The self-psychology of Heinz Kohut: An existential reading

The origin and technique of Kohut's self-psychology are compared with Freudian and existential thought, and a relationship to existential thinking is observed. This is discussed by Joseph Palombo, a member of Kohut's study group, one who had the opportunity to raise the issue with Kohut.     

Personality theory and clinical social work practice

This paper investigates the relevance of personality theories for clinical social work practice. Writings in comparative personality theory and the epistemology of clinical psychology and social work are sources. Clinical action, the time with a client, and clinical reflection, the thinking about or presenting of the client, are seen as importantly different moments in practice. Clinical action is characterized by humanistic, narrative forms of thought more than scientific, paradigmatic ones. Formal theory informs action indirectly through its shaping of the clinician's philosophy, attention, and priorities. Clinical reflection is shaped more directly by formal theories and benefits from the holding of multiple theories.     

Current social work perspectives on clinical practice

Several forms of progress in the development of clinical practice theory and method are identified. There is a renewed positive valuation of psychodynamic approaches, a general acceptance of a systems framework, and a greater operationalization of procedures. The current controversy between the social work scientists and artists concerning research strategies is discussed. Three promising new perspectives—of morality, spirituality, and hermeneutics-are briefly interpreted.     

Nonverbal communication in clinical social work practice

The value of nonverbal cues in treating clients in reasserted, citing first the need for baseline data as well as an understanding of the context in which behavior occurs. The use of the various sensory channels to observe cues is introduced informally, followed by the three formal approaches to nonverbal data: proxemics, the study of distance and body orientation; kinesics, the study of body motion, posture, ect.; and paralinguistics, the study of the acoustical accompaniment of words. Skill in using nonverbal cues can enhance the therapeutic relationship, e.g., holding can be represented symbolically. A case illustration is presented where crying and weeping are explored in their multiple meanings; a family that used crying as a resistance in the initial stage of treatment was able to continue to cry, but in the service of mourning. It is concluded that the use of nonverbal analysis to break the code of communication with individual clients as well as larger groups is a necessary component of the therapist's approach.     

Theories of narcissism and the practice of clinical social work

This paper presents a synopsis of the current thinking on the metapsychology of narcissism, and narcissistic personality disturbances from a psychoanalytic point of view. This view is contrasted with the traditional concepts from ego psychology. The implications of the newer position for the understanding of psychopathology are discussed and two illustrative vignettes are presented. Applications to the clinical practice of social work are formulated. These applications are quite congenial to techniques used by social workers and help to clarify dynamics not formerly well understood. The new approaches give hope for better results with the wide variety of clients and patients seen in social agencies and clinics.Paper presented to the Illinois Society for Clinical Social Work, February 13, 1975.     

A cognitive-sociobehavioral model of clinical social work practice and evaluation

Clinical Social Work Journal - In this article the author draws from the empirical work done in clinical psychology, counseling, social work, social psychology, and behavior modification to...     

The contribution of social anthropology to social work practice

This article is a brief reply to the article “Charity Begins at Home—Participation and the A.A.P.”, Australian Social Work, Vol. 28, No. 1. That article examined the development of the Australian Assistance Plan in the Blacktown-Penrith areas. Three aspects are investigated in this reply:     

Essay Review: The Legacy of Heinz Kohut: A Twentieth Anniversary Retrospective

HEINZ KOHUT: THE MAKING OF A PSYCHOANALYST. Charles B. Strozier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, 495 pp., $35.00.     

Kairos and practice wisdom in social work practice

Practice wisdom is a form of practical moral reasoning when social workers face the complexity and uncertainty encountered in practice. Following a literature review on practice wisdom in social work, its essential features are discussed, identifying a neglected element in the literature—the element of time. The element of time is found to be implicitly considered in models of social work practice but not in relation to practice wisdom. If the right action has to be taken in the right place, and at the right time, the concept of practice wisdom would be much impoverished if the element of time is not considered in its discussion. Hence, the concepts of kairos—qualitative time, and chronos—quantitative time, are discussed. The relevance and usefulness of kairos in social work practice are pointed out. Social workers need to work with ‘time within time’, be conscious of clients’ sense of time, know what to do as well as what not to do at the appropriate time. Finally, the inextricable link between time and space and the possible emergence of novelty and ingenuity are examined to bring out the creative dimension of practice wisdom.     

The psychological goods on clinical social work: a content analysis of the clinical social work and social justice literature

The purpose of this content analysis was to evaluate the extant literature on clinical social work and social justice. In July 2009, an online search of the university databases EBSCO Host (1988–2009) was conducted to identify articles on clinical social work and social justice. Thirty-six peer reviewed journal articles were identified and extracted. The majority were non-empirical articles (75%) published in the United States (94%) over a 21-year period from 1988 to 2009. Overall, clinical social work practice was described as psychological and/or sociopolitical interventions that had a direct and/or indirect effect on psychological and sociopolitical level social justice outcomes. Theories and practices consistent with social justice were advanced. These findings suggest that clinical social work's promotion of psychological well-being remains an underdeveloped area in the scholarly and research literature. In this era of professional educational reform, additional research and professional training on social justice based clinical social work practice is warranted.     

Deconstruction and clinical social work

Few would dispute the importance of dialogue in clincial social work practice. However, Derridean deconstruction shows how clinical dialogue can superimpose a value hierarchy, negate differences and limit understanding and action.     

Reevaluation of task-centered social work practice

In a brief period of time, the “task-centered” approach to social work practice has become a major treatment modality, offering the clinician a degree of specificity and clarity that is often missing in more traditional practice. This paper reassesses the indications and contraindications for this model, contrasting it with other treatment approaches which also utilize the technical variables of brevity, time limits, and task assignment. The diagnostic criteria for the utilization of this approach are discussed in detail, with special emphasis on its applicability to the severely disturbed client.     

The implications of disability protests for social work practice

This article examines the demands which have been made in the over 800 US protests this author has analyzed. Some demands are cross-disability, meaning they could apply to people with all types of impairments; these include demands for rights and accessibility in all domains. Other demands are disability-specific: they apply to people with specific types of impairments, ranging from mobility impairments to developmental disabilities. Many demands have been related to services, which can be either cross-disability or disability-specific. The paper examines the implications of these demands for social work practice. These include that disability be de-stigmatized by practitioners, that people with disabilities have choices, that they have control over their services, and that all aspects of social work practice be accessible to people with any type of disability.     

The impact of sight loss in social work practice

This article intends to familiarize the social worker with the various definitions of blindness and sight loss, common obstacles faced by persons with sight loss, general therapeutic issues, when and how to use self-disclosure of a disability, and the ways in which the social worker can use his or her disability, specifically sight-loss, as an instrumental therapeutic tool with clients. Case examples will be provided to illustrate effective interventions and the various ways in which a disability may impact a client or clients. In addition, a brief discussion of various theoretical approaches to understanding disabilities is outlined.     

Disability and spirituality in social work practice

In working with social work clients, issues of religion and spirituality are sure to arise. Religious views on disability can have both positive and negative effects on the individual. In our increasingly pluralistic society, these issues must be approached with sensitivity and patience since it is common to work with adherents of minority or nontraditional religious groups or groups whose values conflict with the social work profession. The purpose of this article is to enhance and develop sensitivity to diverse religious views in order to respect the values and life beliefs of the client while enhancing the development of adaptive religious and spiritual views.     

Relationship-based thinking and practice in social work

Abstract

Relationships with the users of social work are increasingly seen in procedural, legal and administrative terms. However, research studies examining both client satisfaction and intervention effectiveness regularly find that the psychosocial qualities of the worker-client relationship are a major component in the success or otherwise of the service offered. The case is made that the psychological selves of both practitioners and users acquire many of their characteristics, including personality, esteem, efficacy and defensive behaviours, within relationships throughout the lifespan. The level of social understanding and social competence that people develop depends on the quality of their relationship history. If poor relationships are where psychosocial competences go awry, then good relationships are where they are likely to recover. This observation has major implications for the quality, character and skill of the relationship experiences offered to clients by social workers     

Feminist and empowerment theory and social work practice

Feminist and empowerment theories are especially important to the understanding of individual and sociopolitical levels of social work assessment and intervention. Incorporating feminist and empowerment approaches in practice will provide social workers with the knowledge, values and skills most likely to promote human rights and social justice. In this paper, we present an overview of both theories and illustrate them with a case example.