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Social Work vocabulary · Practice Approaches

Strengths-based approach

Meaning in social work, with examples

nounCommon term

In social work, strengths-based approach means: A way of working that starts from what people can do, their skills, relationships and resources, rather than only from their problems.

In Turkish: güçlü yönler yaklaşımı, güçlü yanlara dayalı yaklaşım

How it is used

Widely promoted in adult and children's services and in community work. Assessments ask what is working well as well as what worries people. Related terms are the strengths perspective and asset-based approaches.

Example sentences

  1. Using a strengths-based approach, we built the plan around her love of cooking and her close friends.

  2. A strengths-based approach does not mean ignoring risk.

Common collocations

  • take a strengths-based approach
  • strengths-based practice
  • strengths-based assessment
  • strengths perspective
  • empowermentThe process of helping people gain more control over their own lives, decisions and resources, and the confidence to act for themselves.
  • person-centredOrganised around the individual's own wishes, needs, values and goals, with the person involved in every decision about their care.
  • resilienceThe ability to cope with difficulties and recover from them, supported both by personal qualities and by the relationships and resources around a person.
  • assessmentThe process of gathering and analysing information about a person's situation, needs, strengths and risks in order to decide what help is needed.

More terms: Practice Approaches

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