Here to Stay: Cyber Communication as a Complement in Social Work Practice

Abstract

T he d ig ita l a g e has re v o lu tio n iz e d h o w in d iv id u a ls in te ra c t. The n u m b e r o f c o m p u te r users has increased e x p o n e n tia lly , a lo n g w ith e x p a n d in g local a n d g lo b a l n e tw o rk s a n d o p p o rtu n itie s f o r le a rn in g , e n te rta in m e n t, an d s u p p o rt. M o s t recently, cyb e r c o m m u n ic a tio n is b e c o m in g a n im p o r ta n t p a rt o f fa c e -to -fa c e social w o r k p ra c tic e as an a d m in is tra tiv e a n d th e ra p e u tic e xch a n g e b e tw e e n p ra c titio n e rs a n d clie n ts , w ith b o th b e n e fits a n d ch a lle n g es.T he p u rp o s e o f th is a rtic le is t o p re s e n t results o f a s tu d y th a t used g ro u n d e d th e o r y t o e x p lo re th e a p p lic a tio n a n d a d a p ta tio n o f in fo rm a tio n a n d c o m m u n ic a tio n te c h n o lo g y (ICT) in tra d itio n a l c lin ic a l social w o r k p ra c tic e w ith in o rg a n iz a tio n s a n d p riv a te p ra ctice . T he o v e rw h e lm in g fin d in g w a s th a t it is n o lo n g e r po ssib le n o t t o e n g a g e in th e use o f ICT. W e discuss im p lic a tio n s f o r p ra ctice , in c lu d in g clin ica l, p ra c tic a l, a n d e th ic a l b e n e fits a n d issues o f ICT. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE• F ind in g s s h o w th a t p ra c titio n e rs o rie n te d clie n ts re g a rd in g ICT in tre a tm e n t, used in fo rm e d co n se n t, d e fin e d b o u n d a rie s , a n d e d u c a te d clie n ts a b o u t th e ir p o te n tia l v u ln e ra b ility ; th e se d iffe r fro m re c o m m e n d a tio n s in th e lite ra tu re t h a t social w o rk e rs e d u c a te th e m se lve s o n ICTth ro u g h tra in in g a n d a p p ly in g p ra ctice -b a se d research.

Informal Use of Information and Communication Technology: Adjunct to Traditional Face-to-Face Social Work Practice

“…Informal Intersession ICTs have entered practice through informal (at times unpredictable or unsanctioned) use by practitioners and clients as an adjunct to traditional face-to-face practice, typically between, but also within, sessions. The primary and formal modality is face-to-face (Mishna et al 2012, Mishna et al 2014. ICT use occurs in conjunction with face-to-face practice, as practitioners and clients may asynchronously or synchronously communicate, through email, texting and/or social networking.…”

“…Extending TAM to social work is helpful in elucidating social work practitioners' attitudes about and use of Informal Intersession ICTs (Bullock and Colvin 2015;Carrilio 2007). The social work practice literature, anecdotal evidence and preliminary research all converge to underscore the rapid acceptance and utilization of informal ICT use in traditional face-to-face practice (Barth 2015;Mattison 2012;Mishna et al 2014;Reamer 2013Reamer , 2015.…”

Social Media and Child Welfare: Policy, Training, and the Risks and Benefits From the Administrator’s Perspective

“…The unanswered questions on effectiveness can lead to reluctance to embrace the technology (Harris & Birnbaum, 2015). However, social media is omnipresent and has become a component of contemporary practice (Mishna, Bogo, Root, & Fantus, 2014).…”

Gobierno electrónico como tecnología de inclusión social. Reflexiones desde el Trabajo Social

“…Por ejemplo, descripciones sobre la utilización de la internet of things 2 o la gamification 3 (GOLDKIND;WOLF, 2015), las que podrían ser incorporadas a las rutinas cotidianas de los trabajadores sociales debido a la neutralidad de sus principios técnicos. En varios otros trabajos sobre el tema de las TIC y el trabajo social (MISHNA et al, 2014;BAKER et al, 2014;GELMAN;TOSONE, 2010), las tecnologías aparecen exclusivamente como herramientas que otorgan roles preestablecidos a los trabajadores sociales y sus clientes, sin considerar la planificación estratégica, es decir, la definición de las mediaciones teóricas, políticas e ideológicas.…”