Reference no: EM133879824

Human services is not a simple, monolithic enterprise. It is practiced in various ways according to the setting, the organizational context, the national policy context, the client group, the style and approach of the individual practitioner, and, of course, the case circumstances. However, underpinning this diversity is a set of theoretical understandings and "practice modalities" commonly called "methods."

Traditionally, social work/human services education and professional training have been premised on "applying theory to practice," an idea uncritically accepted for decades. However, your readings of the Social Work Theory and Methods: The Essentials challenge that notion, with its assumption that we should begin with theory and then seek to relate it to practice. In its place, it offers the proposal that human services professionals should begin with the specifics of practice and then draw on the relevant aspects of the theory base to make sense of it as we engage with the challenges of that situation. This is what is known as "theorizing practice." What initially appears to be a simple change of terminology makes a huge difference in how we conceptualize the relationship between theory and practice and the role of social work methods (Thompson & Stepney, 2018).

Please respond to the following:

• Considering the various social work and human services delivery theoretical frameworks and models introduced in this unit, consider Thompson's approach to challenging the traditional way of "applying theory to practice" that you may have learned about in previous courses at Purdue University Global.
• As a future human services professional, what benefits do you find in Thompson's approach, to begin with, the specifics of practice and then draw on the relevant aspects of the theory base to make sense of it as you engage with the challenges of that situation?
• How do you think this strategic approach will impact human services delivery and your engagement with your future clients?