It can also mean working for change to improve social conditions. Social workers help clients deal with not only how they feel about a situation but also what they can do about it. For example, a man suffering stress stemming from single parenting may be referred by a social worker to a child care agency. The social worker might also help him explore flextime with his employer and might work with a coalition of local employers to make flextime and child care more available. In addition, the social worker might provide therapy to help him handle the immediate stress.
Many social workers work for social change as well.
The victim of an assault benefits not only from therapy but also efforts to curb neighborhood crime. The client under stress because illness has devastated the family finances benefits from efforts to reform the Nation's health care system.