Definition and Goals of Social Work
- Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession.
- It aims to meet the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society.
- Social work draws from various fields such as psychology, sociology, health, political science, community development, law, and economics.
- Its ultimate goals include improving people's lives, alleviating biopsychosocial concerns, empowering individuals and communities, and achieving social justice.

History of Social Work
- Social work has its roots in voluntary philanthropy and grassroots organizing.
- The Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression led to the development of social work as a more defined discipline.
- Social work responded to child welfare concerns related to poverty and child labor.
- Important historical figures in social work include Helen Bosanquet, Octavia Hill, Jane Addams, Mary Ellen Richmond, and William Beveridge.

Social Work Practice Levels
- Social work practice is divided into three levels: micro-work, mezzo-work, and macro-work.
- Micro-work involves direct work with individuals and families, providing counseling/therapy and accessing services.
- Mezzo-work involves working with groups and communities, conducting group therapy, and providing services for community agencies.
- Macro-work involves fostering change on a larger scale through advocacy, social policy, research development, and working with government agencies.

Social Work Profession and Education
- Social work is a profession focused on helping individuals, families, groups, and communities.
- It aims to enhance well-being and develop problem-solving skills.
- Social work addresses both individual and broader social issues.
- Social workers act as advocates and connect people to the services they need.
- Social work education includes knowledge of human development, social and economic institutions, and cultural factors.

Roles and Impact of Social Workers in Specific Settings
- Roles of Psychiatric Social Workers: casework, managerial duties, social research, public education, impact on mental health treatment and mainstream medicine.
- Evolution of Mental Health Care: establishment of mental hygiene clinics, passage of the Community Mental Health Centers Act, emergence of the mental health consumer movement, managed care movement, recovery movement.
- Role of Social Workers in Military Settings: involvement in military operations, provision of counseling services, diagnosis rates of mental health disorders, high suicide rates, role in veterans' health care system.
- Psychiatric Social Work in Canada: early role in service delivery, indigenous beliefs on mental health, shift to hospital-based care, social work training, Canadian Mental Health Association.
- Historical Development of Mental Health Care in India: mentions of mental disorders in ancient texts, introduction of different medical systems, work therapy in Mysore Lunatic Asylum, improvement of mental hospitals by Berkeley-Hill, introduction of habit formation chart and psychiatric social worker, general hospital psychiatry units and family involvement, impact on reducing stigma and promoting care.