Fundació Gentis

Professional Support Team

Currently we are developing the following tasks:

A. Reception service and first interview

This service is carried out by the social worker. When the case is received by Social Services they make the initial contact with the person or family. This is the first opportunity to receive and assess the needs and problems of a client or family. In some cases this is more than sufficient to resolve the situation. In others, it is the first step to making an evaluation – diagnosis or prognosis – of the case.

B. Support for diagnostic work in Social Services

This support is provided by the participation of a psychologist in the diagnosis sessions or casework that are held by a primary care team.

This professional person helps the team members to:

To have a wide appreciation and balanced view of the circumstances of the case. To ensure the necessary distance - without becoming either emotionally involved or overly clinical – to assess the specific aspects of each person or family: difficulties and abilities, and in which situations they occur.
To know and accept the limits and characteristics of the person or family that they have to see, based on their ability for negotiation and decision-making.
To be aware and accept the limitations and capabilities for resolution that are available to the service.

In order to do this work the following methodological features are required:

Analysis of the expressed and implicit needs
Description of the problems and difficulties of the person or family
- Social problems:
  - money difficulties
  - social integration or isolation difficulties
  - autonomy or dependence difficulties
  - limitations on personal autonomy
- Associated factors
  - family isolation
  - difficulties in accessing the job market
  - degree of chronic dependence on services and resources
  - psychosocial and socio-educative difficulties
  - protocol situations and lack of personal skills
Description of the abilities and potential of the person or family
Prognosis for resolution
- implication
- courses of action proposed by the person or family
- resources and facilities available
- prognosis for resolution from the service itself

C. Professional supervision and intervention

This support can be split into two areas:

Sessions of individual case supervision: in cases where it is requested by the professional it is possible to have individual sessions with the psychologist and the professional. These meetings must result in the professional reaching a better intervention in the case under supervision.
Consultation and advice sessions with families: in cases in which the psychologist and professional consider it relevant, it is possible to carry out consultation, orientation and advice sessions directly with families. These sessions are carried out by the psychologist in an attempt to get a case back on track or to obtain further information to enable a more accurate diagnosis.

D. Team supervisions

It is foreseen that the psychologist can act as an external supervisor of the Team in all the daily tasks of intervention with users of the service that it has to deal with. This supervision will cover the group analysis of cases and the application of strategies of intervention to modify both the questions of the professional and those of the individual/family involved.

E. Legal support

A legal professional will act as advisor to the Social Services Team in the interpretation of the legislation, documentation or procedures that directly affect the service or users. It is foreseen that they will not attend in person although it is not ruled out that they could accompany staff in some of their direct interventions with families.

F. Support of the community mediator

It means a person can provide translation duties during interviews with clients, while being able to contribute cultural knowledge that enables a better understanding of Social Service clients’ presentations and the cultural, religious or social conditions that accompany their stories.