UNIT-IV :
THEORETICAL
PERSPECTIVE
FOR SOCIAL
WORK
PRACTICE
THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES
1. Social Learning Theory
Developed by Albert Bandura.
Learning occurs by observing and modeling others' behavior.
Key Components:
Attention to the model.
Retention of observed actions.
Motivation to repeat behavior.
Application in Social Work:
Understand role models’ influence on clients.
Use positive modeling and reinforcement to encourage behavior change.
2. Systems Theory
People are products of complex systems, not isolated individuals.
Influencing factors: family, social settings, religion, economy, home environment.
Branches:
Ecological Systems Theory: Examines individuals in multiple environments.
Family Systems Theory: Focuses on families as social systems.
Application in social work
Identify systemic breakdowns affecting client behavior
3. Psychosocial Development Theory
Developed by Erik Erikson.
Eight Stages of Development:
Trust vs. Mistrust
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Initiative vs. Guilt
Industry vs. Inferiority
Identity vs. Confusion
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Integrity vs. Despair
Applications in Social Work:
Identify clients’ developmental stages to understand challenges.
4. Psychodynamic Theory
Introduced by Sigmund Freud.
Humans are driven by unconscious desires rooted in childhood experiences.
Lives include aggression, sex, and self-preservation.
Applications in Social Work:
Explore unconscious motivations and early childhood influences on behavior.
5. Social Exchange Theory
Relationships involve cost-benefit analysis.
People seek to maximize benefits and minimize risks.
Key Concept
Greater personal resources = more power in relationships.
Application in Social Work:
Understand client relationships and decisions to maintain or abandon them.
Build mutually beneficial client-worker relationships.
6. Rational choice Theory
Decisions are based on weighing risks, costs, and benefits.
Even seemingly irrational choices have underlying reasoning.
Application in Social Work
Understand clients’ decision-making processes and motivations.
SYSTEMS AND ECOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVES
Systems Perspective:
- Focuses on individuals as part of larger systems (families, communities, societies).
- Emphasizes interconnectedness and how changes in one part affect the whole.
Ecological Perspective:
- Examines interactions between individuals and their environments.
- Recognizes the influence of physical, social, and cultural contexts.
Applications in Social Work:
1. Assessment: Holistic understanding of clients by considering their environment,
relationships, and resources.
2. Intervention: Addresses root causes of problems by changing systems and
environments.
3. Advocacy: Guides efforts to challenge policies and systems that create inequality and
injustice.
4. Collaboration: Promotes teamwork with professionals, organizations, and stakeholders
to address social issues.
Examples in Practice
1. Family Therapy:
- Systems approach to improve family communication and relationships.
2. Community Organizing:
- Ecological approach to engage communities and mobilize resources for change.
3. Macro social Work:
- Focuses on systemic change to address large-scale social problems like inequality
and injustice.
RADICAL AND MARXIST APPROACHES &
EMANCIPATORY SOCIAL WORK
Introduction:
Focus on addressing root causes of social injustice and inequality.
Draws on principles of social justice, empowerment, and structural change.
Radical Approach
Key Principles:
1. Social Justice: Recognizing and challenging systemic oppression.
2. Empowerment: Helping marginalized communities recognize their power and take
action.
3. Community Organizing: Building relationships and mobilizing communities for
social change.
4. Critical Reflection: Analyzing the social-political context and reflecting on power
dynamics.
Marxist Approach
Key Principles:
Class Struggle: Recognizing conflict between working and capitalist classes.
Collective Action: Organizing the working class to challenge capitalism.
Structural Analysis: Analyzing systems that perpetuate oppression and inequality.
1. Social Transformation: Advocating for a socialist society where production is owned
collectively.
Emancipatory Social Work
Key Principles:
2. Human Rights: Recognizing and protecting universal rights of all individuals.
3. Empowerment: Supporting marginalized groups to challenge oppressive structures.
4. Structural Analysis: Examining and dismantling systems of marginalization and
oppression.
5. Advocacy: Championing the rights and needs of marginalized communities.
6. Cultural Competence: Respecting and integrating diverse cultural identities and
experiences.
7. Anti-Oppressive Practice: Actively resisting all forms of oppression to foster equity.
EMERGING PERSPECTIVES AND
TRENDS IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
1. Trauma-Informed Practice
Recognizes the impact of trauma on individuals and communities.
Focuses on:
Creating safe and supportive environments.
Understanding trauma’s effects on behavior, emotions, and cognition.
Building trust, empowering individuals, and fostering resilience.
2. Culturally Responsive Practice
Acknowledges cultural diversity in society.
Focuses on:
Understanding clients' cultural beliefs and practices.
Respecting cultural differences to ensure effective interventions.
3. Technology-Enhanced Practice
Involves using technology to deliver social work services.
Includes tools like:
Video conferencing and telehealth.
Digital tools for connecting with clients.
Increases access and efficiency in service delivery.
4. Advocacy and Activism
Continues the tradition of fighting for social justice and addressing oppression.
Key actions:
- Organizing social movements.
- Advocating for policy change and participating in political campaigns.
- Focus on addressing root causes of social problems.
5. Intersectionality
- Framework recognizing interconnected forms of oppression (e.g., racism,
sexism).
- Ensures sensitivity to the complex, intersectional experiences of clients.
- Aims for inclusive and nuanced interventions.
6. Environmental Social Work
- Recognizes the connection between environment and human well-being.
Focuses on:
- Promoting environmental sustainability.
- Addressing environmental injustices, especially for vulnerable populations.
- Addresses impacts of issues like climate change on marginalized communities
