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Have you ever found yourself well into
a conversation? When you suddenly

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realized you weren't talking about the
same thing your friend was.

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This happens surprisingly often between
two or more people. And if it happens

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in casual conversations,

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What makes us think it can't happen in
a more professional environment?

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So imagine the kind of chaos that can
result from miscommunication between

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pros who literally make it their job to
improve lives and societies.

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So what do you say to a quick talk?

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About theories, perspective, and
believe it or not. A little bit of

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grammar.

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You know, English can be a tricky
language. It has a highly complex

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system of grammar and syntax, but an
additional little quirk to English is

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that any given word can have a wide
variety of definitions. Take the word

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theory, for instance. Depending on
where you look, you're going to trip

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across any number of definitions, all
of them perfectly valid for the concept

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of a theory. OK, now, social workers
approach their practice from a variety

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of theoretical perspectives.

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They also have to collaborate with any
number of other disciplines who also

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use a variety of theoretical
perspectives, so is it any real

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surprise.

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That when we discuss theory at a
professional level, if we're not

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careful.

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We can wind out talking about two
different things in the exact same

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conversation.

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Let's take a look at psychology here.

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As mentioned, psychologists study the
human mind and human behavior. It's

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that focus on the mind that guides a
great deal of psychological research.

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You see, to understand the mind.

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One has to have a strong foundation in
the physiology of the human central

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nervous system, the endocrine system,
and a variety of other physiological

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processes in the body to understand how
that contributes to cognitive processes

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which in turn contribute to human
behaviors. As such, psychology has to

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have a very strong biological element.

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Incorporated into the discipline, but
they also study something very abstract,

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the human mind.

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Something you cannot take a picture of
in a CAT scan or something like that,

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it is an abstract concept and as such
it can be very resistant to certain

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types of what's known as empirical
inquiry, um.

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As a result, there is also a very
strong psychological component in the

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discipline of psychology, big surprise,
right, is very smart people use their

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rational abilities to theorize how the
mind brings the entire scope of

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cognition together. And contributes to
behavior. So can you see where we're

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going with this? We've got a bio
component. We've got a psycho component

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just in the field of psychology and of
course because they are at heart a

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scientific discipline requiring
rigorous scientific methods.

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Whenever possible.

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A theory That results in the field of
psychology is known as a scientific

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theory. It is the result of a
hypothesis that has been processed

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through a scientific method that can be
replicated time and again.

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OK, let's take a look at the
sociologist's perspective of theory. OK,

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sociologists have a lot in common with
social workers. Number one, they are of

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course interested in studying the
behavioral dynamics that contribute to

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group activities, to societies at large,
and other similar ideas. They also can

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practice at a micro, meso, or macro
level, much like social workers. In

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fact, sociologists even propose what
are known as grand level theories that

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apply more or less at a planetary scale.

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But that being said, they are still
theories, which means they are a work

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in progress of some sort. They're
different a little bit, however, quite

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often from the scientific theory we
just discussed. You see, sociologists

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use historical data, they use current
event data, they use active

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observational data. They take all of
this knowledge, and very smart people

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use it. To suggest how things come
about and how things can be modified to

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achieve results going forward with
regards to social dynamics. In other

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words, they can literally.

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Have a theory about how things work.

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Now because this is a field literally
called sociology, there is a very, very

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strong social focus in much of what
they do. And if you've been paying

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attention the last couple of slides,
you will note that sociologists and

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psychologists bring together a very
solid mix. To contribute to a

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biopsychosocial perspective, something
very important in the field of social

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work.

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So as social workers, as professionals.

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We can Reference the entire frame of
theoretical perspectives. In other

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words, we can wrap our head around the
grammar and syntax of multiple

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disciplines as we go about our business.
A solid foundation can pull from the

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biological foundations of medicine and
psychology. We can pull from the social

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foundations of sociology and other
romance disciplines. We can pull from

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the psychological foundations of the
fields of psychology and others that

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are similar and develop a truly
biopsychosocial understanding. Of human

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behavior and how it contributes to
societies at large.

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In addition to that

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This comprehensive theoretical capacity
allows us to interact seamlessly across

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disciplines.

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Many disciplines practice what's known
as an eclectic approach. To their

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fields Social work is no different.
Eclecticism is a capacity to use a

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large variety of methods and
perspectives and tools and skills, and

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we can pick and choose which ones are
necessary right now to work on this

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client's. Problem to work on this
agency's continued success, to work on

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this society's best practice, it allows
for a level of adaptability that can

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become truly impressive with time.

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At their best, social workers combine
their expertise with the efforts of

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Countless other professionals to
improve the lives of people and

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societies.

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But you see, recognizing that multiple
perspectives exist. is not enough.

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As social workers, we must learn to
balance and consider a sizable

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abundance of input in our efforts to
evaluate best practices and solutions.

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Over the course of your studies and
careers, you will build a toolkit of

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skills and knowledge to help you get
things done.

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So let's start.

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Let's start with one of the most
important skills to add to your toolkit.

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Join me in the next video as we discuss.