Extract
How to interview for client strengths.
Articles calling for a "strengths perspective" in social work practice have begun to appear in the professional literature. Although the roots of the strengths perspective reach deep into the history of social work, it was not until 1989 that Weick, Rapp, Sullivan, and Kisthardt first incorporated the words "strengths perspective" into the title of an article. In their article, these authors addressed social work's past emphasis on problems and pathologies and the difficulties this emphasis created for practice, and they offered the ingredients of an alternative strengths perspective. In 1992 Saleebey published a collection of articles in which several authors explained, in considerable detail, the assumptions and principles of strengths-based practice with at-risk populations.
The strengths perspective rests on the following assumptions (Saleebey, 1992): First and foremost, despite life's problems, all people and environments possess strengths that can be marshalled to improve the quality of clients' lives. Practitioners should respect these strengths and the directions in which clients wish to apply them. Second, client motivation is fostered by a consistent emphasis on strengths as the client defines these. Third, discovering strengths requires a process of cooperative exploration between clients and workers; "expert" practitioners do not have the last word on what clients need. Fourth, focusing on strengths turns the practitioner's attention away from the temptation to "blame the victim" and toward discovering how clients have managed to survive ev...See the full content of this document
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