Although the strengths perspective seems a natural framework for social workers practicing in mental health, it often plays a minor role in planning and evaluation. Two issues complicate its use: (a) The concept of strengths has different meanings and functions, depending on whether viewed as part of assessment, intervention, or outcome, and (b) the strengths perspective is an applied concept operating only through the medium of a specific intervention, not a modality whose efficacy can be independently evaluated. When these factors are ignored, the role of the strengths perspective can seem vague, peripheral, too obvious and “soft” to be a serious component of the change process–-yet, understood in context, it is an essential element of social work's unique approach.
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