knowledge required to move into this field via the Internet from home. Accessing education online has enabled people who are currently Internet to study and access quality education from wherever they are in the world.
Online education for budding social workers is now available across the country and is offered by some of the best universities. The Accredited Online MSW program in Georgia at FSU is a case in point and is ideal if you want to pursue a social work career in this state. It has a clinically focused curriculum and makes it possible to study on a part-time basis. In this program, students will study human and social behavior, learn how to recognize the maltreatment of a child, and implement better care for a child’s welfare.
Conducting sessions with clients
Recent years have seen an increase in demand for online therapy sessions. This refers to conducting sessions over the internet via video conferencing platforms such as Skype or FaceTime. As a result of this Internetrom the public, online therapy sessions are something that most social workers use in their daily roles now.
Taking and storing client notes
While note-taking in client sessions might have been done by hand in the past, modern social work has moved on somewhat. Social work professionals now use mobile note-taking apps to record notes during sessions digitally. Most social workers use the latest software and tech to store these notes. This can range from sophisticated electronic data management platforms to web-based platforms like Google Docs.
Dissemination of information
Information dissemination is a key part of any social work role and is another area where tech is used extensively in the industry now. Social workers may email clients to arrange a session or to send out key information they need to know.
They may also use apps like Slack to stay organized regarding their workload or facilitate better collaboration with colleagues. Platforms such as Google Sheets are also widely used in modern social work to promote better cooperation between social work professionals.
Research and professional development
Technology in social work is something that is commonly used for research purposes. Social workers can search the internet now for the exact subject they wish to know more about. Keeping an eye on respected organizations’ social Internet accounts (such as the NASW) can also be a good way to stay updated on everything that is happening.
Social workers’ use of technology is also a form of continuing professional development. While staying up to date with the latest research and industry news helps here, continuing formal education via online courses is also commonly seen in the latest online education news.
Technology has positively influenced social work and has driven some key improvements over time – but what might they be?
Improvements to communication
One of the major improvements that tech has brought to social work has been much better and much easier communication.
How does this look in practice? The best place to start is the improvements technology has driven in client communications. Examples such as text and email make it much easier to contact clients and send key information to them in a safe, convenient manner.
As many clients prefer to be contacted in tech-friendly ways, it also means that social work professionals are providing the best service to them, and their communications are more likely to be seen. Examples such as email also enable social workers to communicate with clients clearly and concisely and have a written record of what has been said.
However, not just client communication in social work has been improved by tech. Communication between social work professionals and organizations has also seen a similarly positive outcome. This is because technology in the sector enables colleagues to communicate more easily, concisely, and clearly. Tech-based platforms that will allow better collaboration also allow social workers and organizations to work more effectively and ensure the best outcomes for clients.
Improvements to accessibility
Another improvement that technology has delivered for social work is greater accessibility. This is most obviously seen around online therapy sessions, which allow clients to gain the help they need digitally from home.
Due to this, people who may not have a social work facility close by or cannot travel to see a social worker can still access the assistance required. Online sessions via platforms such as Skype can also be less expensive than in-person ones, which removes another barrier for some people regarding accessibility. Online meetings can also be more accessible for people with physical disabilities or social conditions that make attending an in-person session impossible.
As these examples show, the use of technology in social work, such as digital client meetings, is helping to remove barriers to accessibility for the industry and making it much more inclusive overall.
Improvements to efficiency
Tech in social work has also led to efficiency improvements. This is because tech software, platforms, and resources enable professionals in the industry to get more done in a more efficient, productive way. These efficiency improvements can lead to social work professionals having more time to see clients, extra time to continue their professional development, or more chances to stay on top of key administrative tasks.
Improvements in efficiency technology have brought to the industry can also be a bonus regarding client sessions and data storage. An electronic data management system, for example, makes finding notes on a client much easier and quicker than finding a paper file in a cabinet. This means that social workers always have access to the latest client notes before a session and do not keep the client waiting when trying to locate missing paper notes.
Improvements in anonymity
Great strides have been made in reducing the stigma that seeking help from social work professionals used to carry in society. In the same way, people now feel a lot more comfortable seeking help from a mental health counselor when required.
Despite these advances, some people may worry about being seen attending in-person sessions with a social worker and not seeking out the help they need as a result. They may also worry about receiving correspondence from social work organizations in the regular mail or getting phone calls from them to their landline, which other family members might pick up.
This means that more people feel comfortable using the latest technology to seek the help they need from the social work industry.
While the above looks at the improvements that technology has delivered to social work as an industry, it is also important to note its benefits for social work. Although technology, in general, can have a positive influence here, perhaps the rise of online therapy sessions has had the most noticeable impact on how people in the industry operate.
Being able to conduct client sessions online has been a major innovation within social work and is not just something that benefits the people who need help. Being able to use digital platforms to offer much-needed support is also something that has positively impacted how social workers go about their jobs. But how is this usually seen?
Greater convenience
When it comes to social work practice, one positive impact of online sessions has undoubtedly been greater convenience for professionals in the industry. Online therapy sessions enable social workers to help clients in a much more flexible way without being tied to the office.
Mobile tech for online meetings, in particular, is valuable and enables social workers to use their tablets or smartphones to see clients wherever they are. Online tech in social work practice can also be more convenient, as professionals in the sector are not tied into seeing clients during set office hours and can offer support when it best fits their schedule.
Online sessions are also much less hassle for practicing social workers, as they do not have to travel to the office to see clients or to the client’s home for sessions. This makes online meetings much more convenient and has made the practice of social work easier for professionals.
Cost savings
Although social work is an industry that focuses on helping people first, the financial benefits that online sessions offer cannot be ignored. These kinds of meetings can help social workers save money, as they do not need to hire physical premises to see clients in person or hire staff to run them.
This is also the case for social work organizations, which can reduce the amount of physical space required by shifting toward online sessions. Seeing clients remotely via online platforms can also bring cost savings to social work in other ways. This is because social workers do not incur the expense of traveling to see people at their homes or the cost involved with clients coming to see them in person (such as heating a physical meeting space).
Online therapy sessions have also enabled social workers to operate in a much safer way than before. Online meetings do not require the social worker and client to be in the same room physically. As a result, there is no physical threat to the safety of the social worker if the client becomes abusive, upset, or physically violent. It is also much easier for a social worker to end an online session and step away from an abusive client if necessary.
Online sessions also mean that practicing social workers do not pick up any illnesses, viruses, or bugs a client may have. This is not always the case when social workers offer in-person sessions to their clients.
We have already looked at how tech has enabled social work, in general, to be more accessible for clients – but this is also true for social workers themselves. Running online client meetings enables social workers with social anxiety or physical impairments to carve out a successful career in the industry.
Working from home is much more accessible than entering a physical workspace that may not be accessible or comfortable. Online sessions, therefore, open the social work sector to all and help to make the practice of social work much more inclusive.
One positive impact that online therapy sessions have had on social work practice is how they enable industry professionals to develop their IT skills. As we have already noted, tech, in general, is crucial not only in modern life but also across the industry overall.
By building up their IT skills through online client meetings, social workers can become more familiar with technology in their role and use it in other settings. For online sessions, this might mean that social workers become more confident using video conferencing platforms and can hold virtual meetings with colleagues.
Undoubtedly, technology is important for social work as a sector overall. It is inconceivable to think of this industry being able to operate without email or the internet now. It is also easy to see the online Internet’s essential role in social work and the positive impact area.
