Principles of the Strengths Perspective

1. Every individual, group, family, and community has strengths

The Strengths Perspective focuses essentially on identifying, mobilizing, and respecting the resources, assets, wisdom, and knowledge that every person, family, group, or community has, as well as their potential for transforming their experiences and lives.

2. Trauma and abuse, illness and struggle, may be injurious but they may also be sources of challenge and opportunity.

To say that negative experiences can bring within opportunities to an individual, family, or community, does not mean that we do not acknowledge their scars and pain. The Strengths Perspective acknowledges that frequently people who are facing adversity are resilient and resourceful and we should explore and learn from their strategies to overcome adversity.

3. Assume that you do not know the upper limits of the capacity to grow and change. Take individual, group, and community aspirations seriously.

People frequently are bound by an assessment, diagnosis, or profile that has become a verdict or a sentence in their lives. By holding high expectations of clients and keeping an alliance with their hopes, values, aspirations, and visions, we make an obvious deal with their promise and possibility.

4. We best serve clients by collaborating with them.

When we approach clients as a helper or collaborator (having specialized education, tools, and experience to offer, but open to the wisdom, knowledge, and experience that clients bring with them) we work with clients rather than on their cases. In the Strengths Perspective, clients’ voices are heard and valued at all levels of intervention, including micro, mezzo, and macro levels, such as in practice with individuals, families, and groups, communities, and in policy advocacy.

5. Every environment is full of resources.

Every environment is full of individuals, families, informal groups, associations, and institutions willing to help others. When given the opportunity, they contribute with all kinds of assets and resources that others profoundly need, such as knowledge, company, special talents, time, and place, and the like. There are resources, partnerships, and strengths available in the community that are ready to be used, while we engage in policy advocacy and social action in pursuit of social justice and structural transformation.

6. Caring, caretaking, and context.

Human well-being is essentially related to caring. We should facilitate and assist families, groups, and communities to care for their members. The Strengths Perspective focuses, in a sense, also in caretaking, since this is related to hope; “hope realized through the strengthened sinew of social relationships in family, neighborhood, community, culture, and country.” (p. 20).

References

Saleebey, D. (Ed.). (2006). The Strengths Perspective in social work practice. (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Quote

"Central to Strengths Based Case Management is the belief that clients are most successful when they identify and use their strengths, abilities, and assets "

Richard C. Rapp, (2006). Strengths-Based Case Management: Enhancing treatment for person with substance abuse problems in D. Saleebey (ed.) The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice. Boston: Allyn /Bacon & Longman, p. 129