Collaborative Helping: A Strengths Framework for Home–Based Services

Praise for Collaborative Helping: A Strengths Framework for Home–Based Services Collaborative Helping is a must read for all community–based workers in multi–stressed social contexts. Prevalent intervention models, focused on reducing youth and family deficits, too often become problemsaturated and defeated by clients overwhelming life challenges. In contrast, the authors strength–based family centered approachimmediately practical and effectivebreathes new hope, possibilities, and vision into their lives, encouraging their best efforts and mutual support toward their aspirations and positive growth. Froma Walsh, PhD, Co–Founder & Co–Director, Chicago Center for Family Health; Mose & Sylvia Firestone Professor Emerita, The University of Chicago, Author, Strengthening Family Resilience Collaborative Helping provides a practical, principle–based approach for working alongside people in the community. Case managers and paraprofessionals who work in health, mental health, employment, and other organizations will benefit from reading and adopting both the collaborative, strength–based stance and the strategy for mapping client plans and goals as described in this book. Benjamin M. Ogles, Dean and Professor of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Rarely have I read a book that so clearly links theory to practice in such a useful way. This book is an insightful guide for making Health and Human Services more sympathetic to those who become part of complex systems. It offers a hopeful, engaging model of practice to help workers and their agencies respond effectively to families in crisis. It is a must read for every front–line worker and agency supervisor. Michael Ungar, PhD, Co–Director, Resilience Research Centre, Professor of Social Work, Dalhousie University This book is a guide that all helping professionals can use to navigate the complexities of home and community work by building collaborative relationships with clients and their families. Containing advice for working with individual clients and their families, it also provides strategies for dealing with reluctant and difficult clients using a strengths–based, client–centered perspective. Drawing from the authors 60 years of combined experience in the field and numerous interviews with frontline practitioners and people seeking help, this resource uses stories to introduce and illustrate core ideas and practices. The book offers a framework for helping professionals across many different contexts to assist clients to envision desired lives, address long–standing problems, and develop effective coping strategies in the context of their local communities. Collaborative Helping is a road map, for workers such as case managers, child welfare workers, home health care workers, residential workers, as well as those who train, educate, and supervise those workers. This sustainable, strengths–based model of collaborative helping is widely applicable, including integrated care environments as well as organizations using a recovery and client–centered approach.

Acknowledgments vii Introduction xi About the Authors xix chapter 1 Helping: What, How, and Why 1 Stories of Helping Relationships 1 Walking and Talking 8 Helping Activities—The What of Helping 9 Relational Connection—The How of Helping 12 Experience and Stories—The Why of Helping 14 Placing Collaborative Helping in a Broader Context 17 Moving Collaborative Helping Into the Future 20 chapter 2 Cornerstones of Collaborative Helping 23 Collaborative Helping as a Principle–Based Approach 23 Collaborative Helping and Relational Stance 26 Collaborative Helping and a Focus on Life Stories 33 Collaborative Helping and Inquiry 40 The Cornerstones in Plain English 46 chapter 3 A Map to Guide Helping Efforts 49 Introducing Collaborative Helping Maps 50 The Collaborative Helping Map in Action 52 Organizing Vision and Preferred Directions in Life 53 Obstacles and Supports 58 The Plan 64 The Usefulness of a Map 68 chapter 4 Collaborative Helping Maps in Different Contexts 69 Using Collaborative Helping Maps in Residential Programs 69 Using Collaborative Helping Maps to Enhance Conversations in Child Protective Services 78 Using Collaborative Helping Maps in the Changing World of Health Care 91 Current and Potential Uses for Collaborative Helping Maps 96 chapter 5 Engaging People to Envision New Lives 99 Engagement—Who Are You and What Is Important to You? 99 Vision—Where Would You Like to Be Headed in Your Life? 102 Engagement Difficulties 108 Engaging a Youth with a No Problem Stance 111 Engaging a Woman with a No Control Stance 115 Difficulties Developing a Vision 118 Connecting to Build Desired Futures 123 chapter 6 Rethinking Problems and Strengths 125 Rethinking Strengths and Needs 126 Conversations about Problems as Obstacles Separate from People 127 A Map for Externalizing Conversations about Problems 135 Conversations about Strengths as Intentional Practices of Living 139 A Map for Conversations about Strengths 142 Applications of Conversations about Strengths 144 New Conversations about Problems and Strengths 148 chapter 7 Dilemmas in Home and Community Services 151 Concrete Help, Boundaries, and the Terrain of Home and Community Work 152 The Contribution of Family Partners to Collaborative Helping 159 Relational Stance and Advocacy Efforts 161 Power Dynamics in Working With the Larger Helping System 162 Dilemmas in Advocacy Efforts 166 Helping People More Effectively Advocate for Themselves 173 In the End, It’s Still Walking and Talking 174 chapter 8 Sustainable Helping 177 Using Collaborative Helping Maps to Enhance Supervision 177 Building Institutional Structures that Support Collaboration 183 Building Organizational Cultures that Support Collaboration 190 A Brief Look Back 199 References 203 Index 209

WILLIAM MADSEN, PhD, is an internationally–renowned consultant in the fields of family therapy and social work. He is the author of Collaborative Therapy with Multi–Stressed Families, a social work text used widely by public agencies and graduate programs. In 2013, he was awarded the Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy, Theory, and Practice award by the American Family Therapy Academy. KEVIN GILLESPIE, MHSA, RN, is the Executive Director of Integrated Services and the founding director of Blue Sky Alliance of Appalachian Ohio. He has more than 30 years of experience combining direct service, system development, and administration. His work focuses on innovative service solutions for public service systems and in alliance with therapeutic, housing, and employment professionals.