FinSoc intervention

A financial social work intervention for families with complex financial difficulties

The FinSoc intervention was developed in the spring of 2022 as part of the Financial social work in families with children project. Previous research findings have been utilized in the development of the intervention model, and professionals in the field, social workers, and social work clients have been involved in the development work. The main goals of the intervention are to improve the financial literacy of parents and to reduce potential financial anxiety.

The FinSoc intervention has been tested with clients from the project’s partner wellbeing service counties. The clients are either family or adult social work clients and meet the participation criteria and are willing to engage in the research. The intervention consists of five meetings per client family (see diagram for meeting contents). Work with one family lasts from 2 to 4 months. The approach is solution-focused, and the discussions are guided by the principles of motivational interviewing.

The intervention is carried out social workers or social instructors with the support of researchers. The employees participating are trained by the project to implement the intervention. Additionally, a “Worker’s Handbook” has been created to support the work of the employees, as well as a “Client’s Workbook” for the clients.