The Role of Counseling in Modern Social Work

Abstract

The article deals with the problem of modern counselling in social work. The leading social and psychological theories are analysed, including: Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis; humanistic theory of K. Rogers; A. Beck’s theory of cognitive behaviour; A. Bandura’s theory of social learning; D. Goleman’s theory of emotional intelligence; E. Erikson’s theory of development; G. Tejfel’s theory of social identity. Based on the basic psychological and social theories of the relevant direction, the main directions of modern social counselling are identified, the most common of which are: cognitive-behavioural counselling; humanistic counselling; systemic counselling; psychodynamic counselling: existential counselling; narrative counselling, etc. At the same time, attention is focused on the presence of specific ethical, professional and practical dilemmas in the work of a social counsellor with a client: conflict between observance of the client’s right to autonomous decision-making and the social worker’s duty to foresee negative consequences and the need to protect the well-being of an individual, group or community; the problem of confidentiality, when certain information from the client cannot be kept secret and contradicts the law; the problem of a ‘conflict of interest’, when the value-based beliefs of the social work counselor fundamentally differ from the client's life attitudes; the problem of a client refusing help in a critical situation, which creates a situation of paternalism – when it becomes necessary to protect the individual from themselves, and so on.

The paper emphasises that the growing complexity of social problems requires the integration of knowledge from various fields: psychology, medicine, law, pedagogy and sociology, which determines additional attention to the use of an interdisciplinary approach in social counselling.

A new trend in expanding the boundaries of counselling is also the use of modern technologies (Internet platforms, mobile applications, etc.).

At the end of the paper, the author draws relevant conclusions, which highlight the fact that in modern conditions, given the social, economic, and technological transformations, counselling in social work is acquiring new forms and approaches that should meet the urgent needs of clients and society as a whole. The presence of dynamic changes in social relations forces social workers to find innovative ways to improve the effectiveness of counselling services. The role of social counselling in modern realities is gaining new relevance and requires in-depth further study at the scientific, theoretical and practical levels.