The Client-Centered Integrative Strengths-Based Approach: Ending Longstanding Conflict between Social Work Values and Practice L'APPROCHE BASÉE SUR LES FORCES INTÉGRATIVE CLIENT-CENTRÉE: TERMINAISON DU CONFLIT DE LONGUE DATE ENTRE LES VALEURS DE TRAVAIL SOCIAL ET LA PRATIQUE

Abstract: The 1980s saw the rising of strengths-based approach, which is now coming to be one of the most influential perspectives in the field of both social work theories and practice. It is an attempt in response to the demand for ending the longstanding conflict between social work values and practice caused by the traditional deficit-focused approach, and also for the search for the essence of social work. As the concept of strength is technically vague and contradictory, it makes the current strengths-based perspective impossible to address simultaneously humanity caring and service efficacy as the two fundamental demands of social work practice. Therefore, grounded on literature review of the strengths perspective and reflecting of our social work practice, a new strengths-based approach, the client-centered integrative strengths-based approach, is proposed to fulfill the two fundamental demands of social work, which is to assist clients to make full use of their strengths and resources, and to cope better with and exceed the problems, and to enrich their life through the process of transition and reduction of with the help of social workers. Key words: Strengths-based Approach; Strength; Problem; Nature of Social Work Resume: Les armees 1980 ont vu la montee de l'approche basee sur forces, qui vient maintenant pour etre l'une des perspectives les plus influentes dans le domaine des deux theories et pratique en matiere de travail social. C'est une tentative en reponse a la demande en finir le conflit de longue date entre les valeurs de travail social et la pratique provoquees par l'approche deficit-focalisee traditionnelle, et egalement de la recherche de l'essence du travail social. Car le concept de la force est techniquement vague et contradictoire, il rend la perspective basee sur les forces actuelle impossible d'adresser simultanement l'humanite s'inquietant et d'entretenir l'efficacite comme deux exigences fondamentales de pratique en matiere de travail social. Par consequent, fonde sur l'examen de litterature de la perspective de forces et de se refleter de notre pratique en matiere de travail social, on propose une nouvelle approche basee sur forces, l'approche basee sur forces integrative client-centree, pour accomplir les deux exigences fondamentales du travail social, qui est d'aider des clients pour utiliser pleinement leurs forces et ressources, et pour faire face mieux a et pour depasser les «problemes», et pour enrichir leur vie par le processus de la transition et la reduction de «problemes» avec l'aide des assistants sociaux. Mots cles: Approche basee sur forces; Force; Probleme; Nature de travail social Unsatisfied with the traditional deficit-focused perspective in mental health services, a group of scholars at Welfare College of Kansas University in the United States, began to make the earliest exploration to reform social work perspectives in 1980s. As a result, they created a new model, the strengths-based case management, to deal with the main problems faced in the social work practice when applying the traditional deficit-focused perspective. The strengths-based approach soon drew great attention and became a significant perspective for social work theories and practice as it was presented publicly in 1980s. Since then, its applied fields extend from the earliest mental health services (Rapp & Chamberlain, 1985) to the elderly services (Lewis, 1996; Perkins & Tice, 1994; 1995; 1999), women services (Thrasher & Mowbray, 1995), teenagers services (Yip, 2003; 2005), family (Bell, 2003; Carter, 1997; Erera & Fredriksen), poverty (Sousa, Ribeiro & Rodrigues, 2006), multi-culture (Chazin, Kaplan & Terio, 2000; Lee, 2003; Voss et al., 1999), the social work education (Cox, 2001), the social policy (Chapin, 1995) and etc. In light of the service methods, the strengths-based approach develops from the first form of case management to a variety of integrated models, such as uncovering survival abilities in sexually abused children with combination of the strengths perspective and resilience (Anderson, 1997), treating juvenile offenders and domestic violence offenders with blending of the strengths perspective and the solution-focused brief therapy (Clark, 1999; Lee, Uken & Sebold, 2004), addressing youth obesity with incorporating the strengths perspective into a biopsychosocial model (Goetz & Caron: 1999), organizing delivery of interventions for rural substance abuse clients with combination of the strengths perspective and behavioral contracting (Clark, Leukefeld & Godlaski, 1999), arresting the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder with integration of strengths perspective and constructive perspective (Norman, 2000), working with battered women with implementing the feminist and strengths perspective (Black, 2003; Mary & Katherine, 1997), counseling with the elderly with consideration of resiliency and spirituality in the strengths perspective (Langer, 2004). …

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