An Explorer Map: Strengths-based Approaches

This chapter presents theoretical maps which belong to the third wave of social work theory. The knowledge bases in previous map chapters were about pathology and the nature of problems. The knowledge bases in this chapter are about solutions and the nature of human resilience, creativity and growth. Thus, strengths-based and constructivist approaches are more interested in service users’ futures than their pasts, in potential rather than pathology. Through the exploration of unused or underdeveloped strengths and resources service users are helped to develop alternative stories of their lives, focusing on possibilities rather than failures.