Social Worker Engagement

Engagement Before selecting an intervention, a social worker must first engage the client by building rapport. Israel, Gorcheva, Burnes, and Walther (2008) interviewed 42 LGBT individuals in regards to their experience with therapy. Factors that influenced feelings of therapy included the therapists’ attitudes towards clients’ sexual orientation and gender identity (Israel et al., 2008). Stage of identity development, social support, and confidentiality of the therapy setting also influenced feelings of therapy (Israel et al., 2008). Based on the results, it is imperative that the social worker recognizes that not all clients have publicly announced their sexual orientation and gender identity. Therefore, the social worker must