ABSTRACT
Social workers spend more time in dialogue and interviewing client systems than in any other professional activity, including with individuals, couples, families, small groups, and in direct practice, supervision, and in organizational task groups. This chapter explores aspects of engagement—the process of building relationships across direct and indirect practice settings—and its critical role in the overall success of social work practice. It examines the importance of listening to ascertain the situation and perspective of the client system. The chapter introduces interviewing skills and approaches that can help social workers' client share with them and help them to enlist the assistance of others. It discusses skill combinations that can help social workers' establish productive connections with their clients. Regardless of social workers' agency's focus or their theoretical perspective, the most important moments of a social work relationship often occur at the beginning, when they listen to the client in order to learn the client's situation and perspective.
