Read the text and do the tasks
1. Restorative practice tends to assume that if a deficit is successfully treated, then the person will again be able to achieve a good quality of life. If medications for depression work, health is restored and one's quality of life will increase. Developmental approaches tend to assume the opposite approach. That is, if people's strengths can be increased, then their ability to handle deficits, stress, and adversity will also increase. For example, if a client successfully completes a training program that leads to a good job, then self-confidence may increase and the ability to handle depression and other adverse situations will likewise improve. In mental health, both restorative and developmental practice are important. One without the other usually leads to flawed intervention.
2. Developmental approaches are particularly suitable for use by social workers. In developmental practice, the role of a social worker becomes that of an enabler, teacher, counsellor, advocate, and supporter rather than that of a therapist who focuses on restoration. Empowerment is an important goal. The worker strives to help people take charge of their own lives because people, not professionals, manage their own illnesses and recovery.
(Tuula Heinonen : Social work in health and mental health / Tuula Heinonen, Anna Metteri. – Toronto : Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., 2005. – P. 48).
Choose the correct summary of the text.
The passage I’ve just read is from the monograph «Social work in health and mental health» edited by Tuula Heinonen and Anna Metteri. The passage examines two approaches to treating mental illnesses. The extract gives us an outline about restorative and developmental approaches that are used in mental health. According to restorative practice if a mental problem is successfully treated, then the person will be able to get a good quality of life. Developmental practice sticks to another point of view. It believes that if people’s strength can be increased then their ability to cope with depression will improve. However the author puts forward the idea that both restorative and developmental approaches are important and should be used together. And why not?
The title of the monograph the passage is taken from is «Social work in health and mental health» edited by Tuula Heinonen and Anna Metteri. Restorative and developmental practices are two opposite approaches to treating mental illnesses. Restorative practice uses medications for depression to restore health and to make one’s quality of life better. According to developmental approach the strengths of people influence their ability to cope with deficits and stresses. Developmental approach is good for use by social workers. They try to increase self-confidence of clients and help people take responsibility for their own lives. I’d like to mention here that they don’t use any medications in their work. So I think it is far safer but it’s up to clients to choose the type of therapy, if any.
The extract touches upon the issue of social work practice that deals with such problems as deficits, stresses and strengths of people. I’d like to note that there are two opposite approaches to solving these problems, restorative and developmental practices. According to restorative practice it is necessary to use medications to cure people from stresses and deficits. It stands to reason that medications are often extremely helpful and, with some illnesses such as depression, can restore a great number of people to healthy state without other interventions. In developmental practice the role of a social worker is to help people get rid of stresses and depression without using any medications.
The extract I would like to speak about is from the monograph «Social work in health and mental health» edited by Tuula Heinonen and Anna Metteri. The extract faces the problem of understanding and developing the strengths of people who suffer from mental illnesses and stresses. The main idea of the passage is to reveal the difference between two approaches to treating mental illnesses. The developmental approach uses own resources of people in order to help them meet the following goals: to enhance quality of life, to develop their own problem-solving skills and to deal with stress and adversity. Nevertheless the restorative approach is the most common and is central to the medical mode. In a restorative approach the helper attempts to return a client to a healthy state with the help of medications.
