A critical component of social work theory is the strengths-based perspective. Identifying client strengths and communicating those strengths to clients can be helpful. First of all, some clients come into therapy or group settings with cognitive distortions like “I’m a failure” and those thoughts can weigh them down. Second, sometimes clients can’t even see their good qualities.
Knowing your own strengths can be a source of hope. Maybe if you can do one thing right, you can do others. This line of thinking can help upend feelings of inadequacy. Social work theory approaches cases with this in mind. Identifying your strengths is a step towards achieving goals or healing. This is why even in my own therapy, I have appreciated having social workers as my therapists.
Back when I was living in Kissimmee, Florida, I found a psychologist with a PhD to give me therapy. She specialized in criminal psychology and worked with the local court as an expert. I only saw her for one visit. The reason why was when I told her I was a survivor of sexual abuse, she proceeded to explain that it was the victim’s fault. She said victims tend to walk and carry themselves in a way that suggests their vulnerability. She said criminals pick up those signs and go after them. Victim blaming from the therapy couch was a stance I never thought I would encounter from a secular psychologist, though being victim-blamed had happened to me before.
The psychologist used behavior to explain the victim-perpetrator relationship. The thing is, behavior is only one piece of this complex relationship. The person-in-environment perspective that social work takes would posit that patriarchal society trains us to see women and other vulnerable populations as victims. The script tells us what to look for, even if that is not the case. For example, the psychologist claimed she was a strong woman who was never victimized because of her demeanor. However, there are stories of confident women who have been victimized. Women who dress conservatively or in an “unattractive” manner have been victimized. This particular psychologist didn’t look at the big picture – social structures, systems, and groups that oppress our clients.
I’m not claiming that all psychologists would victim-blame – there’s probably a social worker somewhere who has done the same – after all, humans are flawed. However, what I am saying is that this woman looked at behavior and the mind, whereas social workers are trained to look at that, but also look at the systems that interact with the client. Social work looks at the problem and at the strengths of a client.
That way, when you come in for therapy, you’re not just being torn down or stressed out by all the fixing you have to do to get over your problems or phobias. The social worker tells you where you are doing well, what you bring to the table, and that’s the position I want to work from. Sure, we have our role to play in our problems, but there is more to us than our vulnerability and failure.