Humanistic Social Work – The THIRD WAY in Theory and Practice

Book excerpt: This book represents a new stage in the author’s project to contribute at the development of the humanistic social work theory and methodology, with special attention paid to the professional/ practitioner (social worker, caregiver, psychologist, etc.), to his psychological-spiritual and humane qualities and conducts in practice. * In the PART I is presented THE HUMANISTIC SOCIAL WORK PROJECT – the author’s initiative, started in 2009, with the assumed aim to enhance the effective presence of the humanistic values, theories and practices in contemporary social work, a theoretical, axiological and methodological framework, a heuristic laboratory, a philosophical, scientific and professional forum wherein it can be set, what could be called, the theory, axiology and methodology of the Humanistic Social Work. * PART II, HUMANE AND SPIRITUAL QUALITIES OF THE PROFESSIONAL IN HUMANISTIC SOCIAL WORK is the basic body of the paper, and is composed predominantly of three chapters. The Chapter 1, Humanistic Social Work - The Third Way in Social Work Theory and Practice, is devoted to present, theoretically, the concept, doctrine and specific of humanistic social work, with emphasis on its main sources, values, theories, practices and methods, to circumscribe, philosophically and doctrinally, Humanistic Social Work as the third way, alongside Traditional/ Conventional Social Work and Radical/ Critical Social Work, in the contemporary social work practice and theory, with the assumed claim to imposing even as dominant in the future. The Chapter 2, Humane Personality and Soul – Personal-Psychological Sources of the Professional’s Humane and Spiritual Qualities, shows what might be called, in the author’s view, the personal-psychological sources of the professional’s humane and spiritual qualities in humanistic social work practice, mainly the soul (as the main component of the psychological-ontological sphere of the humane personality), with the sub-spheres: affective (social) soul, spiritual soul (mystical, playful, aesthetic, moral, intellectual) and humane soul. It is not negligible nor the role of the axiological-moral/prosocial sphere, or of the motivational-energetical sphere. In the Chapter 3, Humane and Spiritual Qualities of The Professional in Humanistic Social Work Practice - effectively is reached the content of the topic proposed by the book’s main title, approaching so the theme regarding the humane and spiritual qualities of the professional starting from the category of ”humane personality of the professional”, and insisting on the necessity to define it in connection with the spiritual-humanistic mode/ way of representation and approach of the customer. * The PART III of the book, IDEAS, FRAGMENTS, ELEMENTS OF SOME NEW TEXTS (in working) IN THE HUMANISTIC SOCIAL WORK PROJECT, includes three works, in preparation, to whom is working to appear, in the near future, within the project, respectively “Humanistic Social Work: The Third Way in Social Work Theory and Practice”, “Humanistic Social Work Practice” and “Humanistic Social Work: Humane Personality and Humane Relationships – Basic Resources of Practice”. * The paper ends with some CONCLUSIVE CONSIDERATIONS, where it is inferred the key conclusion that, operating into the sphere of human relations, the main purpose of the professional’s activity, with his humane and spiritual qualities, is that to transform them in HUMANE relationships. To this end, his qualities represents essential personal-professional resources that can facilitate the change, that can humanize the troubled social relationships, the dehumanized, dysfunctional microcommunity, This new environment will impose,