11 Important Social Work Theories and Methods
- 1. Psychosocial Theory Psychosocial theory, which Erik Erikson developed in the 1950s, is the main principle of social work. ...
- 2. Attachment Theory Attachment theory is one of the best-known theories that provide a framework for social workers to understand human behavior. ...
- 3. Systems Theory ...
- 4. Behavioral Theory ...
- 5. Cognitive Theory ...
- 6. Cognitive Behavioral Theory ...
- 7. Motivational Theory ...
- 8. Empowerment Theory ...
- Social learning theory.
- Systems theory.
- Psychosocial development theory.
- Psychodynamic theory.
- Social exchange theory.
- Rational choice theory.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy.
- Crisis intervention model.
What are the theoretical frameworks in social work?
Social Work Theories
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- — Conflict Theory. You won't get far examining complex social systems before you run into Karl Marx, the father of conflict theory.
- — Social Learning Theory. ...
- — Systems Theory. ...
- — Transpersonal Theory. ...
- — Psycho-social Development Theory. ...
- — Family Life Cycle Theory. ...
- — Empowerment Theory. ...
What are the approaches of social work?
the main methods used by social work practitioners, including the task-centred, behavioural, crisis intervention and psychosocial methods. The underpinning theory, assessment process, structure of intervention
What are the models of social work?
- (1) Psycho-analytical model. ...
- (2) Psycho-social therapy The psycho-social approach of Florence Rollis emphasizes, that it is necessary to understand the inner 230 realities of the human being and the-social context in which he ...
- (3) Problem-solving model The hospital is viewed as a problem-solving organization. ...
What are six theories of social movements?
Three theories of social movement are :
- Deprivation theory: States that social movements arise among people who feel deprived.
- Mass-society theory: A mass society is a society in which prosperity and bureaucracy have weakened traditional social ties. ...
- Structure strain theory: The theory advocates that any nascent social movement needs six factors to grow. ...
How many are social work theories?
sixSocial work employs six core theoretical frameworks: systems theory, transpersonal theory, psychosocial development theory; social learning theory, psychodynamic theory, and cognitive behavior theory.
Why are theories used in social work?
Within social work, professionals may utilize their theory to better understand interactions with their client and others around them — diving into the intrinsic rewards they may receive.
What are the three models in social work?
Rothman has developed three models of community organizing which are locality development, social planning, and social action.
How is Piaget's theory used in social work?
Piaget (1950) has argued that children gain ability in role-taking due to the changing nature of their social interaction with the environment. Thus, social interaction plays a major role in the decline of egocentrism.
What are the 5 methods of social work?
Social work has six methods of working with people (casework, group work, community organisation, social action, social welfare administration and social work research). These methods are the techniques of enabling the people for better social functioning.
What are the 4 P's in social work?
DISCUSSION: For many years, Perlman's (1957) 4 Ps (person, problem, place, and process) have proven useful to social workers as a way of organizing their thoughts about a client, his or her situation, and the agency context of social work intervention.
What are the 7 principles of social work?
As nearly six decades have passed since Professor Biestek introduced his seven principles – individualization, purposeful expression of feelings, controlled emotional involvement, acceptance, non-judgmental attitude, client self-deter- mination, and confidentiality – I believe that present-day students and scholars of ...
How does Erikson's theory help social workers?
Social workers can use Erikson's “maturation timetable” to identify individual challenges and to determine what support and services would be best for addressing the challenges.
What is the purpose of using theories?
Theories are usually used to help design a research question, guide the selection of relevant data, interpret the data, and propose explanations of the underlying causes or influences of observed phenomena.
Why are working theories important?
Working theories lead to academic concepts and coherent knowledge systems. Children's working theories have been shown to involve combinations of knowledge including early academic learning, as well as dispositions, skills and strategies and ways of being and doing that are necessary for effective learning.
What are the benefits of using theories?
Theories provide a framework for understanding human behavior, thought, and development. By having a broad base of understanding about the how's and why's of human behavior, we can better understand ourselves and others. Each theory provides a context for understanding a certain aspect of human behavior.
Why is using theory important?
Theory provides concepts to name what we observe and to explain relationships between concepts. Theory allows us to explain what we see and to figure out how to bring about change. Theory is a tool that enables us to identify a problem and to plan a means for altering the situation.
What are the stages of psychosocial development?
These stages are hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care and wisdom, and this theory corresponds these stages with infancy, toddlerhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood and late adulthood. Psychosocial development theory examines these stages as well as the way individuals and groups navigate them.
What is rational choice theory?
Rational choice theory uses individuals' perception of cost, risk and benefit to explain their choices and behaviors . According to this theory, every individual will make rational decisions based on the information they have available and their understanding of the factors that affect them. According to rational choice theory, this holds true even for choices that might seem less rational from the outside because they are based on the individual's assessment of the factors involved.
What is transpersonal theory?
Transpersonal theory combines the study of human behavior with other elements of experience such as philosophy, spirituality and consciousness. This framework often emphasizes practices such as mindfulness and meditation.
What is social constructionist theory?
Social constructionist theory is an extension of grounded theory that uses observable data combined with subjective experiences to understand individual and social human behavior. This theory includes an exploration of the ways people develop shared meaning to form and organize their social structures and systems.
What is the theory of psychodynamics?
Psychodynamic theory uses a person's conscious and unconscious forces to describe and explain their personality. Rooted in the history of psychoanalysis, this theory connects many adult behaviors to childhood experiences.
What is ecological systems theory?
Ecological systems theory is another subcategory of systems theory. This theory maintains that it's important to watch people in the context of different systems to understand their choices and behaviors. Those who use ecological systems theory often like to observe individuals in groups such as their family, colleagues, organizations and belief systems, and watch how those systems change over time.
What is the humanistic theory?
Humanistic theory describes the human condition as one of constant growth and development. This theory emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and mindfulness of one's individual strengths in striving for self-actualization, or becoming the best you can be.
What is the anti-oppressive stance?
The anti-oppressive stance is sometimes criticized for its moral and political idealism and its appropriation by people for use within social justice.
What are the disadvantages of society?
Poverty, inequality, social injustice, and lack of opportunity are disadvantages that lead to anxiety, stress, and poor social functioning. Society is regarded as the problem for the individual, not the individual for society (Howe, 2013a). Psychological explanations.
What is social work?
Social workers focus on improving human wellbeing by balancing ecological, clinical, and biopsychosocial approaches at multiple levels of society , including individuals, families, organizations, neighborhoods, and governments (Ruth & Marshall, 2017).
What was Obama's goal in 2009?
President Barack Obama’s arrival in the White House in 2009 brought progressive social welfare policies that focused on “extended unemployment benefits, more money to education,” and the goal of universal healthcare (Glicken, 2011, p. 36).
Why are practice models important for social workers?
Practice models have proven valuable to social workers across the many settings they encounter , helping individuals and groups overcome their difficulties.
How does behavior change come from?
For behaviorists, behavioral change comes from reinforcing the desired behavior. Under a behaviorist framework, social workers can reinforce the behaviors they are trying to encourage.
What was the name of the law that replaced the Poor Law Amendment?
In the 19th century, they were replaced by new legislation and social policy, including the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act and the 1889 Prevention of Cruelty and Protection of Cruelty Act, which began to provide some degree of protection (Glicken, 2011; Cree, 2013).
What is psychodynamic theory?
Started by Freud and continued in the work of Erikson and others, psychodynamic theory seeks to understand the reasons why people behave the way they behave. Unlike behavioral psychology, which uses scientific methods to determine causal relationships between people’s behavior and their environment, psychodynamic theory focuses on the individual’s inner world, which is divided into the id, the ego and the superego.
What is Albert Bandura's theory of social learning?
In social learning theory, Albert Bandura builds upon B.F. Skinner’s behavioral theories. Behavioral psychology focuses on the effect of the environment and reinforcement on behavior, but Bandura adds two important distinctions: that mediating processes happen between stimulus and response, and that individuals can learn behavior through observation.
What is transpersonal theory?
Pioneered by Carl Jung, transpersonal theory “uses positive influences, rather than the diseased human psyche and our defenses, as a model for the realization of human potential ,” GoodTherapy says. That is, the theory uses saints, artists, heroes and other similar figures — people who have strong ego identities that others can strive to emulate — as aspirational examples.
What is the difference between the id and the superego?
The unconscious mind (the id and the superego) are in constant conflict with the conscious mind (the ego), and this creates anxiety and causes an individual to adopt defense mechanisms to better deal with the stress of inner conflict.
What is Erikson's theory of self?
According to Erikson’s theory, individuals’ sense of self grows and evolves as they come into contact with a number of social crises throughout their life, each of which forces the individual to react and adapt. These social crises include trust versus mistrust, which occurs in infancy and informs how an individual trusts; industry versus inferiority, which informs qualities like work ethic, competency and self-worth; and intimacy versus isolation, which provides the basis for love.
What are some examples of behaviors that are rewarded by society?
For example, a young boy observing behaviors in his father that are rewarded by society — earning a living, displaying little emotion, fixing things with his hands — is likely to emulate those behaviors. If those behaviors are then rewarded, they become reinforced and the individual is more likely to repeat them.
What is system theory?
Systems Theory. Systems theory states that behavior is influenced by a variety of factors that work together as a system. A person’s parents, friends, school, economic class, home environment and other factors all influence how a person thinks and acts.
What is attachment model?
The attachment provides a model for understanding how past experiences of care influence the child’s strategies for gaining protection and comfort.
Why do we need theories of social work?
The theories of social work motivate us as social workers to keep researching to understand human behaviour.
What is conflict theory?
The conflict theory helps in explaining how the power structures and the power disparities impact the lives of people.
What is systems theory?
Systems theory refers to an interdisciplinary study of systems, explaining how the systems relate to one another within a larger and complex system.
What is the most common type of social work practice?
Ideally, the micro-level of social work practice is the most common type of social work practice.
What is the social exchange theory?
Defined by George Homans, an American Sociologist, the social exchange theory is a concept based on the notion that a relationship between two people is created through a process of cost-benefit analysis.
How do social workers understand the ecosystem they work in?
For social workers to understand the ecosystem they work in, they need to relate to situations they handle every day to the various social work theories.
What is the theory of personality?
Psychodynamic theory was developed by Freud, and it explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces. This social work theory describes the personality as consisting of the id (responsible for following basic instincts), the superego (attempts to follow rules and behave morally), and the ego (mediates between the id and the ego).
What is the psychosocial development theory?
Psychosocial development theory is an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial development articulated by Erik Erikson. Erikson believed everyone must pass through eight stages of development over the life cycle: hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom. Each stage is divided into age ranges from infancy to older adults.
What is problem solving in social work?
Problem solving assists people with the problem solving process. Rather than tell clients what to do, social workers teach clients how to apply a problem solving method so they can develop their own solutions.
What is transpersonal theory?
Transpersonal theory proposes additional stages beyond the adult ego. In healthy individuals, these stages contribute to creativity, wisdom, and altruism. In people lacking healthy ego development, experiences can lead to psychosis.
What is the theory that new behavior will continue if reinforced?
According to this theory, rather than simply hearing a new concept and applying it, the learning process is made more efficient if the new behavior is modeled as well. Psychosocial development theory.
How does narrative therapy work?
Narrative therapy externalizes a person’s problem by examining the story of the person’s life. In the story, the client is not defined by the problem, and the problem exists as a separate entity. Instead of focusing on a client’s depression, in this social work practice model, a client would be encouraged to fight against the depression by looking at the skills and abilities that may have previously been taken for granted.
What is the theory of social learning?
It is premised on the idea that an effective system is based on individual needs, rewards, expectations, and attributes of the people living in the system. According to this theory, families, couples, and organization members are directly involved in resolving a problem even if it is an individual issue. Social learning theory.
Why Is Theory Important in Social Work?
Social work theories help social workers analyze cases, understand clients, create interventions, predict intervention results and evaluate outcomes. While the theories are constantly evolving as new evidence is produced, referencing social work theories that have been used over time enables social workers to explore causes of behavior. They can then help their clients find the best solutions.
What is psychosocial development theory?
In psychosocial development theory, humans are believed to go through these stages as they age. Psychosocial development theory can influence social workers, who can look at what stage of development their clients are going through and use the theory to better understand the challenges their clients are experiencing during certain stages of psychosocial development .
How does narrative therapy help?
Using narrative therapy, a social worker would help an individual to create a new narrative with different positive actions. The social worker helps an individual understand how the broader context is contributing to their narrative, so they can be aware of things to avoid and ways to tackle their problems.
What is ecological systems theory?
In ecological systems theory, individuals are observed in multiple environments so that behavior is fully understood. Family systems theory examines the family as a social system influencing behavior and thoughts.
Why do social workers use theories?
Social work theory helps social workers ensure competence when creating interventions for clients. An understanding of the most prominent social work theories gives social workers the tools they need to provide evidence-based treatment and help their clients overcome their problems. As social work theories continue to evolve and emerge, social workers can apply their multifaceted knowledge to unique situations and clients.
How does social learning occur?
In order for social learning to occur, a person must want to emulate the person they’re watching. The individual pays close attention to the action and retains the action in memory. Then, the individual must experience a situation where the behavior can be repeated and must be motivated to repeat the behavior.
What is the theory of systems?
Systems theory. Systems theory proposes that people are products of complex systems, rather than individuals who act in isolation. In this theory, behavior is influenced by a variety of factors that work together as a system.
What is the mesosystem?
The mesosystem consists of interactions between the different parts of a person’s microsystem. For instance, between a child’s parent and teacher. A social worker using this theory in everyday practice might ask themselves: “Are the different parts of my client’s microsystem working together towards a positive impact or working against each other?”
What is the role of family in social work?
The family, he suggested, is an emotional unit and can therefore play a formative role in development. Within social work, professionals may enable families to try out different ways of doing things, such as teaching a parent on how to maintain appropriate boundaries with their child.
What is systems theory in social work?
Inspired by major advancements in the fields of psychology, communication, and psychiatry, systems theory is based on the belief that individuals don’t operate in isolation.
What was the new social work development in the 1950s?
Systems Theory. The 1950s were a decade of global innovation. From barcodes to credit cards, commercial computers to video cassette records, cutting-edge inventions were taking the stage. Around the same time, a new social work development was making its debut: systems theory .
How many stages are there in crisis intervention?
Crisis intervention includes seven stages: assess safety and lethality, rapport building, problem identification, address feelings, generate alternatives, develop a plan of action, and follow up. This social work practice model is used when someone is experiencing an acute crisis — and is commonly used with clients who are expressing suicidal intent.
What is social work theory?
Inspired by the scientific method, social work theories uncover the why of human behavior, while social work practice models reveal how you can effect change for individuals, couples, families, and communities at large.
How does narrative therapy help in social work?
By examining a person’s life story, this social work practice model externalizes struggles, allowing individuals to adopt a new perspective and see the bigger picture. From a distance, they may be able to reframe their situation—recognizing that their self-worth and purpose are separate from their problems. When told from a third-person perspective, a story of hardship may transform into a story of resilience.
Conflict Theory
- Conflict theory uses balances of power and resources to explain human behavior. This theory maintains that individuals and groups of people will always compete for resources and opportunities—those who have power and resources will try to keep them, according to this theory, and those who do not will try to attain them. Related: FAQ: What Is Confli...
Contingency Theory
- Contingency theory is a subcategory of systems theory, which holds that individuals function as operators in complex systems of other people, families, communities and groups. Contingency theory uses the specific systems that affect an individual to explain their behavior and outcomes. This theory maintains that individual outcomes are therefore contingent on relevant systems an…
Developmental Theory
- Developmental theory explains social advancement as a collection of movements toward positive change. Factors usually considered in development theory include the economy, modernization, structuralism and economic dependency theory. Related: Understanding Economics: Definition and Application
Ecological Systems Theory
- Ecological systems theory is another subcategory of systems theory. This theory maintains that it's important to watch people in the context of different systems to understand their choices and behaviors. Those who use ecological systems theory often like to observe individuals in groups such as their family, colleagues, organizations and belief systems, and watch how those system…
Family Life Cycle Theory
- Family life cycle theory examines the changes a family unit may experience and how those changes intersect with the group and individual outcomes. These changes might include living independently, partnerships, parenting children, helping adult children attain independence and experiencing senior years. Family life cycle theory also often involves events such as the marria…
Family Systems Theory
- Family systems theory is another subset of systems theory. This framework holds that individual outcomes such as personality and behavior in adulthood stem from prior family experiences. Family systems theory therefore centralizes the family unit in its study of child development.
Grounded Theory
- Grounded theory maintains that any model of human and social behavior is only reliable when it's based on reliable data. Analyzing this data, according to grounded theory, can help professionals observe and understand the connections between individuals, systems and communities using the scientific method.
Humanistic Theory
- Humanistic theory describes the human condition as one of constant growth and development. This theory emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and mindfulness of one's individual strengths in striving for self-actualization, or becoming the best you can be.
Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychodynamic theory uses a person's conscious and unconscious forces to describe and explain their personality. Rooted in the history of psychoanalysis, this theory connects many adult behaviors to childhood experiences.
Psychosocial Development Theory
- Psychosocial development theory identifies eight distinct stages of development that every human must experience in their lifetime, according to this framework. These stages are hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care and wisdom, and this theory corresponds these stages with infancy, toddlerhood, middle childhood, late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middl…
Psychosocial Theory
Psychodynamic Theory
- Started by Freud and continued in the work of Erikson and others, psychodynamic theoryseeks to understand the reasons why people behave the way they behave. Unlike behavioral psychology, which uses scientific methods to determine causal relationships between people’s behavior and their environment, psychodynamic theory focuses on the individual’s inner world, which is divide…
Transpersonal Theory
- Although it’s not fully recognized as a scientific field of study, transpersonal theoryand its emphasis on healing and aspiration can make it useful in a social worker’s toolkit. Pioneered by Carl Jung, transpersonal theory “uses positive influences, rather than the diseased human psyche and our defenses, as a model for the realization of human pot...
Social Learning Theory
- In social learning theory, Albert Bandura builds upon B.F. Skinner’s behavioral theories. Behavioral psychology focuses on the effect of the environment and reinforcement on behavior, but Bandura adds two important distinctions: that mediating processes happen between stimulus and response, and that individuals can learn behavior through observation. Social learning theory put…
Systems Theory
- Systems theorystates that behavior is influenced by a variety of factors that work together as a system. A person’s parents, friends, school, economic class, home environment and other factors all influence how a person thinks and acts. Seeking to help correct missing or ineffective parts of that system can have a positive impact on behavior. The reverse, of course, is also true. In one c…