Reference no: EM133332829
Human services is not a simple, monolithic enterprise. It is practiced in various ways according to the setting, the organizational context, the national policy context, the client group, the style and approach of the individual practitioner and, of course the case circumstances. However, underpinning this diversity is a set of theoretical understandings and a set of "practice modalities" commonly referred to as "methods."
Traditionally social work/human service education and professional training have been premised on the idea of "applying theory to practice," an idea uncritically accepted for decades. However, your readings of the Social Work Theory and Methods: The Essentials, presents a challenge to that notion, with its assumption that we should begin with theory and then seek to relate it to practice. In its place, it offers the proposal that human service professionals should begin with the specifics of practice and then draw on the relevant aspects of the theory base to make sense of it as we engage with the challenges of that situation. This is what is known as "theorizing practice." What appears initially to be a simple change of terminology makes a huge difference to how we conceptualize the relationship between theory and practice and the role of social work methods. (Thompson and Stepney, 2018)
1. Taking into consideration the introduction of the various social work and human service delivery theoretical frameworks and models that were introduced in this unit, consider Thompson's approach to challenging the traditional way of "applying theory to practice" that you may have learned about in previous courses at Purdue University Global.
2. As a future human service professional, what benefits do you find in Thompson's approach to begin with the specifics of practice and then drawing on the relevant aspects of the theory base to make sense of it as you engage with the challenges of that situation?
3. How do you think this strategic approach will impact human service delivery and your engagement with your future clients?