Handbook of Human Behavior and the Social Environment

A Practice-Based Approach

Roberta R. Greene, Joe Schriver

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351516365
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Handbook of Human Behaviour and the Social Environment is a compendium of new theories for all aspects of social work practice. It pulls together major theories and concepts used in the field. By synthesizing this wide knowledge base via practical points of view and tracing the socio-historical evolution of its content and the role of the social worker, this handbook will assist social workers in achieving their primary goals: fostering human well-being and competent social functioning.The authors describe the current social work curriculum developed by the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, demonstrating how client and constituency engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation are guided by knowledge of human behaviour and the social environment (HBSE) theory. The Handbook applies HBSE theories differently depending on client system size, context, and needs. Major concepts include power, oppression, and identity formation.This essential, up-to-date volume formulates strategies to eliminate personal bias and to promote human rights. In addition, it integrates ethics, research, policy content, diversity, human rights, and social, economic, and environmental justice issues. It will serve as an insightful and influential guide to students, professors, and social workers.

1
Introduction: Theory-Informed Social Work Practice

• This chapter introduces the HBSE Handbook, a state-of-the-art compendium of key theories applied in the social work profession.
• The chapter also describes the current social work curriculum officially developed by the Council on Social Work Education Commission on Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards.
• In addition, it discusses the CSWE 2015 mandate that human behavior and the social environment be used to inform and guide the processes of client engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

This handbook is a compendium of human behavior and the social environment (HBSE) theories that fall under the rubric of person and environment. The theories chosen illustrate the current use and application of prevalent conceptual frameworks, reflecting the state of the profession's widespread HBSE knowledge base.

Selected theories illustrate the historical changes in HBSE content that have evolved over time depending on the social work profession's practice needs and values and the scientific advances of the day. In addition, the theories emphasized demonstrate how changes in HBSE resulted in modifications in the social worker's role as practitioners applied HBSE theory under various practice and sociohistorical conditions.

Social Work Practice Competency

The intent of the Handbook is to promote social workers' practice competency by proposing theory-informed strategies that address the processes of client engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities as reflected in the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) curriculum standards (CSWE 2015a). Because the CSWE curriculum rationalizes the social work practice process, an overview of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) can help you step back and prepare to interact with your clients and constituencies.

Upon graduation, you will be expected to have demonstrated the mastery of nine interrelated competencies outlined in Table 1.1. You will be required to "demonstrate the level of competence necessary to enter professional practice" and exercise judgment in regard to unique practice situations (CSWE 2015a, 3).

Table 1.1
2015 Educational policy and accreditation standards competencies and practice behaviors

Note. Council on Social work Education (2015).

Enhancing Our Professional Purpose and Weil-Being

The overarching professional role of social work can be understood by examining the statements of its professional purpose: to promote human and community well-being. Both major social work organizations, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and CSWE, have a similar definition of the purpose of social work. NASW has espoused a historical interest in individual and community well-being and the empowerment of vulnerable, poor, and oppressed populations, whereas CSWE has had a similar focus on human and societal well-being.

• Social work's mission is to enhance human well-being and help meet the basic human needs of all people, with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. A historic and defining feature of social work is the profession's focus on individual well-being in a social context and the well-being of society. Fundamental to social work is attention to the environmental forces that create, contribute to, and address problems in living. (NASW 2008,1)
• The purpose of the social work profession is to promote human and community well-being.... [Moreover], social work's purpose is actualized through its quest for social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons. (CSWE 2015a, 1)

Improving Human and Community Well-Being

It is not surprising that the purpose of social work corresponds with social workers' primary practice goals: That is, the social work helping process usually begins when factors in the client (system) interfere with health and well-being, necessitating professional help. This suggests that one of the social worker's first considerations is learning what can be done to enhance client and constituency functioning. What are the client's psychosocial needs? Does the client require basic life necessities (Sheafor and Horejsi 2012)?

Improving Societal Conditions

Achieving the professional purpose of improving societal conditions requires that the social worker take action to guarantee that people have "human rights such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care, and education" (CSWE 2015a, 5). Social workers are also expected to attend to social, economic, and environmental justice issues—that is, circumstances that limit human rights, contribute to poverty, or diminish people's quality of life. Principles of fairness and equity oblige social workers to try and bring about a society in which each individual has equal access to resources and opportunities.

Ways in which the social worker can carry out these ideal purposes—for both individuals and society—are embedded in theories and concepts throughout the Handbook.

Applying Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Another way of thinking about improving well-being is through Abraham Maslow's (1970) hierarchy of needs. A humanist who was interested in people reaching their full potential, Maslow proposed a priority of human needs: (a) physical and life-sustaining needs, such as the need for food, water, and shelter; (b) physical safety, including the need for protection from physical attack, bodily harm, and disease; (c) love, involving the need to be cherished and supported; (d) self-esteem, including the need for family members to have a sense of personal worth; and (e) self-actualization, or the need to be creative and productive (Figure 1.1). His humanistic philosophy and values are infused into most social work practice approaches.

Figure 1.1
Maslow's hierarchy of needs. (From Huitt 2007).

Applying a strengths and resiliency perspective. In the following chapters, you will see that theories differ in their perspective on what constitutes and how to achieve well-being. However, generally speaking, social workers "recognize, support, and build on the strengths and resiliency of all human beings" (CSWE 2015a, 10). According to Saleebey (1993), the strengths-based approach is not a model, paradigm, or theory. Rather, it is a set of principles, ideas, and techniques that represents a shift in the professional social work role that emphasizes the resourcefulness of clients. Building on client attributes enhances social functioning, calling the social worker's attention to personal and community resilience (Table 1.2; see also Chapter 10 for a discussion of resilience).

Theory-Informed Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Communities, Organizations, and Societies

Chapters throughout the Handbook present multitheoretical content to guide engagement, assessment, and intervention with individuals and systems of all sizes—families, groups, communities, organizations, and societies. Some of the practice questions that may be answered in the Handbook include the following:

• My client is hoping to be understood. What are the right questions to ask?
• What will happen in the first meeting?
• What ideas does the client have about what would make things better?

Table 1.2
To what extent do I assess client strengths?

Note. Adapted from Cowger (1994).

• Will I, as a social worker, be a good listener?
• Will I know in what ways I can be helpful?
• Will I have the ability to help the client—individual, family, organization, or community—clarify and assess the issues at hand?
• What will be the area of our mutually defined work and strategies for intervention?
• Will I be able to effectively advocate for and against policies affecting my clients and constituencies?
• Will I be able to practice in culturally sensitive ways at all system levels?
• Will I be able to understand and respond, in partnership with the client system, to contextual issues of social and economic justice, discrimination, and oppression that have a negative impact on achieving our mutually agreed upon outcomes?

Interviews: Clients

The makeup of the interview varies depending on the HBSE theory or paradigm chosen by the social worker. When you read practice textbooks that describe techniques for working with clients and constituencies, you will see that many traditional methods were originally derived from HBSE theory (Hepworth et al. 2010). For example, Carl Rogers (1957) suggested a classical approach to an effective interview in which the social worker affirms the client's worth and dignity and fosters client self-determination. In contrast, postmodern theorists such as White and Epston (1990) or Dean and Fenby (1989) have suggested that helping professionals and clients coauthor the meaning of life events (see Chapter 5).

Furthermore, Freudian or psychoanalytically based interview principles suggest that the social worker listen to client feelings, interpret hidden meanings, develop client insight, assess client behaviors and motivation, and maintain professional authority and control in the interview (Freud 1956; see Chapter 4). In each instance, the nature of the interview and of the questions the social worker asks will be different (Tomm 1994).

Interviews: Constituencies

Interviews at the group, organizational, and community level take still other forms (see Chapters 6 to 8). Attention is given to systemic needs and resources. Participation by various stakeholders is needed, as are methods of collecting information, such as focus groups, forums, or surveys.

Engagement with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

As a social worker, you can prepare to engage clients and constituencies before you even meet them. Agencies and various practice settings, including schools, hospitals, and courts, have a professional culture and tend to serve a particular population or populations. The social worker must differentiate these factors to gain self-awareness.

In addition, the competencies and practice behaviors in Table 1.1 reveal several areas related to engagement that you should be ready to infuse into practice, including the following:

• What personal and societal factors may negatively impact client and constituency social functioning and quality of life...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title
• Title
• copyright
• Contents
• Tables and Figures
• Preface
• 1 Introduction: Theory-Informed Social Work Practice
• 2 Human Behavior and the Social Environment: An Ecological Base
• 3 Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Engaging Diversity and Difference in Practice
• 4 Developmental Theories
• 5 Human Behavior and the Social Environment Theory: Social Work Practice with Individuals
• 6 Human Behavior and the Social Environment Theory: Social Work Practice with Families
• 7 Human Behavior and the Social Environment Theory: Social Work Practice with Groups
• 8 Human Behavior and the Social Environment Theory: Social Work Practice with Organizations
• 9 Human Behavior and the Social Environment Theory: Social Work Practice with Communities
• 10 Risk and Resilience Theory: A Bridge from Neuroscience to the Global Ecology