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© British Association of Social Workers

The Promise and the Pitfalls of Learned Helplessness Theory for Social Work Practice

JAMES G. BARBER

The author is currently a lecturer in social work at James Cook University. He has also had extensive experience as a practitioner, having worked with psychiatric patients, rural Aboriginal communities and as a street worker with unemployed youth and alcoholic men. He was recently awarded a doctorate in psychology for his research into learned helplessness theory

Summary

Because it articulates a psychology of powerlessness and because it focuses on the interactions between the individual and the social environment, Learned Helplessness Theory deserves to become an important new practice theory within social work. However, the theory also suffers from certain unresolved problems which currently limit its usefulness. This paper reviews Learned Helplessness Theory for social workers and directs the attention of practitioners to some crucial theoretical issues to be borne in mind when applying the theory to practice.


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