Theory
The issues of the relationship between theoretical grounds and practical validity of every science attract the attention of numerous scholars, including Parton, Jordan, Sheldon, and many others. The major idea of their theories coincides in the point that the relation between the theoretical and practical parts of the science they deal with, i. e. social work, should allow for people’s use of the findings of the science for actual benefit. From the point of view of human development theory, Id deals with this issue as a wish to theorize and “scientize” (Parton, Some Thoughts On The Relationship Between Theory And Practice In And For Social Work, 450) everything, while Ego seeks for the personal use of social work and Superego deals with social benefit and overall access to it.
Thus, no obvious or hidden weak points of these theories can be observed. On the contrary, such an approach discloses only strengths thereof, among which the straight direction to public use of science, making its use easier for non-specialists, and making social work from a mere consulting or looking after a person into a means of actual help to this or that man or woman. This is of special importance in concern of MICA substances abuse people, as their issues demand practical and urgent help, but it should be based on adequate and accurate theoretical data.
Application
The application of literature on the issues of basic features of social work as a discipline and as a science is rather wide. First of all, the literature is dedicated to the topic of drawing boundaries between the theoretical science and practical usefulness of this very science of social work. This very area of application of the scholarly literature on the topic is of paramount importance as it distinguishes the lines between the area of interest for scholars and professionals only and a wide range of users of the social work services. Thus, ordinary people can access social work and make use of it in difficult situations in life. For example, it is not necessary to be a professional practitioner and possess a large amount of theoretical knowledge to be able to take care of a person and advise them in such a situation as, for example, MICA substances abuse. Consequently, another sphere of application for the literature on the topic is the help of social workers in improving their skills and efficiency of their work. If social workers are aware of the main principles of practical help to people with MICA substances abuse, their work will be more effective and humane, while they will consider the main ideas of communication with MICA abusers.
Practice
During my practice as a social worker, I had to deal with numerous clients who had various problems, among which MICA substances abuse was one of the most often cases. Thus, to be able to help the people I had the fortune to communicate with, I had to consider the theories and practical guidelines as for how a social worker should distinguish between the situations when a theory is of help and when practical help is of paramount importance. Thus, for example, when I had to deal with a client who complained about MICA substances abuse connected as he claimed with the failures he had encountered at work, I understood that was not much use in explaining the theory of social work to this person. It was obvious that this client demanded urgent and effective help in order to save him as a complete personality for a rightful life in society. Thus, I used the technique of role plays, making him recall the situations at work where he experienced his failures and giving him a chance to either correct his mistake as if in the presence of his CEO or prove his being right in this or that question. This way, I helped this man to recover from his depression and drop the substances abuse that he had already adjusted to. So, the practical use of the works on theoretical and practical parts of social work was proved by one of the experiences I had in my practice.
Case Study
The case study in respect of this very issue is connected with the study of the scholarly literature dedicated to the topic of differentiation between practical and theoretical social sciences. Thus, the present case study was the review of the works by such specialists as Parton, Sheldon, Sheppard, and Jordan. On the whole, their works can be united according to the main idea of them all, which is the necessity of clear and distinct differentiation between the theory of social work and its practical implementation. According to Parton (2000), the main features of modern social work, which takes its roots in the late 19th century, are “uncertainty, confusion, and doubt” (Some Thoughts On The Relationship Between Theory And Practice In And For Social Work, 452), and the main task that scholars have in their work is making these parameters into “great strength and distinctiveness” (Some Thoughts On The Relationship Between Theory And Practice In And For Social Work, 461).
References
Parton, N. (2000). “Some Thoughts on the Relationship between Theory and Practice in and for Social Work”. British Journal of Social Work, 30: 449 – 463.