Strengths To Empowerment Analysis

Improved Essays
Strengths to Empowerment One of the most common approaches used today by social workers is the strengths based perspective. Often time when trying to solve a problem, the main focus is on the problem itself and by doing so, there is a focus on the negative aspects and what is wrong. The strengths perspective tries shifting the view of situations by focusing on what the client may bring to the current situation. It tries to focus on the present and what the future may hold rather than what has happened in the past (Miley, O’Melia, & DuBois, 2015, p. 79). The strengths approach consists of observing the qualities and strengths a client has. Often times there are strengths that have not been given enough attention and may need to be released …show more content…
80). By focusing on the strengths of a person using the strengths perspective, we can address the first level of empowerment, which is at the personal level. By using a person’s strengths and releasing talents that they may have, it creates a sense of control and competence in the client. Once they feel confident, they can move to the next level which is the interpersonal level. At this level, as a social worker focusing on strengths, they would focus on developing new skills to help the client influence and improve their interaction with other people. One of the main roles here is to tackle the level of social power and position the client holds (Miley et al., 2015, p. 81). The last level of empowerment is the sociopolitical dimensions. Having a client be aware of their strengths and use them to feel more competent and influential, they can now tackle the social and political systems. This means having access to resources and opportunities that will help them grow further. If certain opportunities aren’t there at the present moment, they can help create them by making changes to the current structure that is in …show more content…
There may have a harder time accessing places, commuting, or simply running their daily errands. To help them feel empowered, a social worker has to point out their strengths and not their disadvantages. An example of this would be if the person is in a wheelchair, but can compose music or loves sports. By pointing those strengths out and using them to find an environment that can meet the needs of the client, it would be addressing the personal dimensions of empowerment. This can include having the client embrace the talent they may have to use it in their favor as a

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Introduction There are two theories in which this essay will investigate, reflect as well as discuss its relevance and limitations. The first theory is the life course perspective and the other is the strengths perceptive. Both of these theories will be analyzed and critiqued throughout the paper. This essay will be divided into subsections that will cover what the theory is, each theories strengths and limitations, the relevance and importance of each theory in relation to social work, how these theories overlap and lastly, its relevance through empirical research. Theories Life course perspective was developed in the 1960’s and primarily focused on analyzing the lives of people through social, structural and cultural contexts (Hutchinson,…

    • 1329 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Comprehensive Assessment-Cortez Family This comprehensive assessment will focus on Paula Cortez and will address the issues she and her family is encountering. By using the Solution-Focused and Strengths Perspective Assessments, we are able to approach Paula without judgment and remain client-focused by directing her strengths to establish specific goals to address her needs. The majority of people have an idea of where their lives are currently and where they would like their life to eventually get. By using the Solution-Focused and Strengths Perspective Assessments, the social worker is able to allow the client to remain focused on where they would like to go, rather than where they have been. Paula Cortez Paula is a 43-year-old Bilingual,…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Further enhancing on the care plan, a strengths based recovery approach was used to enable two goals to be established in partnership…

    • 1671 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Personal Strengths Inventory This strength assessment is very accurate and confirms strengths that I already recognized about myself. My first strength is connectedness. I believe that the strength of connectedness centers on people, your interactions and relationships with them, and how those moments affect your life and the lives of those around you. My second strength is adaptability. Adaptability is the ability to move from task-to-task quickly without becoming disorganized and frustrated.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    1.2 Evaluate own strengths and weaknesses in relation to supporting learning activities and how these may impact on support that can be provided. Our strengths and weaknesses plays a great role in relation to supporting the different types of learning activity in schools. Using our strengths we need to focuses on doing more of “what you are good at rather than what you are” (http://www.kent.ac.uk) capable of doing. Usually high achievers spend their time and hard work in developing their strength to achieve the goal and managing their weaknesses. They may sometimes not have more strengths than compare to the average individual, but they HAVE learned how to utilise them in a better way and to they know how to apply them in a new situation (http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/Choosing/strengths.htm).…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    An Integration of the Afrocentric Perspective, Strengths Perspective, and Humanistic Values The Afrocentric Perspective is an emerging perspective that is being recognized globally. In short, the Afrocentric Perspective can be defined as a perspective that centers on the cultural values of people of African descent. According to Asante, he believes that the Afrocentric Perspective asserts the central role of the African subject within the African history; in doing this, it eliminates Europeanism as the central focus for the reality of Africans. Therefore, he concludes that the Afrocentric Perspective is revolutionary because is studies concepts, personalities, events, ideas, and political processes from the view of African people as the subjects and not as objects (Asante, 2009).…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The social work profession is to infuse change into the lives of individuals and into the community to reduce or eradicate the ill effects of personal distress and social inequality (Cox, Long, & Tice, 2016). Social workers are constantly working on brooding their horizons, by learning on the job or continuing education. Social work has seven values, some of which are grouped together, “dignity and worth of person, competence, importance of human relationships, integrity, human services, and social justice” (Code of Ethics, 2011). In the 2016 election Trump promised to deport all “illegals,” many to a country that they have never seen.…

    • 460 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Empowerment theory: Empowerment theory is a social process that assists individuals in gaining control and fostering power over their own lives and environment. This theory promotes self-efficacy, consciousness, personal responsibility, dual perspective, and a reduction in self-blame. (Langer & Lietz, 2015). Strengths in this theory include the consistency with social work values and ethics; it addresses oppression, discrimination and marginalization on a political and clinical scale, and is in line with the person in environment perspective. Limitations of this theory could be that there are so many skills within the theory, that it would be difficult to assess the actual success rate of using empowerment theory based interventions.…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After reading a few chapters of Strengths Quest, I was instructed to participate in the Strengths Finder assessment (Anderson, Clifton, & Schreiner, 2006). This 30 minute assessment was an interesting tool that pointed out my greatest strengths. It also provided a detailed description of what having those strengths mean and examples of how they are prominent in a person 's life. After taking the StrengthsFinder survey, I discovered that my five dominant strengths are empathy, harmony, consistency, relator, and restorative.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Verbal following, exploring and focusing skills benefit in any type of engagement with a client. Using skills such as further responses, reflection of content and open-ended questions help the social worker stay on task and allows them to be on the same page as the client. Not only are these skills helpful for the social worker, they also have value to the client. When using these skill, the client is able to open up to the social worker about their feeling and are given a peace of mind when they know the social worker is understanding them.…

    • 1133 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction The purpose of this report is for me to develop critical awareness and self-reflection of core social welfare competencies experienced while volunteering with the Healthy Living for Seniors Program (HLSP). The HLSP is a UnitingCare community day program for people over the age of 65 years thus the field of practice is “aged care” (Chenoweth & McAuliffe 2012, p. 141). The program is designed to support the health and wellbeing of their clients through a focus on social participation, independence and their quality of life (UnitingCare Ageing 2015). Chenoweth & McAuliffe (2012) suggest that group work has therapeutical benefits for clients.…

    • 1635 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The importance of empowerment in Social Work practice is essential to effectively helping the client. The client and the social worker have to both feel empowered because everyone should feel worthy of using their voice to get a point across or to help some else in need, and not feel any lack of power. Empowerment is the process of knowing one self and using families, organization and communities around them to increase their personal and political power to improve them self so they can accomplish their goals. In the social work field there will be all different types of clients and it is our job to search for the client’s strength and weakness and understand the community in which they live in when providing them with resources. Empowerment…

    • 1048 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Social workers applying theory into their ordinary situation is helpful when working alongside clients, who may be facing a difficult time. Theories provide social workers with the knowledge of an individual 's situation, relationship, surroundings, and needs. Applying theories can initiate vital information about the individual and enable social workers to provide support networks to ensure their client 's safety and well-being is taken care off. For instance, ecological perspective and strengths perspective are two types of different theories in social work that look at clients: situation, relationship, surroundings, needs and strengths. In this way, looking at the positives rather than negative enhances the individual to look at what they have achieved and to build on their strengths.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The assumptions of empowerment theory are reasonable because of it aims to reduce powerlessness that have been created by labelling the vulnerable and oppressed. The principle of empowerment theories is practically applied to social work practice as a central goal and a process of social work practice. It serves as a framework for a social worker to understand phases of assessment, practice strategies, and methods in working with the people. The theory is applicable across settings of people in levels of micro and macro level of practice with the people who are in oppression and needs to be liberated such as homelessness with concurrent illness that developed as a result of traumatic remarks in the life such as mental health. The theory is…

    • 1191 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    a. In looking back over the courses you’ve taken thus far, what are the key themes and lessons that you feel will be the most prominent in your mind as you enter the field of social work? This could be a concrete tool or practice, or perhaps a theme or way of thought. As I reflect back on the courses that I have taken thus far, I have learned many great themes and lessons that will be prominent in my mind as enter the field of social work. The most valuable lesson I have learned is who and what should guide my work with individuals from such vulnerable populations.…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays