Problem Solving
Approach
APPROACHES
A lens to see an event/thing/process
A vantage point
The focus point
How we approach something
A different angle to deal with something
The Mary Richmond Tradition
Background
Influence of medical methods of
intervention (i.e., “study”,
“diagnosis” and “treatment”)
(Richmond, 1917)
Implication
Cases vs People
Compartmentalisation
Broad vs To the point
Long Term vs Immediate
Generalisation vs Felt Needs
Problem-solving: The Evolution
1907: William James' “ common sense” Pragmatism
a philosophical approach to truth which also sought to develop
methods that were “helpful in life’s practical struggles”
Goal: to help individuals to find their own truth through
observation and experience .
1910: John Dewey's “reflective thinking”
four central elements: recognizing and formulating a problem,
gathering facts that will lead to a solution, testing each proposed
solution, and deciding upon a course of action
Adaption into Social Work Practice
Criticism >>> contributed to incorporation of new
theories
Focus area: short-term methodology and
problem solving in here and now situations
Helen Harris Perlman: The first social work author to
use the term “problem-solving”
credits Dewey’s writings as her inspiration for the
concept (Perlman, 1971)
Main Tenets
People can make decisions in their own best
interest
Problem solving capacity of use
Inability to make decisions is usually a result of
internal and external barriers
Must identify strengths
Social case work: A process used by certain human welfare
agencies to help individuals to cope more effectively with their
problems in social function. (Perlman)
Focus: Help the individual to deal more effectively with problems
related to social functioning. The social worker should aim at
improving the self healing powers in the client and not take over
the control. She describes the core of casework as such:
A person with a problem comes to a place where a professional
representative helps him by a given process (ibid.).
The Four P's
The four Ps:
1. person
2. problem,
3. place
4. process.
These characteristics of casework are so general that they can be
relevant for any welfare institution
the characteristic of the problems of the person
what the problem is
the institution’s (place) tasks
the process in the problem solving
what is happening between the client and the social worker.
1. The person
needs help with certain social and emotional parts of life.
2. The problem
Life as a long problem
When people have problems they cannot deal with, their social
functioning becomes poor.
Reasons: (any/combinations)
[Link] motivation to work in a goal oriented manner
[Link] abilities in dealing with the problems
[Link] possibilities in doing something about the problem
The problems will be created by shortcomings in the relationship
between the client and other people, groups or situations.
3. The place
The institutions in which the social workers work have as their aim
to work with problems related to mastering one’s own life.
The aim is to help individuals with social handicaps so that the
individual and/or the family can function better.
The outcomes are effectuated by the social worker and his or her
way of acting.
4. The process
a series of problem‐solving operations within a meaningful relation.
a relationship which lays the ground for problem solving.
The goal is that the client themselves can be more capable of
dealing with the problems
Intervention stages
a) Ascertaining and clarifying the facts of the problem.
b) Thinking through the facts.
c) The making of some choice or decision.
(Perlman, 1957)
Building from this foundation, she brilliantly formulated a unique
cognitively-oriented and client-centered problem-solving process
for social work intervention
“focus” and “partialization”: aiding the client to overcome
difficulties by tackling small problems first and thus building confidence
to move on to more challenging goals
Perlman problem-solving model: 7 stages
1. Identify issue and engage
2. Collect data: explore strengths, formal and informal support
systems
3. Assess: bio-psycho-social, understand situation and develop
hypothesis of internal and external factors of problem
4. Set goal: Formulation of problem based on tasks in Stages 1 and 2
5. Plan implementation
6. Evaluation
7. Termination
Corollaries
Task Centered Case Work (Reid and Epstein)
Setting tasks than focusing on problems
Reaching goals through steps
Short Term Task Centered Practice
Time-limited
Structured
Goal-oriented
Limitations
1. Ambiguity of Problem:
Social workers and their clients deal with tremendous uncertainty
and rarely with well-identified problems
therefore problem “solving” does not often happen
practical: problem reduction and management-goals (Schon,
1983).
2) Problem-solving is only one form of thought
fixation on the problem-solving mode of interaction can constrict the
client’s ability to freely tell his or her “story”
thus fail to tap into alternate styles of thought and reflection (
Anderson, 1997).
3. Culture-bound
Developed in the context of white, middle-class culture
may be unsuitable for clients from other cultures or social groups.
especially inappropriate for individuals from cultures that rely on
less organized and less focused methods to address difficulties in
social life (Sue, 1981; Galan, 2001).
4) Based on non-experimental evidence
Since Perlman developed her model when social work research
was in its infancy, most of her supporting documentation was drawn
from clinical and anecdotal sources, plus her own extensive clinical
experience.
