Unraveling Power Issues in Social Work Practice with Couples

Social workers are obliged more than others to consistently view problems and issues in their larger social, political, and economic contexts in all arenas of practice. Gun-toting teens, forgotten elders, "welfare mothers, " and abused wives are more than their biologies, psychologies, or family dynamics. Rather, these and other "problems " are "made" (Anderson, 1995, p. 10) and remade within institutional structures. They are created in social, political, and economic life. Similarly, social workers who work with couples without addressing the broader social scene that creates the category "couple " may reinforce the inequitable roles that have captured men and (especially) women for centuries. Social workers given their historical commitment to illuminating and remediating oppressive social institutions and circumstances, have a unique opportunity and responsibility to exert leadership in bringing socio-political awareness to this practice arena. That men and women exhibit differences in their approach to relationships is wel