MyModelofSocialWorkPractice.docVIP

PAGE  PAGE 15 My Model of Social Work Practice“another drop in the pond” By Pat Ulrich For Richard F. Ramsay SOWK 479 Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary April 8, 1991 Note: The hardcopy of this paper scanned and digitalized. Hopefully, all related errors have been corrected. Minor editing was carried out. Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction The Domain of Social Work The Paradigm of Social Work Method of Social Work Practice My Personal Domain Conclusion Appendixes Bibliography Introduction Recent discoveries in science have begun a “revolution” of sorts which is changing how we look at our world (Capra, 1983). Within physics, a major theme has emerged that sees the universe as a “interconnected web of relations” and a “realization that the cosmic web is intrinsically dynamic” (p. 87).This changing view in the physical sciences has to some extent been accompanied by a changing view in the social sciences. With the adoption of systems theory, the reductionist “fix it” method is becoming a thing of the past (Ramsay, 1990a). As social work is becoming less reductionistic and empirically focused, a greater awareness of the individual uniqueness of each social worker must be acknowledged. Therefore, even though we have a common purpose we also have our own models of practice which help us to achieve this purpose.To explain what my personal model of practice is, I will use the framework outlined by Ramsay (1990a) in the article, “Toward a Comprehensive ‘Design Science-Profession’ Conception of Social Work”. In doing so, I will look at the domain of social work, the paradigm of social work, the method that I use and finally how I as a person my domain fits into all of this. The Domain of Social Work It is important how we perceive our environment. If the “lens” or framework we use is defective and only allows a limited amount of information through, we are blinded from other knowledge. To be effective when helping people we ne