Iranian Social Work: A Systematic Analysis of Role, Structural Challenges

Iranian Social Work: A Systematic Analysis of Role, Structural Challenges 

Part I: Media Ecosystem, Professional Identity, and the Paradigm Shift Towards Resilience

Defining Professional Identity Through Specialized Media and a Critique of Traditional Models

The professional identity of social work in Iran has undergone significant transformations in recent decades, primarily driven by a specialized and pioneering media ecosystem. This ecosystem consists of three central platforms: Madadkar News (madadkarnews.ir), which serves as the official news agency ; the Iranian Social Workers specialized portal (iraniansocialworkers.ir) ; and Iran’s Resilience Media (resiliencemedia.ir), recognized as the country’s first specialized media outlet in the field of resilience. This media overlap demonstrates a concerted effort to shape a coherent professional discourse

The role of pioneers in this transformation is noteworthy; Dr. Javad Teleschi Yekta is introduced as the “Father of Media Resilience and Social Work in Iran”. The specialized and media movement in this field began in the Iranian year 1392 SH (equivalent to 2013 AD) on the Iranian Social Workers platform. The simultaneous attribution of the concepts of “social work” and “resilience” to the founder of this movement suggests a deep strategic implication: the modern social work movement in Iran views resilience not merely as an intervention tool, but as a strategic identity for the entire profession. This identity definition is a conscious effort to move away from traditional paradigms that primarily placed the client in the role of a “service recipient” or “victim of harm.” Instead, the new approach is founded on the Strengths-Based Approach, emphasizing empowerment and the internal capacities of individuals and communities. Continuous social and economic pressures in the country have intensified the necessity of this shift, as the social survival of communities depends on empowerment against external shocks, requiring the integration of local knowledge with global standards (such as the National Association of Social Workers – NASW) to build a “shield against social harms”

Social Work in the Era of Multiple Crises (Economic and Social)

Iran continually faces multiple structural and economic crises. Specialized texts in this field, including articles titled “Social Work in the Era of Multiple Crises” and “The Role of Social Work in Economic Crises” , highlight the imperative to redefine the function of the profession. These analyses emphasize that social work plays a vital role during an economic crisis that goes beyond a simple job duty; this crucial role involves “transforming threats into opportunities”

This perspective—that social work can convert economic and social threats into opportunities for social transformation—indicates the adoption of a Macro approach in professional practice. This approach positions the social worker as an “agent of social change,” rather than just a service distributor or traditional Case Manager. Core social issues in Iran, such as the accelerating class gap and social imbalances , the increase in theft and related crimes , and the expansion of substance abuse among women and adolescents , necessitate interventions focused on system management, Facilitation, and policy reform. The policy conclusion is, therefore, that social services in Iran must transform from a reactive and “emergency” approach to an “infrastructural and strategic” approach to establish the necessary sustainability against economic and social shocks

Part II: Structural Challenges, Professional Well-being, and the Necessity of Institutionalization

The Silent Cry of Supporters: Structural Analysis of the Independent Professional Institution Void

One of the deepest challenges facing the social work profession in Iran, is the structural and legal vacuum for supporting social workers themselves. The core article “The Silent Cry of Supporters: The Necessity of Establishing an Institution for Social Workers in Iran” details this dilemma, stating that social workers are often the “silent victims of a profession”. Daily exposure to a wide range of human afflictions—including addiction, poverty, domestic violence, and mental illnesses—places a heavy psychological burden on these specialists

While the primary duty of social workers is to offer support and solutions to others, they themselves frequently require support. However, there is no systematized mechanism for providing professional psychological support and counseling to deal with occupational stress and prevent burnout. This lack of a professional “sanctuary and balm” is not merely a welfare issue; it is analyzed as a systemic failure to preserve the country’s vital human capital. If the social health frontline (social workers) becomes exhausted or harmed, the effectiveness of the entire social services system is jeopardized

The key functions of this proposed institution must go beyond an administrative organization and include providing confidential psychological services, establishing support networks and peer groups, and defending professional rights, including fair wages, job security, and professional standing. This need to defend rights and professional independence is an effort to shift the balance of power from dependence on bureaucratic institutions toward “pragmatism independent of governmental agencies”

The Hidden Crisis: Lack of Job Security and Professional Welfare (Private Sector)

The employment and support status in Iran’s private social services sector reveals a serious contradiction. Articles such as “The Hidden Crisis on the Front Line: Lack of Retirement Insurance for Private Sector Managers in the Social Sphere” disclose that managers in this sector, who are the “backbone of social service provision” and fill existing gaps in the government system , are often deprived of minimum protective rights such as retirement insurance. This issue is deemed a “risk of job insecurity” in the private sector

Analysis of this situation indicates that the lack of basic support for professionals undermines the sustainability and quality of social services in the long run. If those providing vital services are themselves deprived of job security and retirement welfare, their motivation and the quality of their services decrease when facing economic pressures. Therefore, resolving this crisis necessitates a review of the regulatory and supportive policies of relevant governmental organizations to enhance mutual trust and guarantee the rights of private employees through “integration of supervision” over non-governmental centers

Managing Burnout and Strategies for Self-Care and Professional Resilience

Due to the high-risk nature of social work, attention to the “vital importance and strategies of self-care” and “Resilience of Social Workers and Job Burnout” is essential. Burnout, caused by continuous exposure to suffering and psychological pressure, requires a dual and comprehensive strategy for confrontation

The first dimension is strengthening individual resilience through targeted and evidence-based training. Research indicates that Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT-Based) training, which focuses on emotion management, problem-solving, and coping skills, has proven effective. Furthermore, Mindfulness-based interventions have shown particular efficacy in reducing the emotional exhaustion of social workers

However, focusing solely on self-help or “individual self-care” in the absence of structural support is unfair and unsustainable. Therefore, the second and more crucial dimension is the institutionalization of resilience at the organizational level. This involves creating a supportive organizational culture, providing sufficient resources and equipment, offering psychological counseling and Debriefing services, implementing specialized Supervision, and realistic management of workload. Institutionalizing these supports guarantees the health and motivation of social workers in the long term and directly leads to the improvement of social service quality in the community

Part III: Organizational Social Work (OSW) as an Infrastructure for Economic Resilience

The Strategic Role of OSW in Iran’s Organizational Structure

Organizational Social Work (Organizational Social Work or OSW) has emerged as a specialized and vital field in response to the increasing need to maintain mental health and welfare in the modern Iranian workplace. The foundational philosophy of OSW is that organizations are not separate entities but “complex ecosystems” that directly impact the physical, psychological, and social health of employees

OSW, as the application of social work knowledge and skills within the context of an organization, defines its main goal as resolving the psychological and social problems of employees, improving organizational culture, and consequently, increasing overall productivity by promoting workforce welfare. This approach is regarded as a “strategic investment” for creating a healthy and resilient work environment, not merely an expense

Distinguishing OSW from two related fields is crucial

• Human Resources (HR): HR focuses on workforce management, payroll, and legal compliance, whereas OSW concentrates on employee welfare and resolving complex social and psychological issues
• Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Although EAP is often provided by social workers, the role of the Organizational Social Worker is much broader, including the assessment of social needs, the design of welfare policies, and intervention in organizational culture at mezzo and macro levels

The Three-Tiered Model of Organizational Social Work Interventions

Based on the focus on the “person-in-environment” interaction, Organizational Social Work performs its interventions at three distinct levels

Level of Intervention Key Objective Specialized Functions Source Micro (Individual) Assisting employees in resolving personal crises Short-term counseling, managing personal crises (e.g., marital, addiction, or financial issues), providing specialized referrals, preventing burnout Mezzo (Group/Team) Improving team cohesion, managing conflicts, and strengthening work groups Impartial mediation to resolve organizational conflicts with deep social or personal roots, conducting skills workshops Macro (Organizational/Policy) Designing equitable welfare policies and realizing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Consulting senior management on drafting supportive policies (e.g., parental leave or flexible work), promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion, and designing targeted CSR projects

In this model, the Organizational Social Worker plays specialized roles such as an Advocate to be the voice for employees who are unable to express their concerns due to a weak position or fear of retaliation. Furthermore, the role of Organizational Ethicist is vital in Iran’s high-pressure economic conditions to guarantee the ethical health of the workplace and maintain the human dignity of employees

Challenges of Implementation and Proving OSW Effectiveness in Iran

The successful implementation of OSW in Iran faces structural obstacles. The biggest challenge is ensuring confidentiality and building trust among employees. If employees are not confident that their personal information will not be leaked to management, micro-level interventions (such as addressing addiction or financial problems) become virtually ineffective; hence, the structural separation of OSW from HR is essential

The second challenge is the necessity of measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of social services. Organizational managers require quantitative evidence to justify the funding of these services. Therefore, social workers must be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of their work by collecting data such as reduced absenteeism, decreased tardiness, reduced turnover, and increased productivity. This need for evidence underscores the necessity for social workers to be proficient in the common managerial-economic language

The third challenge is changing the managerial perspective. Managers must view social work not as a “luxury” for prosperous times, but as a “vital infrastructure for resilience” against economic, natural, and political crises. This investment in the mental health and cohesion of employees results in a sustainable competitive advantage for the organization

Part IV: Specialized Social Work Models for Enhancing Eco-Social Resilience

Strategic Analysis of the Link Between Social Work and Local Resilience Enhancement

In response to increasing environmental and local challenges, Iranian social work has put forward advanced models. The focus on “Neighborhood-Based” social work as a “paradigm shift” from centralized service delivery toward participatory local development demonstrates this evolution. This has led to the formulation of models such as the “Modeling and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Social Work in Enhancing the Socio-Ecological Resilience of Local Communities”

The Eco-Social model signifies the expansion of social work’s scope of action to larger systems beyond the individual and family, including the environment and climatic structures. Due to internal concerns regarding the management of vital resources (water, land) and climatic inequalities , this approach positions the social worker as a facilitator between the community and the natural environment. The effectiveness of this approach has been confirmed in field examples such as “Neighborhood-based awareness for suicide prevention in the village”

Conceptual Model of Three-Tiered Social Work Interventions in Eco-Social Resilience

The conceptual model of social work interventions in eco-social resilience is based on three levels—micro, mezzo, and macro—and the core element for its success is Community Participation, which is designated as the main mediating variable

Level of Intervention Main Objective Key Social Work Activities Source Micro (Individual) Strengthening the individual’s psycho-social capacity Managing environmental anxiety (Eco-anxiety), teaching individual coping skills (e.g., emotional regulation and problem-solving), sustainable and green livelihood empowerment Mezzo (Intermediate/Social) Strengthening the community’s cohesion, organization, and social capacity Participatory facilitation in resource management (e.g., water and land), mobilizing social capital and local support networks, disaster preparedness training and simulation exercises Macro (Macro/Policy) Reforming structures and policies for social and environmental justice Advocacy for equitable access to environmental infrastructures (clean water, energy), combating pollution and climate inequalities

Effectiveness Evaluation: Four Dimensions of Resilience and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

To ensure the effectiveness and scientific rigor of eco-social interventions, a comprehensive evaluation model has been developed, focusing on four dimensions of resilience and utilizing a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative). This approach includes quantitative modeling (such as Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to determine causal relationships) and qualitative evaluation (such as in-depth interviews and community-based mapping)

These four dimensions of evaluation, which demonstrate the seriousness in measuring social and environmental impacts, are defined as follows

Evaluation Dimension Definition/Objective Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Measurement Tool Source Ecological (Environmental) Health and sustainability of environmental resources Percentage reduction in carbon footprint or household water consumption Field measurement and consumption reports Social (Social Cohesion) Cohesion, trust, and the ability to organize jointly Index of active community participation in eco-centric plans, level of social capital Social Capital Questionnaires (based on trust and membership) Institutional/Political Effectiveness of local governance structures and equitable resource distribution Number of successful local Advocacy achievements, community presence in decision-making processes Content analysis of documents, recording of local decisions Cultural/Psychological Preservation of indigenous knowledge and collective mental health Psychological resilience score, reduced level of environmental anxiety Standardized scales (e.g., CD-RISC), Eco-Anxiety Questionnaire

The provision of this precise and scientific framework for evaluation is a smart attempt to address the challenge of proving effectiveness that exists in other sectors of the profession as well. This model ensures that social work interventions have a measurable impact on various dimensions of community sustainability

Part V: Professional Development and New/Neglected Areas of Social Work Practice

Social Work in Specific Sectors: From Military Environments to Schools

Social work in Iran is seeking to expand its professional domain in structured and sensitive sectors of society where its position has not yet been established. One of the most important areas is social work in schools, which is referred to as a “vital place” and a “neglected capacity”. The full activation of this capacity in schools is considered essential for confronting social harms and academic decline among students

Another area is social work in military environments. The role of social workers in these environments is described as pivotal, including strengthening organizational resilience and preserving human resources. These interventions include resilience skills training before deployment, support programs for families during deployment, case management, and resource referral for personnel and their families. The focus on these areas demonstrates the profession’s effort to directly link with national health and social security, requiring the definition and guarantee of a specific legal and administrative status for these specialists

Specialized Intervention: Case Management and Crisis

The increasing complexity of social issues in Iran, such as the rising suicide rate or the addiction dilemma, has increased the need for specialization in interventions. Case Management has gained increasing importance due to pressure on service systems and the complex needs of clients

Furthermore, Crisis Intervention is presented as one of the vital duties of social workers, aiming to provide immediate and short-term assistance to individuals whose psycho-social equilibrium has been disrupted. Specialized texts recommend structured interventions in this area, including Roberts’ Seven-Stage Model (ACT) and Psychological First Aid (PFA) in the face of mass disasters. In the field of addiction, the role of social work is considered essential to overcome the dominance of a purely medical perspective , and the Welfare Organization also plays a key role in specialized and multifaceted approaches to suicide control and reduction. This emphasis on advanced models highlights the need for specialization in addressing the country’s acute social problems

Training and Professional Development: The Need for Adapting Global Models

Professional development requires continuous review of educational content, which includes a “comparative and comprehensive analysis of social work education in universities worldwide”. Studies have also been conducted on the “paradox of transferring social work models”. These reviews indicate that the Iranian social work community understands that merely copying successful global models (such as NASW) is insufficient; rather, the indigenization and “change of attitude” in implementing empowerment experiences from other countries are vital to prevent the repetition of failed experiences

However, challenges in the quality of training exist; for instance, in the field of resilience, it is reported that many training courses are held only to “fulfill administrative duty” and complete bureaucratic objectives, which prevents the achievement of real learning goals and the institutionalization of professional resilience.

Part VI: Summary and Strategic Recommendations

Analytical Conclusion: The Inseparable Link Between Social Work, Resilience, and Institutionalization

A review of the specialized media ecosystem of social work in Iran (including iraniansocialworkers.ir, resiliencemedia.ir, and madadkarnews.ir) shows that the profession is undergoing a fundamental transition from a merely supportive role to a strategic force for strengthening national and organizational resilience. This evolution has been accompanied by the elaboration of evidence-based operational models such as Organizational Social Work (OSW) and the Eco-Social Resilience Model, significantly enhancing specialization

Despite these theoretical advancements and precise modeling (such as defining KPIs for eco-social resilience), the biggest obstacle to the sustainable development of the profession is not a lack of knowledge or intervention models, but structural challenges and the void of an independent professional institution. These structural obstacles, which lead to burnout and a lack of job security (especially in the private sector), jeopardize the sustainability and quality of social services. To realize macro professional goals (such as climate justice or national health), the professional well-being and job security of social workers (the frontline supporters) must first be guaranteed

Strategic Recommendations for Policymakers and Professional Bodies

Based on the analysis of structural challenges and specialized opportunities, the following strategic recommendations are provided to strengthen the position of social work in the country’s social system

1. Institutionalizing Professional Support and Responding to the Silent Cry of Supporters: It is essential to immediately facilitate the process of establishing an independent professional body with legal authority to provide systematic psycho-social support to social workers, combat job burnout, and actively defend their financial rights and professional status. The implementation of this action will significantly help in retaining and maintaining specialist human resources

2. Elevating the Position of OSW and Ensuring Social Return on Investment: The drafting of official guidelines to structurally separate Organizational Social Work from Human Resources and mandating strict confidentiality protocols must be prioritized. Furthermore, developing and standardizing national quantitative and qualitative indicators for measuring the Social Return on Investment (ROI) of Organizational Social Work is necessary for this field to be accepted as a strategic investment, not a luxury expense, for crisis management

3. Targeted Investment in Eco-Social Social Work and Neglected Capacities: Resource allocation to neighborhood-based models focusing on the four dimensions of eco-social resilience (ecological, social, institutional, and psychological) must be encouraged and supported. Additionally, vital neglected capacities, especially in formal institutions like schools and military environments, must be fully activated, and the role of social work in these structures must be legally defined and strengthened. These measures are effective in strengthening community resistance against new crises and promoting the mental health of the future generation