Evidence Centred Practice Essay

From its roots, social work has always remained committed to its core value of empowering people faced with life challenges. In 1915, Flexner made a profound statement that social work lacked a research base to be identified as a unique profession, as it primarily implements knowledge from other professions (as cited in Cnaan & Dichter, 2008, p. 279). According to Greene (2001), social theorists have been trying to conceptualize a scientific framework that can be directly applied to social work practice. Research by Gitterman and Knight (2013) suggests that social workers must embrace research based methods in order to guide their practice. While research should be a framework that social work practice is based on, Greene (2001) identifies that it is important to combine empirical findings with a “reflective approach”, which accounts for the quality of the relationship that the client develops with the therapist. Social workers should adopt an evidence-guided practice approach as it helps rely on a scientific knowledge base, without letting our core value of empowering clients be affected.
Evidence-based practice in social work
Cournoyer argues that evidence-based social work practice involves identification and evaluation of practice effectiveness that can be the impetus to selection and
These factors include the relationship between the worker and client, the cultural and social context, the characteristics of the worker and the client. Evidence guided practice recognizes that while research can be used to choose the best technique to address the clients’ difficulties; the deliverance of this technique allows for the worker to be spontaneous, creative and genuine when dealing with the unique needs of the individual (Gitterman & Knight,