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Specialization in Social Work Practice

Effects on Interventions in the Personal Social Services

UmeÂUniversity, Sweden

• Summary: Specialization in social work practice is increasing in many countries at the same time as textbooks argue for generalist practice. Is there any empirical evidence for one or the other of these approaches? This article discusses generalist and specialist practice, theoretically as well as empirically, by presenting a study of a personal social services organization in Sweden.

• Findings: The article demonstrates advantages as well as disadvantages of specialization for clients and social workers, and concludes that it is the work with clients within the personal social services which, to a large extent, demands that the social worker is a generalist. An outline structure for an alternative personal social services organization is postulated.

• Applications: It is argued that the alternative structure could 1) satisfy the need for generalist and specialist competence respectively, and 2) facilitate harmony between social workers’ professional needs and administrative requirements for management and resource allocation.

Key Words: alternative organizational model • specialist vs generalist practice

Journal of Social Work, Vol. 4, No. 1, 25-46 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/1468017304042419


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