Using Theories in Social Work Humanist and Existential

Using Theories in Social Work Humanist and Existential Approaches with acknowledgments and thanks to Phil Lee (Hull campus) 1

What do we need to know? p p p Clarification of terms – what is humanism, existentialism etc? Examples of such approaches What will be covered – what you need to cover yourselves Outlines of particular approaches Strengths & weaknesses Use of case studies where appropriate 2

Clarification of terms(1) : Humanism poses the question “how are we to live in this meaningless and irrational world? ” The answer lies in ourselves – the self – without having to rely on external forces – in particular, deities – God Rather ironically some humanist approaches in social work do value the spiritual aspects of the human condition – we will return to this Alongside existentialists, humanists assume that human beings are trying to make sense of the world they experience (see Howe’s paradigm: Seekers After Meaning) Perhaps the best known is Carl Rogers – I will spend the largest amount of time on his work 3

Clarification of terms(2) : Existentialism For existentialists – thinkers such Kierkegaard & Sartre – human existence is distinguished by the unique capacity of people for self awareness and self concern We are active ‘beings in the world’ who experience the world as being full of what Sartre described as tasks and projects – crucially involving choices Humans are struggling to find meaning in their lives…. always facing multiple choices…. but in charge of those choices…. . in control of their destiny The key is to take responsibility for our actions – thus freeing an individual’s authentic self from the cage-like existence of the inauthentic self Think of when you ponder what is there after I die – dread! – what is this all about? 4

Thompson’s definition of existentialism “A conceptual framework which aims to understand human existence in terms of the freedom & responsibility, and the problems and complexities we encounter when we exercise such freedom (in the form of choices and decisions) & take responsibility for our actions. It seeks to locate such freedom (the fundamental freedom of being responsible for ourselves) in the wider social contexts of the structure of society, in terms of social constraints and influences, for example, class, race/ethnicity or gender. ” Thompson N (1992) Existentialism and Social Work, Avebury, p 62 To Sartre even negative reactions to outside phenomena demonstrates the realisation of freedom – creative negativity 5

Examples of Humanistic Approaches p p p Person Centred Ideas – Carl Rogers Eastern Philosophies & Spiritualities – Zen; African Centred; Gandhian social work Symbolic Interactionism – dealt with in Payne Sociological/Socio-Psychological Approaches Transactional Analysis – as mentioned in the Psychodynamic session Humanistic Group Work – Glassman & Kates We will consider existentialist approaches – including Laing - after these 6

Person Centred Ideas – Carl Rogers -On Becoming a Person (1971) Also known as client centred or non-directive approaches – the client should have as much impact on the direction of therapy as therapist For Rogers the key to personal change is the self seeking personal growth Emphasis should be placed in the here & now – not the history of the service users’ problems How the client views the social worker/therapist is central to the latter being able to function as an effective change agent Rogers identified a 10 point list of the characteristics of any effective helping relationship – see separate handout 7

Person Centred Therapy This approach emphasises that: p Therapy is a journey shared by 2 fallible people p People innately strive for self-actualisation p The personal characteristics of therapist are key to the quality and successful outcome of the relationship p Therapists must create a permissive, “growth promoting” climate – no direction of change is done by therapist – a climate conducive to change is created p Trust is essential p People architects of their own lives and capable of selfdirected growth – but may need a therapeutic relationship to aid it along 8

Key Attributes for successful outcomes clients should perceive that their helpers/workers act in the following manner: p they are genuine and congruent i. e. how they are reflects their true self & attitudes – does not hide true feelings p provide unconditional positive regard for clients p they empathise with client’s views of the world – attitudes more important than knowledge – empathy consistent and unflagging The worker’s approach should be: p Non-directive p Non-judgemental And involve: p Active listening p Accurate empathy p Authentic friendship p One can easily see why this counselling approach found an enthusiastic audience in some social work quarters 9

Truax and Carkhuff’s three principles p p p Honesty and genuineness Non-possessive warmth, respect, acceptance Empathic understanding (Truax C & Carkhuff RJ 1967 Towards Effective Counselling and Psychotherapy: Training and Practice, Aldine) They imply that it is the presence of these principles that underpins any success in therapy…. . even behaviourally based ones! Person-centredness is now a term used ubiquitously within social work – person-centred assessment forms; person centered palliative care; person centred work with people experiencing dementia – this is not always used in the sense that Roger’s initially used it! 10

Key Rogerian Concepts/Principles/Rationale p Actualising tendency – an innate tendency to develop our constructive capacities – and enhance our total organism - fundamental motive that underlies all human behaviour p Self – a learned, conscious state distinct from other people and things p Self-actualisation – portion of our experience taken up with a view of self. The individual is psychologically well adjusted to the extent that learned self-actualising tendency remains unified with our innate actualising tendency p Conditional positive regard – liking a person only because that individual’s feelings and self concept meet one’s own standard; a typical way in which parents behave to their children p Unconditional positive regard – liking and accepting all of another person’s feelings and self concept; a non-judgemental & non-possessive caring p Congruence – a healthy state of harmony between’s one’s total organismic experience and a self-concept free of conditions of worth p Incongruence – a discrepancy between one’s total organismic experience and a self concept burdened by conditions of worth p Organismic valuing process – an innate capacity to value positively those experiences that are perceived as actualising, and to value negatively all those perceived as non-actualising 11

Essence/Summary of Person Centred Approach At root the client ‘knows’ what’s wrong, what needs to be done & what is best The therapist is not a technical expert – yet ironically of course, training takes a long time! Luborsky describes well what Rogerian therapy means to the client when it is working – see P 100 of Howe…. . a voyage…discovery…”well yes you may have behaved like that…. but really you are an OK person” Anthony Clare claims that the appeal of Rogers is the simple, rather cosy, almost sentimental and benign view of human nature/condition that lies at its centre May have started with Freud but developed a much more optimistic view of the human condition – a view that maybe reflects where theory was developed 12

Eastern Philosophies & Spiritualities – Zen; African Centred; Gandhian social work, etc p p p Retaining this idea of where and by whom a therapeutic theory is developed maybe vital in understanding this collection of spiritually based positions More irony – as humanist positions – start more than usually – as we have seen - from a rejection of deities…external controls…spiritualities…. . . starting with the nature of ‘us’- our essential being Clearly though where there is power over, indeed ‘dominance’ e. g. the Indian Raj and colonialism; US slavery and racism – the oppressed are often ‘seen’/theorised as “the other”…. Edward Said…. as uneducated; a savage……and ultimately as inferior as “not human” Not difficult to appreciate why people retain aspects of their cultural traditions and pasts – non Western traditions – pre scientific, maybe pre rationalist traditions Particularly straight-forward to see this in societies where religious belief and spirituality are integral parts of living 13

Clear examples of this process…. p p p Liberation theologies generally African Centred World Views Gandhian therapeutic/social work Sometimes these develop both within original and host societies. They generally can be seen to involve variations of: - Criticisms of materialism & consumerism The need to respond more effectively to ethnic and cultural minorities Recognition that religion & spirituality are central to the lives of many of the people receiving services Desire for faith communities to make a larger contribution to organised care and community services Effective religious participation – following ‘the right path’ – will minimise the possibility of social difficulties arising 14

Effective vehicles for social change? Such ideas can develop sustained criticisms of the status quo involving: p Solidarity and the common good p Sustainability – careful use of precious resources p The self as a non-materialist personal entity – Hinduism and Buddhism p Recognising and valuing separate cultures You will find Payne’s summaries of Gandhian social work & African- Centred world views on p 191 of Modern Social Work Theory 15

Humanistic Group Work ; Glassman and Kates An extension of Transactional Analysis – I’m OK – You’re OK p p p p Based on valuing all members of the group and therefore enriching each through ‘democratic mutual aid’. Group development to aid individual development through a series of stages: We’re Not in Charge We Are in Charge We’re Taking You On Sanctuary This isn’t any good any more We’re okay and able Just a little longer 16

Techniques for Humanistic Group Work The objective is to develop this democratic mutual aid system whilst facilitating individuals to ‘actualise’ their own purpose p p p To this end, workers employ: Staying with feelings – show to express feelings constructively Respecting silences Demanding work – use their own commitment to move members who are stuck forward Exploration – through free-flowing activities Identification – pointing out repetitive patterns of behaviour 17

What is existentialism? A Reminder As good a starting point as any for understanding existentialism and its relevance for social work is Thompson’s text - Existentialism and Social Work – see quote on slide 5 above See p 202 -203 of Payne in which he attempts to summarise this text In particular he summarises two examples – one to do with children, the other to do with older people 18

Thompson’s Practice Principles for existential social work Thompson outlines his existentialist practice principles in a chart. (see Payne page 204) Some of this appears fairly straightforward and conventional…. . other parts more intriguing and possibly threatening……in that it would be difficult to follow bureaucratic procedures and remain an existentialist practitioner 19

R D Laing p p p Famous anti-psychiatry movement member in 1960 s/1970 s Uses existentialist ideas in his work on schizophrenia – influenced radical social work movement Understand this major psychotic illness better by regarding it as a person’s reaction to a bewildering and potentially harmful social environment Self and false self system Later used family therapy ideas such as Bateson et al’s double bind Allowed social workers to be much more sceptical of medical diagnoses – and be able to recognise the importance of social and family factors 20

Strengths of humanistic and existential approaches p p p They offer less judgmental and flexible ways of working Directly value the client’s view – respect Treat people as ‘wholes’ – connected to their environments Try to always show that the client’s view – however apparently strange – is based in their view of what has happened to them Resistant to highly deterministic – dismissive understandings – of client behaviour e. g. cognitive behaviourist; psycho-analytic models Herald post – modernist ideas about social work 21

Weaknesses of humanistic and existential approaches p Have no real direct pertinence to the necessary bureaucratic, inevitable(? ) functions of state social work – social control etc p Discounts the user’s past in ways that might be problematic p Spirituality raises fears that workers might import and impose their own values – dogmatism – imposition – true of Rogerian approaches too p Real lack of clarity in allowing social workers to develop clear, generalisable targets and agreed explanations about human behaviour p Obviously of little use with less or non-verbal users – although some would doubt that – see work on dementia 22