Beyond relationship: the current challenge in clinical practice

Clinical social workers in health settings have used time and relationship and the understanding of individual and family dynamics, biophysiology, and larger systems issues to assist patients and families in resolving health related problems. The current economic crisis is limiting time and focus and necessitating revisions in intervention techniques. Clinicians experience this as a threat to their identity as a caring profession and to their ability to support patient autonomy within the health care environment. Effective adaptation requires a different use of self, expanded diagnostic skills, greater use of networking and systems interventions, and more sophisticated clinical techniques. Often, engagement, assessment and intervention have to occur within the same session. To accomplish this shift in practice, there has to be strong clinical leadership and a conscious focus on adapting clinical models to meet the current economic restrictions.