THE MEANING AND FEATURES OF THE POSTMODERN APPROACH TO SOCIAL WORK

Za razliku od prethodnih »razvojnih razdoblja« socijalnog rada, kada smo se intenzivno bavili otkrivanjem patološkog, traženjem problema i njihovim rješavanjem, u jednom od aktualnih pristupa suvremenog socijalnog rada, postmodernom pristupu, u fokusu je odnos između sudionika u pomažućem procesu. Pomoć se zajedničkim snagama su-ostvaruje putem odnosa, u okviru kojeg socijalni radnik i korisnik pronalaze nova rješenja u postojećem korisnikovom povijesnom, socijalnom i kulturnom kontekstu. U radu su opisana obilježja postmodernog pristupa u pomažućem procesu tijekom kojeg se od odnosa između socijalnog radnika i korisnika razvija jedna kvalitativno nova interakcija, tzv. »radni odnos« sa svim specifičnostima koje u njega unose sami sudionici. Upotrebom termina »radni odnos« socijalni radnik i osoba koja traži pomoć postaju suradnici u zajedničkom »projektu«, oni otkrivaju, planiraju promjene, problematiziraju, reflektiraju, vode dijalog i zaključuju odnos. U tom suradničkom »projektu« socijalni radnik ulaže svoje profesionalno znanje, vještine, ali i pozitivna osobna iskustva, dok korisnik ulaže svoje poznavanje sebe, situacije i svojih resursa.Unlike previous “stages of development” of social work, in which we intensely dealt with the discovery of the pathological and with the search for problems and their solving, one of the current approaches to modern social work, the postmodern approach, is focused on the relationships between participants in the helping process. Help is realised with joint forces through the relationship within the framework of which the social worker and the user find new solutions in the user’s existing historical, social and cultural context. The paper describes the features of the postmodern approach to the helping process, during which a qualitatively new interaction is being developed out of the relationship between the social worker and the user, so-called “working relationship” with all the specific features that the participants themselves introduce to it. With the usage of the term “working relationships”, the social worker and the person asking for help became collaborators in a joint “project”, as they discover, plan changes, problematize, reflect, conduct a dialogue and conclude the relationship. In that joint “project”, the social worker invests his or her professional knowledge and skills, but also his or her positive personal experiences, while the user invests his or her knowledge of himself or herself, the situation and one’s own resources