Social work is a professional activity that upholds altruistic values, is based on scientific knowledge, and uses scientific professional methods to help needy groups, solve their life difficulties, and help individuals better adapt to their social environment.
This definition points out that social work is essentially a professional activity to help others, which is characterized by providing scientific and effective services to people in need, especially those in need. Social work takes the needs of the recipients as the center and scientific helping skills as the means to achieve the effect of helping others.
Social work is a self-help activity. NASW National Association of Social Workers defines social work as a professional activity that helps individuals, groups and communities to strengthen or restore their abilities, thus giving full play to their social functions and creating social conditions conducive to achieving their goals.
Social work is a profession. Liao himself defined social work in his book "Overview of Social Work" as: social work is a special professional field in modern society, which uses social and psychological science principles to solve special problems in community life and reduce personal adversity and pressure.
Social work is a system. Witmer (1942) thinks in his book Social Work: A Systematic Analysis that social work is an aid implemented by organized institutions or groups to solve personal difficulties and various services implemented to help individuals adjust their social relations.
Siporin's book Introduction to Social Work Practice, published in 1975, also believes that social work is a social institutionalized method to help people prevent and solve social problems and restore and enhance the function of social life.