Definitions of Theories

Preparation

What comes into your mind when you think of the word ‘theory’? Do you have a particular thought or feeling about the word ‘theory’?

What questions do you have about theory in relation to social work?

What do you hope to get from reading this website?

When you have finished reading this site, how will you know that you have got what you wanted from the site?

Introduction

“Theory” is a word with a range of meanings. At one end of the scale, there is the idea that theory is something complex and profound; something that is only accessible to those who have studied for years and really know their subject. Theories like quantum theory and chaos theory are complex ways of explaining the world which most of us do not understand. In this way, theory becomes big and scary; something that leaves us feeling confused and maybe even scared.

At the other end of the scale ‘theory’ can be used to dismiss an idea. You will hear people say “Oh, that’s just a theory” or “That’s fine in theory, but it doesn’t work like that in practice.” Here theory is being used to suggest that something is separate from the ‘real world’, and is impractical or irrelevant. Yet the reality is that we all use theory all the time.

An Early Detour into Communication Theory

Later on, this site explores communication theory in more detail, but here you need one key idea from that theory – if you want to understand a word or phrase you need to look beyond the word or phrase itself to look at how it is used. The word theory is used in a number of different ways.

Perhaps the most commonly understood use of the word theory is that theory is a way of understanding what you experience. To put that another way, theories explain things. The psychologist, John Bowlby, noticed that a number of what were termed ‘affectionless psychopaths’, individuals who broke rules and hurt others without regard to the feelings of others, shared a history of having been separated from their parents, specifically their mothers, at a young age. Bowlby developed this idea over decades into something called ‘Attachment Theory’. Attachment theory was able to provide an explanation of why these people acted the way they did by seeing this as a result of having ‘broken attachments’ as young children.

Although this ‘explaining role’ of theory is probably the most widely used, it is not the only one. Often theory lets us put together different bits into a single coherent model which more fully describes how things are. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ‘Ecological-Systemic Theory’ is an example of this. This model does not necessarily explain why something is the way it is, but it does let us put together what happens at the personal level, with what happens at the community level, with what happens at the social level, to give a richer description of how individuals, families, groups, and communities work. So as well as being explanatory, theories can also be descriptive, in that once we understand the theory, then things that were separate and disconnected now become joined together in ways that make more sense.

A good example of this descriptive use of theory is something called ‘plate tectonic theory.’ For a long time, people noticed that the coast of Africa and South America seemed to fit together quite well, but no one knew if this meant something or was just an accident. When people started collecting dinosaur bones they noticed that often the same types of dinosaur bones would be found on the opposite side of big oceans, with no idea of how they could have got from one side to another. Later still, they discovered that the Atlantic Ocean had a ridge and a trench in its middle. Again, no one knew why. Then someone proposed the idea that instead of being fixed in place, the surface of the earth moved; that the oceans were spreading. Suddenly that made sense of all the observations. Africa and South America had once been joined. Dinosaur bones were found on opposite sides of the ocean because once those sides had been joined together. The ridge and trench were where the ocean floor was spreading. This became the theory of plate tectonics, which allowed all the different observations to be fitted into a coherent whole. This is another key use of theory.

In a looser sense still, theories can often be thought of a more similar to ‘principles for guiding actions.’ Many of the ideas in this book will fall into that category. Task-Centred Practice does not give an explanation of why someone is the way they are, but it does provide a coherent framework for helping people overcome problems. Many professional and management theories fall into this category of theory. Often they are called ‘models’ rather than theories, and sometimes this causes confusion for students as they try and unpick the difference between theories and models.

At this point though, it is worth reinforcing the point made earlier – words do not have fixed, absolute and precise meanings. They can be used by different people in different ways at different times. For now, the important point is that theories can explain, describe or guide actions, or they can do some combination of those three things.

Theories, Models, Approaches, Practices, and Methods

In various social work books, the above five words will be used frequently, and in some cases interchangeably. The following table records my results from carrying out a Google Search for the term “Social Work” along with six different search terms beginning with ‘Task Centred’.

Table 1 – Theories, Approach, and Methods – a Google Search

Search Terms	Number of Hits
“Task Centred Approach” and “Social Work”	86,500
“Task Centred Methods” and “Social Work”	55,600
“Task Centred Model” and “Social Work”	13,200
“Task Centred Practice” and “Social Work”	12,200
“Task Centred Theory” and “Social Work”	2,010
“Task Centred Method” and “Social Work”	102
Search conducted on 4^th July 2014

As you can see from this, even when looking at a single social work theory, there is a range of different words used – approach, methods, model, practice and theory, and even a contradictory result in that whilst the word ‘methods’ gets a lot of hits, ‘method’ gets very few. This means that words like ‘theory’ or ‘model’ do not have strict, absolute definitions. It is possible to have theory-like models and model-like theories. This can be confusing and anxiety-provoking, but only if you think the difference really matters. What I will present below is not the ‘right’ way to think about these terms, but a way I hope will be useful.

Consider two important roles of theory: 1) to explain things and 2) to guide actions. Some theories are very good at explaining why things are the way they are, yet they have limited use in telling you what to do about it. Others give clear guidance on what to do, but do not give a detailed explanation of why you should do it. The first of these is most likely to be called a ‘theory’; the second is more likely to be called a method.

Figure 1 – The Theory Landscape

The other words tend then to fall somewhere in the middle. So, although the whole of the space in the diagram could be called ‘theory’, it is when it explains most that the word theory is likely to fit best, and when it guides practice most, it is likely to be called a method. However, in the vast majority of situations, the words can be used interchangeably without causing significant problems.

Gordon and Mackay (2017 p.69) give the analogy of the iceberg where the tip represents what is seen by others in relation to the social work practice. Below that are what Gordon and Mackay (2017) identify as the ‘bedrock of values and knowledge’ that inform practice.

The Role of Theory in Social Work Practice

Having reached this point it will be worth stopping and considering the question – what is the role of theory in social work practice? Why do social workers need to have a solid understanding of theory? How does having a good understanding of theory help social workers do their job well?

In the first case, a solid understanding of social work theory lets social workers know what they are doing and why. This may sound obvious, but pause for a moment and carry out this thought experiment.

Thought Experiment

You have been put in charge of a mission to colonise a distant planet. The mission will involve transporting hundreds of thousands of people to a new planet to create a new society there. The mission will take many decades to achieve its goal. Think about the people you would want to take with you. Farmers? Doctors and nurses? Engineers? Teachers? Imagine the roles you would have to allocate and what you would want people to do. Would you take social workers with you? Why or why not? What does this tell you about your understanding of social work?

This is a point I will return to in other parts of this website. Social work is not an ‘obvious’ profession. It is ‘obvious’ to most people what a firefighter or a chef does for a living, it is not ‘obvious’ what a social worker does. I have put ‘obvious’ in inverted commas, as in any profession there are many jobs where people do not do what most people think they do. Even allowing for that, in social work, the public perception is less clear than on most other jobs. As a result, there is a need for social workers to have a clear understanding of what their profession is for and what it is trying to achieve.

Secondly, theories allow social workers to make sense of the situations they have to deal with in their jobs. This is where we must face a crucial issue: even when a social worker says that they are not using theory, they are. They may not be aware of the theories that drive their practice, but those theories will be there. Without a conscious awareness of theories all a social worker has is their prejudices and assumptions, and these are no basis for effective and ethical social work practice.

Social workers need theories of human behaviour in order to understand why people act the way they do. These theories may be drawn from a range of different traditions. Many will come from the social sciences, particularly psychology and sociology. Others will come from research and practice experience – from looking at what works and what does not work.

When making a mental health assessment, social workers need an understanding of the factors that affect mental health. One of the most significant of these is the bio-psycho-social model. It is important to know a little about the biological factors that influence mental health, from a basic understanding of how the brain works to a more everyday sense of the impact of practical things like food, drink, sleep and pain on mental health. It is important for social workers to know a little about cognitive theories to be able to spot the thought patterns that are most likely to help or hinder good mental health. Then it is important to be able to address social factors, from bullying and discrimination to social isolation. Once all these factors, and more, are taken into account a social worker can have a much more complete understanding of the factors that are impacting on a service user’s well-being.

The same is true when carrying out a child protection inquiry or a care management assessment. A broad based assessment drawing on a range of sound theoretical perspectives is more likely to be robust than one based solely on one theoretical perspective, or worse still, no formal theory at all, only the prejudices and assumptions of the worker. The more varied and flexible the worker is in their use of theory, the more likely they are to find a specific theoretical approach that works. There are several caveats to this position though.

The first warning is that social workers need to adapt their theories to the person and not try and get the person to fit their preferred theory. The old expression is that if all you have is a hammer then everything looks like a nail. This holds true for theory. If you only have one theory or a preferred set of theories you will squeeze everyone to fit your theories. As far as possible, workers should incorporate service users’ knowledge and theories into their understanding of the problems and needs. Social workers may bring various general theories and expertise, but it is the service user who is the expert on their own experience.

The second warning is that knowledge tends to solidify from sound practice into habits, as new beliefs and ideas begin to stick to existing theories. A social worker may begin practicing in one way, a way that is creative, flexible, effective and respectful, but over time, that becomes just ‘what I do’. It is easy for the latest fad or a piece of information with dubious validity to become accepted practice, sometimes with tragic results.

The pediatrician, Dr. Benjamin Spock, stated in his 1957 book “Baby and Child Care” that babies should not be allowed to sleep on their back as this could lead to choking. Millions of parents followed this advice. However, when detailed work was carried out in the 1990’s it turned out that this advice increased the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Untested, unsubstantiated theory can be harmful, even fatal.

In the same way, an assumption that children are better off with birth parents and that removal from parents is inevitably harmful can lead to social workers ignoring clear signs of abuse. Theories need to be tested and treated as guides, not infallible rules for what will work. This is a theme I will return to in the section on applying theories in practice.

As well as helping social workers know what their job is and helping social workers understand the situations they have to deal with, theories also help social workers structure their work. This is more likely to be true for theories that are more at the ‘methods’ and ‘practice’ end of the theory landscape (See figure 1).

Two of the most widely used social work theories are Task-Centred Practice and Crisis Intervention. Both of these provide a clear rationale for what to do at each stage of the work with a service user, yet do not necessarily explain either why a worker should do this, or why the service user has encountered a problem to begin with. In many ways, one of the key benefits of these models is that they create confidence in the worker – all they need to do is to follow the model. This confidence is expressed to the service user, who in turn will feel more confident that the social worker knows what they are doing. This creates a ‘virtuous circle’ of increasing mutual trust, which makes the work both more mutually satisfying and more likely to succeed.

There are many theories that can be useful for social work. This website will only explain a small number of them, enough to provide a framework which you can develop once you go on placement. In many ways, the more theories you understand the better. However, there are several things you must be aware of. Firstly, trying to use a theory you do not understand, or do not understand well enough, can be dangerous. In some cases, this will be worse than not using theory at all. Secondly, theories in social work are only ever possible ways to make sense of things. There is no theory that is sufficient in itself to explain every situation or guide every action. This is why you must not become too dependent on just one theory. At the same time, having a small number of theories you know well is very helpful. In my experience, the best social workers have been able to use a range of a dozen or more theories, but have just two, three or four that form the backbone of their work. This is the third thing to be aware of: getting good at using a theory takes time. It requires reading, studying and practice. There are no short cuts here. It may take thousands of hours of practice to become really confident and effective in the use of just one theory. As a result, you need to find that small core of theories that you can commit to, and then study and practice them hard. There are no shortcuts to excellence in social work.

So in conclusion, theory lets social workers know what their job is about, it helps them understand what they are dealing with, and it guides their practice. Having a range of theories is better than having none or only a small number. Social workers should treat their theories with caution, as reality is always more complex than the theories suggest. Theories should be made to fit the person, and not the person being made to fit the theory. Finally, if you want to become a good social worker, perhaps even an excellent social worker, you will need to read widely, study consistently and practice over a long period of time.

Reflection

Having read this page, how has your understanding or feelings about theory changed?
Looking back at your answers to the questions at the start of the page, what of the things you wanted did you get?
What new questions did this page raise for you that you hope might be answered in the rest of this site?

Social Work Theories and Models

Mapping an uncertain territory