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Social Constructivist Approach In Social Work

895 Words4 Pages

Greene and Lee (2002) states that when considering the social constructivist approach an understanding of the way individuals function within society is important to appreciate the meaning they ascribe to their experiences of society and culture. Dean (1993 suggests that knowledge and meaning are created and influenced by institutions within the environment. From this individual suffering from mental illness will create their reality and will then view future experiences through this (Dewees, 1999) As previously explored dominate members of society determine values, beliefs and norms that is supported and maintained by that society. Kondrat and Teater (2009) suggest that if individuals do not ascribe to these they are considered ‘abnormal’ …show more content…

Marx highlighted the struggle between the powerless and powerful which resulted in different societal classes (Fook, 2002). Thompson (2006) states that society is made up of diverse people who make up societal structures and these structures determine and control the destitution of power and opportunities which results in layers of inequality and oppression to people who are marginalised. Radical social work is interested in the examining structures of personal problems, focusing on oppressive practice and self-emancipation and social change (Adams et al, 2005). For this to be achieved professionals need to recognise that individual knowledge might display reality but could also be constructed by society through language, values and beliefs. In order to identify this it is vital for social workers to be able to self-reflect (Adams et al, 2009). Critical thinking allows social workers to recognize oppression beyond ideologies taking on a political practice and assessing how limited resources are and where the power comes from to make decisions about how those resources are allocated (Adams et al, …show more content…

This is difficult process and should be coupled with use of theoretical approaches. Adams et al (2008) advocates that social workers need to use an eclectic approach to their practice by selecting different elements from theories in order to produce one approach appropriate for the individual’s needs. Epstein (1992) suggests that to overcome the limitations of theories continuous reflection and debate is vital to incorporate complex

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