[This was a paper I wrote for a class during my first year as an MSW student]
The Elaine B. Pinderhughes article, “Significance of Culture and Power in the Human Behavior Curriculum,” discussed the role of “culture,” which she defined as “commonalities around which a group of people have developed values, norms, and behavior practices,” (p. 138) and “power,” defined as “the capacity to influence for one’s own benefit the forces that affect one’s life space” (p. 139). Specifically, she discussed the concept of majority or dominant groups “maintaining … power by excluding subordinates who have been differentiated and stratified,” (p. 139) and the impact that this structure has on both sides, the majority and minority groups.
From a social worker’s perspective, understanding these concepts is important in terms of understanding your client, as a sense of having power or being powerless can have significant impact on their feelings and behaviors (p. 143-145). They also apply to every relationship that is marked by a consistent power differential, such as the situation of women and men (p. 146).
It is also important for a social worker to understand these concepts as they apply to him or herself and her own power or powerlessness, both objectively and as it relates to the client (p. 147). Awareness by the social worker, especially awareness of any power they have used and enjoyed, prepares them to understand the gains from transcending the “psychological loss” of it by understanding the gains, including “freedom from entrapment, ability to grow, flexibility and creativity in functioning, and appreciation in difference” (Pinderhughes, 1983; and Ganter and Yeakel, 1980).
It is important to be aware of the systemic nature of power and the disparity of its distribution in our society as these factors, and the powerlessness they engender in people within a minority population (whether race, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or others), can be major issues in the five areas of human functioning (p. 140). Michael Basch (1975) contends that “throughout life, the feeling of controlling one’s destiny to some reasonable extent is the essential psychological component of all aspects of life.” (P. 513). Thus, powerlessness, whether real or perceived, can have significant impact on one’s mental health (P. 139).
An appreciation of the existence of oppression within the social environment might enhance a social worker’s helpfulness to client(s) who seek our assistance, by providing some context for their experience within society. For example, when working with a transgender client it would be helpful to understand the many ways in which oppression is expressed against transgender people, such as mis-gendering. With that knowledge it is easier to keep in mind, for example, the importance of confirming the client’s preferred gender pronouns and using them.
There is a danger in assuming too much, which could easily detract from the social worker-client experience, and even result in a negative experience if the client becomes aware of any such assumption. In the example above of working with a transgender client, you might express an assumption of some form of oppression to which the client has not, in fact, been exposed. While the assumption itself may be harmless, it could be interpreted by the client as your belief that you already know their experiences before they’ve shared them with you, rather than learning about them from the client.
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