The Power Dynamics between Professions and Self-help Groups with Mentally Ill Family Members in Taiwan: The Implication for Social Work Intervention
Resource
臺大社會工作學刊, 5, 001-051
Journal
臺大社會工作學刊
Journal Issue
5
Pages
001-051
Date Issued
2001-12
Date
2001-12
Author(s)
Yu, A.H.Y.
Abstract
Disregarding the core role of "power" in the social work professional relationship, the imbalanced power structure between the profession and their clients has been long ignored. Accordingly, the empowerment strategies to activate the client's potentials have not been well developed. Since the needs of the mentally ill and their families have been less cared by the social work profession in Taiwan, studying the self-help groups with mentally ill family members in Taiwan will serve as a perfect opportunity to examine the power dynamics between the professions and their clientele. How have the self-help groups with mentally ill family members in Taiwan been emerging by different forces? What roles have the professions played at different stages of self-help group development? Hasenfeld's political-economy perspective has been based to understand the development of the self-help groups with mentally ill family members in Taiwan, and the interaction between each profession and clientele was analyzed with reference to "power dependence". Combining both quantitative (survey questionnaire of all 21 existing self-help groups with mentally ill family members) and qualitative data (in-depth interview, participant observation, and inside documents of self-help groups), the researcher has accomplished the following goals: (1)To understand the formulation dynamics and development of these self-help groups in Taiwan, (2) To explore their operation strategies, (3) Based on the interaction between different professions and these self-help groups to generate some empowerment strategies. It is found that the emergence of these self-help groups could be attributed to three forces: self-initiation, subordinate to the local health unit or hospital. They have very different formulation dynamics, structures and sizes. As to their operation logics and interacion with different professions, not mutually exclusive, but unigue stragtegies could be observed. Based on the above findings, feasible empowerment principles have been generated from some scholars' discourses to help the social work professionals who are committed to work with these groups.
Subjects
自助團體
精神病友
專業關係
權力依賴
充權
self-help group
the mentally ill
professional relation-ship
power dependence
empowerment
Type
journal article