Why is the person-in-environment perspective important to you as a social worker?
What will be an ideal response?
ANS: Students' answers will vary. Social workers are dedicated to the resolution of social problems and the
enhancement of social functioning and social well-being. We could not possibly provide effective service if we
operated in isolation. Rather, we are grounded in a person-in-environment perspective and remain deeply involved
with others. The nature of the work requires regular collaboration and cooperation, ongoing supervision or
consultation, and a great deal of social support. In the absence of energy-enhancing support and reality-testing
feedback, social workers would quickly deplete our personal resources and increase the likelihood of improperly
meeting some of our own psychosocial needs and personal wants through our relationships with clients. Indeed, if
social workers are isolated and lack strong, positive personal and professional social networks, we become quite
vulnerable to numerous temptations. We need substantial social support and a solid sense of well-being.
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The principle of "normalization" suggests that social workers should
a. recognize that the service goal is to return the client to normal functioning b. connect the client with ordinary and conventional resources when possible c. assume that the client fits somewhere near the extreme end of a normal curve d. explain relevant societal norms to help the client see where change is needed
According to Richard Schwartz, underneath people's defensive postures lies ______
a. a healthy core self b. hidden family conflicts c. deep wounds from early childhood d. none of the above
The mental patient's liberation and welfare rights movements
A. were criminal suits. B. helped expand clients' rights. C. established the right to treatment. D. helped enforce informed consent.
Adler broke from Freud because he believed that the Oedipal period:
A. Came at the end of an Oedipal sentence B. Was a period in which Americans ate as much as they could as fast as they could C. Happened once every 28 days D. None of the above