Micro vs. Macro Practice

Micro vs. Macro Practice
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Micro vs. Macro Practice
Social workers utilize micro and macro approaches to bring change in the society. Micro practice refers to the process in which social workers work with individuals, families or groups to solve societal issues (Austin et al., 2016). On the other hand, macro practice is the process of helping people by intervening in the larger system. However, in many cases, social workers incorporate the two approaches to achieve the set goals and objectives.
Observably, the two approaches have a number of shared practices, which enable social workers to incorporate them in the field. First, both practices are based on the case and system advocacy as well as pursuing social justice linked to issues such as race, age, and gender (Austin et al., 2016). Secondly, social workers are involved in the process of values clarifications as new circumstances emerge that require the redefinition of social work as a whole. Thirdly, both approaches are intended to assist in the provision of high-quality services as well as outcome-based assessments. Social workers use the approaches to attain self-sufficiency among clients (Austin et al., 2016). Nevertheless, the two practices are different because the micro approach focuses on individuals, groups or families while the macro practice is concerned with the large system.
Even though the two approaches are important, the micro practice has come to dominate the social work profession because social workers always deal with individuals, families, or small groups to bring a change in the society.

Many social workers do not rely on the larger system to champion for social justice. On the contrary, they prefer to use a small-scale approach that is effective and can easily be implemented. As a result, micro practice is more dominant than the macro approach in the social work practice.
References
Austin, M. J., Anthony, E. K., Knee, R. T., & Mathias, J. (2016). Revisiting the Relationship between Micro and Macro Social Work Practice. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 97(4), 270-277.