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| Saturday, 14 January 2006: 10:00 AM-11:45 AM | |||
| The Client-Provider Relationship in Services Research | |||
| Organizer: | Jeanne C. Marsh, PhD, University of Chicago | ||
| The Client-Case Manager Relationship Scale: Conceptual and Measurement Issues Jane Yamaguchi, PhD | |||
| Client-Provider Relationships in Intensive Case Management: Neglected Voices Leslie Alexander, PhD, Page Walker Buck, MSS, Stacey Uhl, MSS | |||
| The Relationship between Case Manager Optimism and Client-Rated Relationship Quality Beth Angell, PhD, Noriko Ishibashi, MA | |||
| Assessing Worker-Client Relationship in Child Welfare and Family Preservation Services Cheryl Smithgall, PhD | |||
| Abstract Text: Social work practitioners have long been concerned with the client-provider relationship and its impact on service effectiveness . It is widely believed that the character and quality of the client-provider relationship is one of the most important, if not the most important, vehicle for constructive client change. Recently, social work researchers have begun to bring empirical evidence to bear on the conceptualization and analysis of the client-provider relationship in mental health, substance abuse and child welfare service delivery. Measurement development related to the relationship construct indicate two broad underlying dimensions: one instrumental and the other socio-emotional. The instrumental dimension relates to the extent to which the experience is goal-focused and emphasizes agreement on and adherence to goals. The socio-emotional dimension refers to the sense of comfort, collaboration and understanding that exists in the relationship. Early studies in the mental health, substance abuse and child welfare have found that measures of relationship that are highly correlated with outcomes. Beyond these preliminary studies, however, little is known about the measurement of client-provider relationship, key elements of the client-provider relationship, or the factors that contribute to a favorable relationship. Despite the centrality of the relationship construct to services research in social work, there have been few efforts to pull together findings to examine conceptual and empirical issues. The focus of this symposium is the conceptualization and measurement of the client –provider relationship construct across two service domains: mental health and child welfare. The symposium is designed to bring together findings from both mental health and child welfare in order to improve the conceptualization and measurement of the client-provider relationship and identify ways that it may contribute to more effective service delivery. One paper will present the conceptual and empirical issues related to the development of the Client-Case Manager Relationship Scale. A second study will examine the elements of a favorable client-provider relationship from the perspective of clients in mental health setting. A third examines the relation between clinician optimism and the quality of the client-provider relationship in mental health. And, the fourth paper examines the relation of the client –provider relationship with outcomes in child welfare. Taken together, the papers will identify key components of the client –provider relationship and begin to identify factors that influence the character and quality of the relationship. Symposium findings will bring empirical evidence to understanding the role of client –provider relationship in influencing client change. In sum, each symposium participant will address the following three questions: 1. What are key elements in the conceptualization and definition of the client-provider relationship? 2. What are potential approaches in the measurement of client-provider relationship? 3. What are factors that are likely to contribute to a more favorable client-provider relationship? | |||
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See more of Meeting the Challenge: Research In and With Diverse Communities (January 12 - 15, 2006)