Clara Cruz Santos

Reconceptualizing social work in times of crisis: An examination of the cases of Greece, Spain and Portugal

What started as a peripheral banking crisis in 2008 within five years triggered the deepest recession Europe has seen in decades, escalating to manifold socio-political crises. Under these circumstances, many social workers find themselves in a situation of extreme pressure and insecurity. Traditional theories and orthodox practices are now challenged by frontline social workers. This article explores such a ‘reconceptualization’ process, evaluating recent developments and changes in Spanish, Portuguese and Greek social work. We argue that the current crisis has generated a profound (re)politicization of social workers which leads to the redefinition of the core values and principles of social work.

Assessing ‘empowerment’ as social development: goal and process

ABSTRACT Empowerment is a concept widely used in several policy documents and is presented, in social work and social care professional universes, as an operative process to reduce vulnerability and to increase the power, or capabilities, of individuals and groups to make choices and to transform these into actions and results. However, to move beyond rhetoric and paternalistic practices, we need to understand what empowerment really means and implies in different contexts, and especially, how to evaluate what has changed (outcomes) or is changing (processes), both on an individual and a collective level.