Supporting Relationships and Friendships

A Workbook for Social Care Workers

Suzan Collins

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781849050722
• eBook ISBN: 9780857002662
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Work
• Index: Social Sciences

People receiving care in residential services or their own homes can become very isolated. This workbook will equip social care staff with the knowledge and skills to understand what friendships and relationships mean to service users' health and well being.

Supporting Relationships and Friendships looks at how to assess social skills and the qualities needed in a friend. Sharing interests can provide companionship and promote self-esteem, but some relationships and friendships can become negative or burdensome, and this book offers useful guidance on supporting service users in managing these relationships. The book is appropriate for all staff supporting people with mental health needs, people with a learning or physical disability, older people and people with dementia.

This workbook is a valuable source of guidance for any social care worker keen to improve their practice, and represents a cost-effective way for managers or trainers in residential and domiciliary settings to train staff.

Table of contents

• Supporting Relationships and Friendships: A Workbook for Social Care Workers
• Introduction
• Responsibilities
• What is Friendship?
• Friendship and Social Skills
• Maintaining Existing Friendships
• Supporting the Service User to Establish a New Friendship
• Supporting the Service User’s Self-Esteem and Feelings
• The Practicalities of Going Out
• Friendship andProfessional Boundaries
• Monitoring, Recording,Reporting and Risk
• Confidentiality
• Professional Values
• Sexual Relationships
• Sexual Relationships and Risk
• Ending Friendshipsand RelationshipsMoving On
• Self-Assessment Tool
• Certificate
• Legislation and Useful Websites
• References and Further Reading