Question

How does the use of theory (social work) guide policy and best practice interventions?  

Answer 1

The primary goal of social work is to help the clients to meet their needs and to enhance their overall well being. For effectively identifying and understanding the needs of the clients, the social workers are provided with a wide range of knowledge regarding various areas in which the client would require help. But, some people argue that the theory provided to social work students are unnecessary but these theories are very essential in providing a knowledge base that will work as an anchoring frame.

The areas in which the theories of social work is useful in practice includes, case assessment, causal explanation, planning interventions and evaluation of its outcomes. The two major types of theories in social work includes the Human Behavior in the Social Environment Theory that are useful in predicting and explaining human behaviors. The other type of theory called the Practice Theory focuses on identifying how conceptual theories can have empirical practices by linking the problem of the clients with their context in providing the professional interventions that are required. The theory-driven camp of social work emphasizes that the competent social work practices are grounded in the intentional use of theory. It is only with the use of theoretical knowledge that a professional social work can be distinguished by any informal means of helping.

The benefits of applying theory in practice includes, explaining the situations of the clients, predicting the client's behaviors, Providing a base for the social work students, helping social workers to organize their plans, providing a direction and reducing wandering in practice, providing a clear frame work to operate during difficult situations, offering accountability for work, providing perspective for the conceptualization of client's problems and to identify the right interventions and to find the knowledge gaps that can occur in practice.