Theories In Social Work

Social work is a field that comes from that of the other social sciences. We are very similar to sociology, psychology, biology, and philosophy. Although we are very similar we focus on different aspects and ways to preserve the human life.(Johnson, 2014, pp. 12-13). There is no actual theory that social work stems from because it is taken from many different fields to form different perspectives that are used in practice. Perspectives such as the ecosystems perspective, functionalist perspective, rational/social exchange perspective, the social constructionist perspective, the diversity perspective, and the strengths perspective. Although all these perspective tie each other together they all focus on different things when dealing with clients.

This is something that is very interesting because as an intern at Summit County Children Services, most of the families that I encounter are of the lower class. Families that lack support, resources, money, and education usually find themselves trying to survive and have individuals who are professionals trying to intervene (Cingolani, 1984). You don’t want the people you are working with/for to feel like you are solely just an enforcer. You want them to feel as if you are there because you want to be there and not because they were mandated to speak with you. The article talks more about the types of relationships that you can have with a client and the way their class affects the way they are treated during their time with the professional they are speaking

I say this because you have clients that will not be of a high statues and you have to remember to treat them fairly. There are times that you will put everyone. Although the conflict perspective is not supported by social work in many ways and can be seen as a negative and or positive thing, it is still important for a generalist social worker. This is something that I would want a worker to know when they are dealing with clients from different walks of life. This perspective is not my favorite because I believe that it at times worker against me, however, it is very important in the fields of the social