Chapters authored
Empowerment Potential of Social Work Techniques among Practitioners in Israel and the USA
Even though empowerment is an intervention approach that occupies an important place in social work, social workers’ perceptions of intervention techniques that may empower their clients have not been examined. This paper reports the findings of a pilot study on the perceptions of social workers regarding the empowerment potential of various intervention techniques. Data were collected on convenience samples of social workers in Israel and the USA. The findings indicate that the social workers in the two countries broadly agree on the high empowerment potential of techniques aimed at helping clients to change their behaviors so as to make their conduct more functional and to augment their control over their lives but have differing perceptions regarding the empowerment potential of other approaches, including therapeutic approaches, aspects of service delivery, and means of providing support. Further study is recommended to better understand the relationship between social workers’ perceptions of the empowerment potential of different approaches and techniques and their cultural backgrounds.
Part of the book: Global Social Work