The focus of this article is on illustrating how the differences between the paternalistic and empowerment approaches embedded within social work have unnecessarily evolved into competing approaches to practice. Tracing the historical evolution of both paternalistic and empowerment approaches, the article posits that social work is more amenable to an integrated holistic approach to practice than to either a diagnostic or strengths-based approach. Building on G.WE Hegel's notion of recognition and feminist psychoanalystJessica Benjamin's theory of intersubjectivity, the article considers how a simultaneous focus on both strengths and vulnerabilities provides an integrated framework that embraces the joint social work values of personal caring and social justice. Clinical case vignettes are provided to illustrate the limitations of focusing too narrowly on either clients' pathology or clients' strengths. Social workers are encouraged to acknowledge their own vulnerabilities to better appreciate clients' vulnerabilities and strengths.
This article will present an experientially focused, process-centered approach to group supervision that may be used in practice and fieldwork settings, as well as in the classroom. The approach is derived from a combination of relational psychoanalytic theory, rooted in interpersonal and object relations theory, and social constructionism. Beginning with a review of the concepts of acting out, projective identification, and parallel process, this article will examine how these concepts are applicable to process-centered group supervision. A detailed description of the approach will be provided, along with a review of the group guidelines. Through actual case vignettes of two process-centered supervisory sessions, elements of transference and countertransference occurring between and among participants will be identified, and their utility for supervision and practice will be examined.
This article examines how social workers may use their authority to create managed mental health care organizations that support the principles and values of professional social work practice. By exploring research and theoretical contributions from a multidisciplinary perspective, the author suggests ways that social workers may incorporate empowerment strategies into their organizational practices to create more socially responsible and humane mental health organizations.
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