For more than 150 years, empowering practices have been used by social workers in their work with families, but the techniques of today differ significantly from those of the pioneers or even from those of a few years ago. Today's practitioners recognize that empowering others is impossible; social workers can, however, assist others as they empower themselves. This book integrates time-honored approaches with today's more modest goals, mindful of what empowerment can and cannot do. Synthesizing several theoretical supports—the strengths perspective, system theory, theories of family well-being, and theories of coping—the author responds to the question "What works?" with today's families in need. Practice illustrations are provided throughout to bring concepts to life and, more important, to present families describing their own experiences with achieving empowerment.
- Contents
- Editor's Note
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I A Family-Centered Empowerment Framework
- 1. Empowerment Then and Now
- 2. Seeing Families Through an Empowerment Lens
- PART II Three Family Profiles: The Journey from Oppression to Empwerment
- 3. The Laurencio-Smith Family: Our Differences Saved Us
- 4. The Williams Family: New Lives Beyond Incest
- 5. The Brown-Wiley Family: Homeless No More
- Part III Helping Families
- 6. The Phases and Actions of Empowering Practice
- Part IV A Closer Look at Families WITH Their Communities
- 7. Empowering Families with Community Resources
- 8. Supporting Theories that Empower Social Worker–Family Transactions
- Appendix A Cross-Cultural Counseling Competencies: A Conceptual Framework
- Appendix B The Family Power Analysis
- Notes
- References
- Index
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