Progressive Social Work

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Barbera ◽  
Mary Bricker-Jenkins ◽  
Barbara Hunter-Randall Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Social Welfare Programs ◽  
Progressive Agenda

Since the beginning of the profession, progressive social work has been characterized by a lived commitment to practice dedicated to advancing human rights and social and economic justice. Since the mid-1980s, the rise of global capitalism has vitiated support for robust social welfare programs and has had a conservatizing effect on the profession, rendering the progressive agenda both more urgent and more difficult. Since the economic crisis of 2008, with a rise in people suffering, while at the same time those programs that would help ease that suffering have been cut back, further perpetuating the myth that austerity is the cure for the disease that it has caused. Progressive social work has responded to both challenges with innovation and energy, but theoretical and practical conundrums remain. This article is offered as an effort to discuss and define progressive social work and its connection to social work values with the hope of contributing to advancing social work practice that addresses social injustices and human rights violations.

Codes of Ethics

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Congress
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The World ◽  
Almost All

Social work values and ethics provide the foundation for social work practice around the world. Almost all countries where social work is a recognized profession have a Code of Ethics. Although there are many similarities among Codes of Ethics in different countries, cultural and societal differences have influenced their content and focus. The extent to which Codes of Ethics have a direct effect on social work practice has been debated. While Codes of Ethics reflect societal and national differences, what is universal and fundamental to social work practice from a human rights perspective should prevail.

Oppression

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Betty Garcia ◽  
Dorothy Van Soest
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Economic Justice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Common Elements ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Power Arrangements

A firm grasp of the nature of oppression, with its dynamics of power and its systemic character, is required so that social workers can avoid unintended collusion with pervasive oppressive systems if they are to be successful in promoting social and economic justice. Recognizing the relationship between macro-level and micro-level dynamics and their implications for practice is an substantive part of social work practice. This perspective includes attention to the ubiquitousness of privilege and oppression and the potential consequences of ignoring this reality as complicity in and normalizing exclusionary and marginalizing behaviors. This article discusses the concept of oppression, its dynamics and common elements, and anti-oppressive practices that can expose and dismantle oppressive relationships and systemic power arrangements.

Direct Social Work Practice

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Psychosocial Problems ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Risk And Resilience ◽  
Direct Practice ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Social Work Theory ◽  
Client Strengths

Direct social work practice is the application of social work theory and/or methods to the resolution and prevention of psychosocial problems experienced by individuals, families, and groups. In this article, direct practice is discussed in the context of social work values, empowerment, diversity, and multiculturalism, as well as with attention to client strengths, spirituality, and risk and resilience influences. The challenges of practice evaluation are also considered.

Guidelines for Responding to Clients Spontaneously Presenting Their Poetry in Therapy

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rich Furman ◽  
Kathryn Collins
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Practice Guidelines ◽  
Work Values ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Poetry Therapy ◽  
Social Work Values

Poetry therapy has become a valuable adjunctive tool in social work practice, as well as an important discipline in its own right. What has not been previously presented in the literature are intervention strategies designed for when clients spontaneously present their poems in treatment without prompting from the clinician. This article provides just such practice guidelines for clinicians, especially clinicians who do not normally use poetry in therapy. First, the article explores the uses of poetry in social work practice. Second, it presents general guidelines for how to handle the introduction of poetry by clients through the lens of essential social work values and principles. Third, a case study is presented to amplify these guidelines.

scholarly journals The Insider-Researcher Status: A Challenge for Social Work Practice Research

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Chammas
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Practice Research

For insider-researchers engaged in qualitative inquiry, positionality and researcher neutrality are major concerns. Based on a study of human rights in social work practice among asylum seekers in a public institutional setting, this article highlights the insider-researcher status where the researcher was also a practitioner in the setting. Specifically, the author discusses the insider-researcher’s positionality towards knowledge of the population served, knowledge of the setting and knowledge of the research process by examining both the advantages and limitations of being an insider-researcher, as well as highlights ways to address and overcome these limitations.

scholarly journals What is the problem? Representations of men's violence against women in a Swedish context

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Hoppstadius
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Gender Hierarchies

Abuse and violence against women is not only a serious violation of human rights, but is also, according to the Swedish government, the most acute and greatest obstacle to a gender-equal society. The aim of the current study was to investigate discourses that govern social work practice in Sweden analysed discourses of violence against women in five Swedish public working guidelines using Carol Bacchi’s social constructivist analytical approach What's the Problem Represented to Be? Our findings show that violence is framed in the guidelines within a heterosexual context and is represented as an individual problem of women within close relations and families. This framing also promotes a division between violence against Swedish-born women and violence against foreign-born women. The analysis also shows that equality seems to be more about the inclusion of men rather than looking after women's situations. How violence against women is understood will affect how violence can be predicted, prevented, and treated, and thus there is a risk that these representations might affect women subjected to violence differently depending on how social workers interpret and apply these guidelines. Our findings also suggest that these representations maintain gender hierarchies and other structural and societal inequalities and ignore violence against women as a major global social problem.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mo Yee Lee
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Brief Therapy ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Practice Model ◽  
Social Work Values ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Solution Focused Brief Therapy ◽  
Solution Focused ◽  
Work Treatment

Building on a strengths perspective and using a time-limited approach, solution-focused brief therapy is a treatment model in social work practice that holds a person accountable for solutions rather than responsible for problems. Solution-focused brief therapy deliberately utilizes the language and symbols of “solution and strengths” in treatment and postulates that positive and long-lasting change can occur in a relatively brief period of time by focusing on the solution-building process instead of focusing on the problems. Currently, this practice model has been adopted in diverse social work practice settings with different client populations, which could be partly accounted by the fact that the assumptions and practice orientation of solution-focused brief therapy are consistent with social work values as well as the strengths-based and empowerment-based practice in social work treatment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document