Social work is a practice based profession and academic discipline founded on theories of social work social science and humanities it is advanced through an evidence informed approach and recognizes the importance of indigenous ways of knowing in practice the development of knowledge and education clinical services policy and research. Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values principles and techniques to one or more of the following ends helping people obtain tangible services counseling and psychotherapy with individuals families and groups helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services and participating in legislative processes. Social work practice is created within a political social cultural and economic matrix that shapes the assumptions of practice the problems that practice must deal with and the preferred outcomes of practice over time the base forces that create practice and create the context for practice change. Occupying a variety of professional settings social workers are united by a shared mission helping others live better lives in order to do that they must first understand what makes their clients tick