ABSTRACT

THE ROOTS of social work as a profession reach deeply into the past. Some form of social work is to be found in all ages in which members of a society experienced disparity between their needs and their circumstances. In the twentieth century this profession has emerged from an unformulated, nebulous state and achieved a specific body of knowledge and specific tools, a conglomerate of many sciences, necessary to the essential purpose of helping people in need to mobilize their resources. These sciences have contributed to the formulation of the concept of 'case work', a social work tool which must be explained in relation to mental hygiene work with children.