Handbook of Human Behavior and the Social Environment by Joe M. Schriver

Author:Joe M. Schriver [Schriver, Joe M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General
ISBN: 9781351516372
Google: ky0rDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-07-05T04:34:07+00:00

Family Adaptiveness

When working with diverse family forms, the social worker needs to keep in mind the concept of equifinality. This suggests that a system has a variety of ways of reaching a single goal. It is also assumed that systems are naturally goal oriented (Buckley 1968; Von Bertalanffy1962). Therefore, the social worker should take a strengths perspective and presuppose that the family has come for help because its members want to stay together.

There are different ways for the social worker to increase a family's adaptiveness. An adaptive family system maps and discriminates which factors members may use in their environment. By helping families develop a pool of alternative ideas and behavior, social workers assist them to become better at problem solving (Minuchin 1974). This allows families to maintain a steady state or dynamic balance. Increased positive interaction within a system is called synergy; when families have less positive interaction within the system, they exhibit entropy, or become disordered or run down. As seen in the case study below, the Rogers family appears to be running down and in need of better communication and problem-solving strategies. The practitioner tests out these presumptions while working with the family.

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