**1.1 A brief historical development of the social work profession**

Since the first social work class was offered in the summer of 1898 at Columbia University, social workers have led the development of private and charitable organizations to serve people in need. Social workers continue to address the needs of society and bring our nation's social problems to the public's attention [2]. The profession of social work is an American profession, as the United States of America witnessed the stage of recognizing the profession's methods one after the other since the beginning of the twentieth century. The circumstances that paved the way for the emergence of the social work profession were:


The care systems for the poor at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century depended on the efforts of volunteers on the one hand. On the other hand, a transition was made from individual and voluntary charitable work to the professional and scientific work of the social work profession. It has been shown that recognizing the need for effective coordination of services through an individual and comprehensive assessment to resolve the situation of people with problems demonstrates the need for professionally trained experts for this job. In any case, the professional preparation of social workers in its infancy was never intended to replace individual interest and voluntary effort. For example, "Mary Richmond (1908)" did not think or immortalize that social workers could themselves be servants or helpers of the community; she was convinced that the primary responsibility of social work as a profession is to lead and support voluntary efforts. However, with the development and organization of social services in many fields, the importance of the mutual partnership between social workers and volunteers has been forgotten; as Mary Richmond says:

*Private Practice Social Work in the Arab World: Sultanate of Oman as a Model DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106284*

*Moreover, we owe it to those who shall come after us that they shall be spared the groping and blundering by which we have acquired our stock of experience. In these days of specialization, when we train our cooks, our apothecaries, our engineers, our librarians, our nurses– when, in fact, there is a training school for almost every form of skilled service- – we have yet to establish our first training school for charity workers, or, as I prefer to call it, "Training School in Applied Philanthropy [5].*

Historically, the social work profession took root, having a twofold micro–macro mission. Pioneer social worker Mary Richmond represented service to individuals and families needing aid to alleviate difficulties in social functioning. Her contemporary counterpart, Jane Addams, represented social reform through environmental change to meet broad human needs. This dual approach to practice has defined the profession since its inception. Indeed, according to historians, during the progressive era, the macro area had a strong presence that dominated the attention of social workers [6]. Porter Lee (1929) characterized the dual micro and macro practices of the profession in terms of "cause" and "function," discussing both their complementary relationship and the tension between them [7].

Social work in American and European society at the beginning of the twentieth century and in the period between the first and second world wars was characterized by the development of educational programs for the profession and the entry of the social work profession into many fields.

At the same time, this period was described as the stage of independence, where professional efforts of social work tended toward defining itself as an independent profession, and in the context of these efforts, not only the appearance of social work was changed but changes were found in its relationship to voluntary work. In an attempt to show social work as a profession in its relationships with representatives of other disciplines, its relationships with clients and society, and its relationship with itself as a profession, a distinction needed to be made between the professional efforts of social service and volunteer efforts.

With time and more efforts to be made, social work has become a recognized profession in all human societies. Social work to become unique among helping disciplines develop distinct methods of practice. These methods are social casework, social group work, community organization, social welfare administration, and research. It is "Scientific Humanism" as it uses a scientific base. Social work is based on specific values that constitute the "philosophy of social work." Social work is based on faith in the essential worth and dignity of the individual [8].
