Working with Family Violence

This article discusses the use of attachment theory and strengths-based approaches in working with family violence. It explores how social workers can support individuals and families in distress and provides insights from a case study. The article emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying factors of homelessness and the role of social workers in promoting self-sufficiency and autonomy.

Running head: WORKING WITH FAMILY VIOLENCE
WORKING WITH FAMILY VIOLENCE
Name of the Student:
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Author note:

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Introduction
The goals of the human services domain devoid of organizations would be unfeasible to
accomplish. Human services is identified as an extensive sector which entails an extensive range
of disciplines, awareness, expertise and skills paying attention towards improving human welfare
at individual and mutual level. Social workers are accountable for aiding individuals, families
along with groupings of individuals to efficiently deal with issues which they are encountering to
develop their life conditions (Maidment & Egan, 2016). It has been noted that within the domain
of social work, there can be observed various specializations and sectors that experts can follow
and shed light on. While these different domains all individuals necessitate practitioners to show
the foundations of social work such as empathy, resilience and persistence and respect for
various circumstances. There are several skill sets and knowledge that social workers will require
to assist with issues unswervingly caused by distress, disability, destabilized family conditions,
ill-treatment, psychological as well as emotional troubles, addiction and sensitive, chronic or
terminal ill health (Australian Community Workers Association, 2007). Some social workers
tend to shed light on skills as one area of expertise by going into specific fields. The primary aim
of this paper is to explain the use of attachment theory and strengths-based approaches to relate
to the case study of Bailey who has been seeking youth support service after leaving home for
almost 8 months.
Discussion
Human services professionals engaged to community, residential care services or
institutional settings offering direct services for instance leading a group, arranging activities, or
efficiently offering individual counseling. Fletcher and Fitness (2014) have noted that social

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work practitioners have the capacity to handle certain administrative support tasks. According to
Cournover (2008), since several social work practitioners include direct association with people
who are undergoing distressed situations and are susceptible to exploitation. At this juncture,
social work practitioners have been applying the approach in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of
the clients. According to Holmes (2014), in a subsystem ‘family’, a disharmonious,
unconstructive family environment with an apprehensive connection ambiance is seen as a vital
factor related to the problem behaviour. A rationalization for such a situation can draw relevance
from the attachment theory developed by Bowlby. Based on the case study of Bailey, it has been
noted that Bailey has left her home around eight months ago. Since leaving her home where she
stayed with her mother and step father, Bailey has been moving around staying with friends,
Lastly, she seek resort to youth support service for getting her daily meals and at least charge her
phone. Such unstable accommodation has led her to develop a sense of homelessness as she has
no secured accommodation and thus failing to attend school. Bailey’s current situation can be
related to attachment theory. Fletcher and Fitness (2014) have noted that the theory establishes a
connection linking the standards of the early parent-child relationship, consequently socio-
emotional improvement in addition to the arrangement of interpersonal relations. Homelessness
in youths is somewhat explained within the support of attachment theory. The association
between family conditions, parenting process, experiences of separation as well as loss in
addition to value of the attachment connection was observed in a group of young people who are
suffering from homelessness (Perlman et al., 2014). The more steady the insecure attachment
experiences, the extent to which an individual tends to develop a working model whereby he or
she constructs an unconstructive image of his or her own and the surrounding world. While
evaluating the case of Bailey, similar occurrences have been observed in which with the constant

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confrontations with the world Bailey failed to depend on neither her own competence nor on the
sustainability of her surroundings. In the view of authors, from the viewpoint of the Attachment
theory, the dilemma of leaving or being away from home or turning to be destitute becoming
homeless is not regarded as an event or the direct outcome of a disagreement with the parents. It
shows higher propensity to be a profoundly rooted psychological crisis, emerging from
substantial absence of trust and resilience in the availability and accessibility of the family
(Adams, 2016). Similarly, Bailey’s crisis is comparable with rising lack of reliance which will be
comprehensive to the wider social setting and consequently result to a general incapacity to
connect in as well as sustain social associates or to the proceed to the avoidance that is conscious
or unaware level of such links. Such a situation as a result, leads to an insecure attachment
atmosphere in itself and consequently tends to be identified as a risk issue for the implication of
fugitive behaviour.
The issue of Bailey exhibits a case of insecure attachment. Although she has a stable
relation with her mother and her elder sister Dana, a 21 years old university student, her primary
apprehensive area concerns her hesitant relationship with her stepfather. As per the attachment
theory, homeless individuals report increased levels of childhood mistreatment which involves
emotional, sexual as well as physical ill-treatment which have resulted to increased attachment
insecurity. Barczyk, Thompson and Rew (2014) have noted that homelessness results to a loss of
individual control and trust in the environment in the form of: threats to individual wellbeing
along with elevated rates of physical as well as personal assault in shelters. Furthermore, self-
harm implications tend to from indulge in drug usage and insufficient medical assistance which
have significantly contributed to the development of insecure attachment. As a result, the
attachment theory speculates as to the direction of the association between homelessness as well

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as trivializing attachment either an augmented risk of anxious attachment consequential from the
circumstances of detachment in childhood thus augmenting the risk of homelessness in adult age
(Adams, 2016). Based on case of Bailey, it can be noted that she initially had a secure
attachment style in childhood, thus to deal with the circumstances she should develop a
trivializing attachment style when she becomes homeless.
On the other hand, while perceiving at the particular needs of homeless teenagers, it has
been noted that they primarily wish to attain a stable position in the society and further to receive
utmost care from professionals and most importantly receive practical support and care services
(Murphy et al., 2015). Drawing insights from the case study, it has been revealed that Bailey
after visiting a number of times for emergency assistance had been passed on for continuous
support along with care management services. At this juncture, in support with social work
practitioners, it is imperative to develop a strengths-based approach method to understand the
underlying factors of homelessness. As per the view of authors, both scientific as well as
practical evidence emphasized the significance of strengths-based technique in social work.
Krabbenborg et al. (2017) have noted that primary factors have been essentially derived from a
strengths-based model which has been initially developed for populace suffering from
psychiatric disability. At present, the strengths based approach has been applied while dealing
with diverse subgroups of clients. Barczyk, Thompson and Rew (2014) have cited the examples
of teenagers belonging to unstable family surroundings in Western nations. To these situations,
the strengths-based model tends to contribute to a major reduction in depression, improved life
contentment in addition to resurgence from a sense of self. Additionally, strengths based
approach among homeless young individuals, exhibits an affirmative connection with range of
hospitalizations, value of life, social execution in addition to social support (Dybicz, 2015).

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Comprehensive studies of Rew et al. (2017) have noted that the primary purpose of social
work practitioners in applying strengths-based model is to develop the value of life of homeless
youths by shedding light on their areas of strengths as well as inspiring their competence for
independence and self-sufficiency. The essential theory of the strengths point of view relies on
the idea that individuals have people have significant strengths, talents as well as goals and that
all settings chiefly comprises of essential resources, individuals and avenues (Krabbenborg et al.,
2017). Authors have claimed that the strengths model emphasizes that the competence for
development and recovery is regarded as an instinctive ability of individuals. Thus, drawing
relevance from the case study, homeless teenagers like Bailey who have encountered noteworthy
events tend to instigate change by investigating exploring their intrinsic strengths and
aspirations. At this juncture, social workers while dealing with homeless youths like Bailey must
shed light on individual strengths instead of focusing on problems as well as deficits. According
to Perlman et al. (2014), young homeless individuals especially teenagers are identified as their
personal leader of the serving process along with the working connection is chief and
indispensable for developing self-sufficiency in addition to autonomy. For that reason, the main
setting for social workers in providing services to homeless individuals is the society which can
be considered as an retreat of recourses (Fletcher & Fitness, 2014).
On the other hand, Martin (2017) has claimed that young teenagers in social care settings
or human service organizations show a tendency to obtain care as per the Houvast method. As
per the studies of authors, Houvast intends at supporting the improvement development of
homeless youths by shedding light on four conditional dynamics in order to attain social quality
chiefly related to social inclusion, socio-economic protection, and communal solidity in addition
to social empowerment (Krabbenborg et al. 2017). Furthermore, in applying the strengths-based

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approach, a trajectory mainly constitutes of three parts related to the formation of trust
relationship as well as the establishment of individual revival goals on the basis of strength
evaluation. On the other hand, studies conducted by Rashid (2015) on social work and offering
human services to homeless individuals have revealed that social workers shed light on
constructive activities in order to sustain the individual recovery process of homeless youths and
further to accomplish their goals as well as assessment in addition to the end or prolongation of
the trajectory. However, these parts do not show any form of self-supporting or detached
dynamics but on the other hand are highly interconnected. According to Dybicz (2015),
establishing a working connection with teenagers or youths as well as incessantly updating the
‘strengths assessment’ as well as ‘recovery plan’ is imperative at some point in the whole
trajectory due to its steady manifestation on activities and attainments. In the view of authors, the
strengths based approach along with personal recovery plan are identified as two chief tools in
the strengths model which are mainly meant to be implemented in concurrence with each other.
Based on the case study, it can be stated that the strengths evaluation will enable teenage youths
like Bailey and the experts of the youth support service centres to efficiently organize and further
utilize numerous areas of competences and strength of youths concerning resources in their
living setting. Following to a thorough estimation of the individual attributes of Bailey or any
other homeless teenager is made, an individual recovery preparation can aid them to attain their
constructive as well as significant long term revival goals through vital stages and procedures.
Meanwhile, professionals engaged to this field of service must receive efficient day
training to obtain skills and knowledge of varied conditions which are essential to be attained to
proficiently as well as successfully implement the strengths-based approach (Kam, 2014). Such
an approach is considered to be of particular significance for the reason that in favour of a

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thriving execution of strengths-based approach, the health service organization along with its
management be obliged to adapt particular point of views, perceptions as well as practices.
Barczyk, Thompson and Rew (2014) have noted that clients must be positioned at the peak of the
health service organization and all organizational workforces are compliant to them. Based on
the case of Bailey and the youth support services which has been addressed by Bailey, the
managers must draw utmost subservience to experts. At this juncture, these social workers must
require be strongly established in the strengths based values which are mainly employed by their
proficient and to be competent to incorporate them in their strategy of social services
(Krabbenborg et al., 2017). The paradigm shift professionals require developing greater clarity
from information acquired from the narratives of homeless individuals seeking social services as
well as team leaders with the focus groups with homeless teenagers. Thus, as per the strengths-
based model, professionals requires to shed light on the areas strengths as well as competences of
teenagers who are homeless rather than focusing on their troubles, although this is not regarded
as a part of professionals’ formal guidance or daily routine (Adams, 2016).
Conclusion
Hence to conclude, lack of secured attachment relationship with family in the past
comprises of a risk issue whereby all its outcomes tend to have prolonged detrimental impacts.
As per the attachment theory, in destitute teenagers the significant lack of faith and confidence in
the ease of use and convenience of families at the early stage of life of individuals tend to show
substantial level of generalization to the wider social milieu, resulting to the lack of ability to
connect to and maintain social associations or to circumvent such associates. It has been noted
that it is the response of these teenagers to a account of negative response from their own
families and neglect in addition to a mechanism for continued existence in an insensible and

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apathetic setting. On the other hand, training continued as per the strategy in addition to experts,
team leaders as well as supervisors have been highly keen on the subject of the training and the
application of strengths-based intervention. Moreover, in order to efficiently concentrate on the
areas of challenges with the aim of professionals and health service organizations tend to
encounter while implementing as well as adopting the strengths-based approach serves as a more
all-inclusive approach.

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