ABSTRACT
IT was around 1917 that social workers first began to claim professional status, 1 and their claims have by now extended over most fields of social work and with increasing intensity. This trend towards some kind of professionalism is one of the obvious characteristics of contemporary social work. What does such a development entail? Social workers are certainly pressing for the rewards of financial and social recognition that accompany professional status in our society; they want to define, protect and further their interests. Yet they are also making claims that involve considerable responsibility. They are claiming recognition for a disciplined and informed skill, based on the selection and training of entrants. They wish to be treated as people governed in important respects by service to their skill, who seek also its improvement for the sake of more effective help to their clients. Social workers try to protect the exercise of their skill, to influence events connected with it, and to improve their conditions of work. To achieve some or all of these objectives they have formed organizations which in varying degrees resemble those of the established professionals. It is within this context that the Association of Psychiatric Social Workers should be considered.
