SW 422 (theory) - notes PDF

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entire semesters lecture notes; university of kentucky sw 422...

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August 29

Introduction: The Use of Theory in Social Work Practice What is theory? ● Some definitions imply that theory is not based in reality ○ Abstract ideas put together to explain phenomena ○ A map for practice ● In social work: ○ A generalized set of ideas that describes and explains our knowledge of the world around us in an organized way ○ A social work theory helps us to do or understand social work Types of social work theory 1. What social work is 2. How to do social work 3. The client world *all 3 types are made up of both formal and informal theory ● ●

Formal theory: written down and debated among social workers and in academia Informal theory: Societal ideas that social workers develop due to experience

Ideology in theory ● Ideology: ○ A set of ideas that constitute one’s goals, expectations, and actions ○ Often related to political and/or economic concepts ○ A comprehensive vision ○ A way of looking at things ○ A set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of the society (a product of socialization) *Ideologies are systems of abstract-thought that are applied to public matters Two approaches to using theory 1. Selectivity: relying more heavily on one or two theories are based on your area of practice 2. Eclecticism: taking ideas from several theories and combining them to create a style of work that fits your agency and the skills and preferences of the individual practitioner working there *social workers must select theory based on how well it works with particular client populations and presenting problems

How is knowledge generated? 1. Positivism ● Knowledge exists independent of a “knower” ● Knowledge is collected through data 2. Social Constructivism/Interpretivism ● Knowledge is subjective ● Knowledge depends on the meaning assigned to it by the “knower” Evaluation in social work ● Early on, evaluation/research in social work was more positivist in nature ● Researchers discovered the efficacy of more narrative, single-subject design ○ Now, social constructivist/ interpretivist ideas are more widely viewed as useful

Evidence Based Practice (EBP) ● Social workers- and other helping professionals- should base practice (actions) on knowledge that comes from empirical evidence about what is effective ●

Arguments for EBP: ○ Provides for a planned and systematic form of practice ○ Promotes ethical practice ○ Promotes accountability to clients, agencies and more broadly, the mandate of social work

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Arguments against EBP: ○ Paradigmatic ■ Relies too heavily on a positivistic approach ○ Practicality ■ There are too many complexities in social work practice and practitioner personality and skill sets ○ Epistemology and research ■ Gives priority to certain types of knowledge and discounts others ○ Cultural and political ■ Expects practice that encourages behavior change so that people adapt to a society in which there are widespread inequalities and injustices, thus possibly ‘blaming the victim’

September 5

Personal Construct Theory (PCT) “George Kelly has provided a framework by which the therapist can understand more about how experience is structured and how s/he can focus on the client’s experience” (Viney, 1981) George Kelly (1905-1967) ● American psychologist ● Best known for contributions to personal construct theory ● Studied Freud’s work but disliked some of the psychoanalyst’s approach ○ Correct interpretation vs client’s perspective What is Personal Construct Theory? Theory’s application ● Used in broad range of disciplines ● Has begun to articulate with other more recent postmodern traditions of scholarship ○ Constructivist, social constructionist, narrative therapy approaches Considerations ● Can lead to comprehension of apparently unpredictable and mystifying behaviors ● Has potential for mutual exchange of theories ● therapist does not judge and is not responsible for the client’s theories ● does not work with all clients; not everyone wants to be counselled ● If someone reveals their theories/personal constructs, they may not wish to change them ● Attempts to impose alternative construction are likely to be seen as unwelcome, threatening or patronizing ● Client has to be left to construct and elaborate their own theories ● Ultimate choice lies with the individual

September 10

Psychodynamic Theory Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) ● Studied biology and physiology before concentrating on neurology ● Medical doctor ● Set up private practice to treat psychological disorders - 1886 ○ Clinical material from this practice was the basis for his theories and techniques Application to social work practice ● Influenced social work for 50 years ● Embraced in the 1920’s and 1930’s ● Used to validate the field of social work ● 1950’s concepts of ego psychology broadened theoretical basis ● No longer the predominant theory used in practice, but in combination with other theories and by itself has produced enduring models Overview of psychodynamic theory ● Intrapsychic  processes (those processes occurring inside a person’s mind)  are involved in personality development ● Emphasizes the importance of early childhood experiences  in personality development ● Delineates the role of defense mechanisms  in adaptive functioning ● Focuses on either pathological or adaptive functioning ● Assists us in formulating questions used in psychosocial history ● Existence of unconscious and preconscious motivation ● Existence of the ego,  which assists in rational action ● Feeling of ambivalence , ○ Concurrent experiences of opposite emotions like love and hate Conscious, preconscious and unconscious ● Freud first used hypnosis to achieve therapeutic results, but later found that hypnosis was not necessary to achieve therapeutic results ●

Unconscious: the part of the mind that holds ideas, thoughts and memories that we cannot access to bring into our conscious

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Preconscious: holds ideas, thoughts, and memories that we are not currently thinking of, but if we concentrate, we can bring these to our conscious, o  r aware , part of the mind

Id, ego, superego ● Id ○ Present at birth ○ Corresponds to the unconscious ○ Includes basic drives and instinctual energies (Libido = sexual desire) ○ Demands release of sexual impulses and drives ○ Guided by the Pleasure Principle ■ Wants to maximize pleasure and reduce tension without concern for morality or reality ●

Ego ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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Develops out of the id from experiences that help children distinguish “self” from “others” Includes the conscious and preconscious Eventually controls the id’s primitive drives and impulses Disciplined thinking Guided by the Reality Principle which recognizes social demands

Superego ○ Develops from the ego ○ Largely part of the conscious and preconscious; but also part of the unconscious ○ Our ability to tell right from wrong ○ Starts when the child learns the social rules that their parents live by ○ It punishes or rewards with guilt or shame

*The id and the superego are in perpetual conflict and the ego serves as a mediator (referee) between the two

Psychosexual development ● Freud suggested that as people grow and develop, they pass through 5 sequential phases ○ Each stage is dependent on the proper resolution of psychosexual conflicts at the previous stage ● Freud believed that all people are born bisexual ○ He said that infants gain sexual (libidinal) satisfaction in all parts of the body ○ Development of the psyche (personality) depends on the way the child expends libidinal (sexual) energy in the sexually sensitive zones of the body during different phases of development ○ Lasting feelings the child gains about self and others are dependent on resolution of conflict at each stage Stages of psychosexual development 1. Oral stage ● Birth to 18 months ● Infant explores the world through the mouth ● Mouth is the primary source of gratification 2. Anal stage ● Age 2-3 ● Corresponds with toilet training ● Anal retentive personality = withholding ● Anal aggressive personality = freely letting go 3. Phallic stage ● Age 3-6 ● Pleasure comes from the genitals ● Masturbation is used as a self-soothing technique ● Also known as the Oedipal Stage  (after King Oedipus) ● Girls develop penis envy as they begin to feel inferior to boys ● When girls realize their mothers also have no penis, they develop resentment toward her and begin to wish to have their father’s child ● Girls, who do not ever have castration anxiety, never develop a superego and, therefore, remain narcissistic and display inferior character traits 4. Latency stage ● Age 6-12 ● Erotic drives are fully repressed during this time ● Continued identification with the same sex parent ● Parental values continue to be incorporated 5. Genital stage ● Ages 12+ ● Learns about adult sexuality

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Libidinal energy is directed toward appropriate members of the opposite sex ○ Women are finally able to recognize that their sex organs are acceptable Must resolve the conflicts between what the id wants and what the environment will provide

Freud + Psychopathology ● Freud was mainly interested in psychopathology and the early childhood experiences that led to neuroses in adulthood ● He did acknowledge that psychological normalcy was possible for some  people Defense Mechanisms ● Defense mechanisms are used to defend the ego against internal danger which often comes from anxiety ●

Anxiety ○ Originates in the id and is caused by an overabundance of libido or sexual feelings that became discharged as anxiety ○ Serves as a warning sign of internal danger

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Transference ○ An unconscious process ○ Patients unconsciously project repressed emotions and desires that were meant for their parents onto the analyst ○ An inevitable and necessary focus of treatment

Life and death instincts ● The Life Instinct - Eros ○ Fueled by the libido ○ Motivates the desire for food, water, sex, shelter (survival) ○ Guarantees biological survival by ensuring reproduction occurs ●

The Death Instinct - Thanatos ○ Seen in repetitive acts that result in self-destructive behaviors ○ Shows itself in aggression

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Eros and Thanatos are in constant conflict ○ Self-preservation vs. self-destruction ○ Eros is in command for most of the lifespan, but Thanatos wins in the end

November 21

Anti-oppressive + multicultural sensitivity approaches...