ABSTRACT
A working alliance is a collaborative relationship uniting social worker and client in the work toward desirable change in the client. Working alliance is mutually trustful. Trusting each other, both parties identify the client's needs and needed services. In working alliance with a trusted professional, clients surmount difficulties adjusting, gain accurate insights, and develop self-confidence. Working alliance itself is an intervention making desirable outcomes more likely. The social worker's offering of emotional support, mobilization of social support, and provision of further resources ease the client's progress toward the outcome desired. The literature attests that strong working alliances promote desirable outcomes for clients in the child welfare setting and many more settings, too.
