Strength-

based
Approach
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 the strengths perspective is a way of working with clients that
shifts social won way from a focus on clients problems, deficits
and labels towards interactions interventions that focus on
clients strengths, abilities, resources and accomplishments.
The strength perspective is based on the fundamental belief
that focusing on individual strengths, versus deficits or
limitations, is the true avenue for therapeutic progress (welck
et al. 1989)

Strengths-based practice can be defined as:

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 A way of viewing the positive behaviours
of all clients by helping them that problem
areas are secondary to areas of strengths
and that out of what they do well can
come helping solutions based upon the
successful strategies they use daily in their
lives to cope with a variety of important
life issues problems, and concerns.
(Glicken, 2004, p.3)

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 the strength-based approach seeks to
view the individual holistically and
explore his abilities and
circumstances, rather than focusing
on his weaknesses and deficits.

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 The origins of the strengths
perspective

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 The strengths perspective was developed by social work
academics, such as Dennis Saleebey, Charles Rapp and
Ann Weick, as a counter movement to the problem-
focused approach to social work practice. The movement
towards a strengths-based practice came from two fronts
(Weick et al., 1989): (1) the value base of the profession of
social work as geared towards respecting the dignity and
worth of every human being, regard less of their current
situation-focusing on problems, limitations or diagnoses
dimin ishes a person to a problem-saturated label, which
is antithetical to the values of social work; and (2)

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 the diagnostically driven system which places the social worker in a
position of power over the client Social workers determine what is
wrong with the client and then determine how best to fix the client's
problems Strengths-based practice was developed to bring the practice
of social work back to its foundation of valuing and collaborating with
the client. It moved the profession from focusing on the problems and
deficits as defined by the social worker or other helping professional,
to identifying and focusing on the strengths, abilities and possibilities
of clients through an egalitarian, collaborative relationship (Blundo,
2001). The strengths perspective continues to be explored and
researched specifically through the work of the Strengths Institute at
the University of Kansas under the direction of Dennis Saleebey and
Alice Lieberman.

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 According to Saleebey (2009), strengths can be framed
within a three points CP and R. This triangle is referred to
as the CPR of strengths and a social workers Mentally
clients strengths under each of these three headings. C
stan fer competence, capacities and courage: P
symbolizes promise, possibility, posit Expectations and
potential and R signifies resilience, reserves, resources
and resourcefulness. Therefore, when identifying clients'
strengths, social workers must look beyond the obvious
personal strengths and delve into clients' possibilities,
competencies and resiliencies
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 The assumptions and principles of
the strengths perspective

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 01 02 03
Assume that you do not
Every individual, Trauma, abuse, illness know the upper limits of
group, family and and struggle may be the capacity to grow
community has injurious, but they
and take individual,
strengths. may also be sources
group, and community
of challenge and
aspirations seriously.
opportunity.

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 04 05
Caring, caretaking,
Every and context-care is
environment is essential to human
full of resources. well-being.

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 Principles of the
strengths
perspective
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 (Kisthardt, 2009, p. 51). Clients are often
1.The initial focus
aware of the problems they are facing of the helping
when they begin to work with a social process in on the
strength, interests,
worker, but they are often not aware of abilities,
knowledge and
the positive attributes they possess and capabilities of
hring to the relationship (Walter and each person not
on their
Peller, 1992, Dejong and Berg, 2006). diagnosnis,
deficits, symptoms
Focusing on problems and, particularly, and weaknesses as
defined by another
diagnostic labels can have a tremendously
negative effect on clients.

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 The strengths perspective holds that social workers
operating as experts are not fully exploring clients'
2. The helping
strengths, resources and assets as the social worker is
relationship
operating from a pre-defined frame of reference and/or becomes one of
assumptions that do not consider the clients as experts collaboration,
of their own experiences and perceptions or as capable mutuality and
of solving their own problems (Salechey, 2009) partnership
By working collaboratively and creating a partnership, Power with
another, not
social workers and clients are acknowledging that clients
power over
have power and are capable of positively impacting another
their own lives versus having experts solve their (Kisthardt, 2009,
problems. Further, developing a mutually collaborative p. 52).
relationship provides clients with a sense of hope that
they can overcome life's problems (Rapp et al., 2005).
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 Mirroring the previous principle, clients, when
placed on equal footing with social workers, Each person is
become responsible for changing their own lives. responsible for
While the social workers job is to help clients his or her own
generate potential solutions clients are the ones recovery. The
who choose to carry out these intervention plans participant is the
director of the
(lappetal, 2005). Clients are unlikely make life helping efforts,
changs if they do not feel that the changes are We serve as
important despite the social worker believing the caring community
change to be necessary. When clients take living consultants.
responsibility for their lives they become more
engaged in treatment, ands likelihood of success
increases

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 Clients are limited by labels, which can stem
from the effects of poverty, physical or
neurological disability, structural oppression, 4 All human
stigma, crimination and/or racism (Kisthardt, beings have
2009). Such labels can limit sorcery belief in the the inherent
ability of clients to grow and develop and can
equally limit c belief in themselves. In
capacity to
describing her experience of having a mental learn, grow,
Gallo (1994, p. 408 writes, I perceived myself, and change
quite accurately, as having a serious mental and
therefore as having been relegated what I called
the social garbage heap.

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 providing services in the community
leads to greater treatment retention 5. Helping
and allows the social worker to make a activities in
mon accurate assessment of client and naturally
community strengths and resources occurring
app and Goscha, 2004). Providing settings in the
services in the community further de- community are
stigmatize clients by recognizing that encourage
they have a right to exist in the
community.

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 Naturally occurring resources are considered as a
possibility first, before segregated or formally
constituted mental health' or 'social services (Kisthardt, 6. The entire
2009, p. 57), In a problem-based model, services
community is
typically occur in formal social service agencies with the
'technology to treat the maladies of clients. Further, viewed as an
social workers have often viewed the environment as a oasis of
harsh contributor to client problems. Saleebey (1996, p. potential
19) argues that all enviro ments, even those that may
resources to
appear to be poisonous, are filled with resources he
states, 'No matter how harsh an environment, how it enlist on behalf
may test the mettle of its inhabitants, it can also be of service
understood as a potentially lush topography of participants.
resources and possibilities [...] there are individuals,
associations, groups.
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 ● 1. In the struggle-.

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 Clients come to see a social worker because of problems,
difficulties or stressors they have in their lives, whether
defined as a problem by the client or from an external
source (that is, courts, child welfares In such situations,
dients are often focused on the problem or stressor and
do not recognize that they have strengths. In telling their
painful stories, clients often drop hints of past successes,
coping skills, hopes and aspirations. While listening to
the clients' story of their problems, social workers
should always be on the lookout for strengths and when
appropriate, reflect these strengths back to the client.

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 ● 2. Stimulate the
discourse and
narratives of resilience
and strengths

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 ● The social worker should model this behaviour of
identifying strengths and resources with clients and affirm
the clients' own recognition of their strengths and
capacities. The process involves the social worker and
identifying strengths, providing statements to clients that
reflect their strengths and discussing possibilities with
clients that fit their daily lives.

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 3.Acting in context: the
project

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● Client should identify their hopes and goals and
capitalize on their strengths external resources in
moving themselves towards their goals. As this
project to be collaborative, social workers will
assume a brokerage or advocacy role where they
link the clients to external resources or work with
clients to oppose barriers that will move the clients
towards their goals.
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 4. Move toward
normalizing and
capitalizing on one's
strengths

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 ● As clients move through treatment, their abilities to
recognize their own strengths and the strengths in their
community, as well as their ability use these strengths
need to be reinforced and normalized. Clients need to be
able to take what they have learned in the work with the
social worker and apply it to the rest of their lives.

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 Twelve guidelines for a strength
assessment
1.Give pre-eminence to the client's understanding
of the factshis experiences
2. Believe the client as clients are ultimately
trashworthy
3. Discover what the client wants from The work
together
4. Move the assessment toward personal and
elemental strengths and way um problem and
obstacles.
5. Make assessment of strengths multidimensional
assessing on the personal, interpersonal and
socio-political levels.
6. The assessment to discover the uniqueness of
each client
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7. Use the client's words when
writing an assessment and
defining strengths.
8. Make assessment a joint
activity between worker and
client.
9. Reach a munaal agreement
on the assessment, which is to
be opened and shared
10. Avoid blame and blaming as
this focuses on probe and not
strangime and state the
procesfrom moving forward.
11. Avoid cause-and-effect
thinking as this leads to blaming
12. Assess, do not diagnose
 Thank
you!
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