What is Case Management and how can it help me?

This is a question that gets asked a lot when Case Management is suggested to someone. This style of support is to help individuals come up with their own solutions to problems of social adjustment that they are finding difficult to navigate on their own and can also provide an individual or family with multiple service needs.

To help someone understand how it can help it can be broken down into 7 principles.

• Individualisation – the process of learning to accept responsibility for decision making.
• Acceptance – the process of being validated by oneself.
• Self Determination – to be in control of thoughts and feelings.
• Controlled emotional involvement – an understanding of regulating behaviour
• Confidentiality – entrusted with private information.
• Nonjudgement attitude – avoiding judgments based on personal or moral standards.
• Purposeful expression of feelings – having clear intentional determination

Casework starts the process of building a participant-worker relationship using skills of listening observing and responding.

This process then develops as the relationship does to provide an ongoing assessment of 

• Goals – the object of ambition
• Planning – establishing how to reach goals.
• Life skills training – gaining basic skills that encourage self confidence in daily life.
• Interventions – action taken to improve a situation.
• Evaluations – understanding what has been accomplished.

Casework support will usually continue until the participant and the worker feel that they can terminate the binding professional relationship once they are both satisfied that the participant has been provided with enough support and gained skills to cope better for the future.