Problem:
Can you sum this up for me?
Is "the means by which individuals, groups and/or communities become able to take control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals, thereby being able to work toward helping themselves and others to maximize the quality of their life (Adams, 2008, p. xvi). Empowerment has internal and external components. The internal component, or psychological empowerment, involves a sense of control over our motivations, cognition, and personality and a belief that we can competently make decisions, solve problems, achieve goals, and have a significant impact on our environment (Segal, Gerdes, & Steiner, 2015). For members of oppressed groups, empowerment has been described as the development of the aptitudes, strengths, and sense of power or competence necessary to be recognized as equal (Zastrow, 2013). The external component of empowerment includes the tangible knowledge, competencies, skills, information, opportunities, and resources that allow a person to take action and to actively advocate change (Hepworth, Rooney, Rooney, & Strom-Gottfried, 2012).
Empowerment is a process as well as an outcome (Cattaneo & Goodman, 2015; Sullivan, 2011). When new abilities are learned through life experiences, the process of using the new abilities or competencies results in an increased sense of personal empowerment (Cattaneo, Calton, & Brodsky, 2014; Johnson, Zlotnick, & Perez, 2011; Song, 2012). Research shows a direct correlation between levels of participation and empowerment (Christens, 2012). For example, the more involved or active a person is in a challenging project, the more likely it is that he or she will experience an increased sense of empowerment. Think of a group in which you have participated. Those who actively participated in this group gained more of a sense of empowerment or competency than those who remained passive and uninvolved. As a sense of empowerment increases, individuals take more responsibility for actively improving the quality of their lives and of the environment (Miley, O'Melia, & DuBois, 2012). The outcome of this process is a sense of competency, personal power (psychological empowerment), and life satisfaction that is supported by having the skills, knowledge, and competencies necessary to actively solve problems and advocate for change (Cattaneo & Goodman, 2015).
No matter what system size the practitioner is working with (individuals through whole organizations), using an empowerment perspective allows clients to develop a sense of power and competency as they experience using their skills and knowledge in new and challenging ways and realize that they are able to accomplish difficult tasks. Practitioners who see it as their job to fix their clients are not working from an empowerment perspective because it is not possible to give someone a sense of power or empowerment. Practitioners who use an empowerment perspective relate to clients as partners and recognize that clients are the experts on their situation, their challenges, their strengths and capacities, their choice of what they will work on, their timing and pace, their goals, and their preferred way to work. In these client-practitioner partnerships, practitioners bring professional expertise and resources, and clients provide personal expertise and the energy for change. For example, practitioners can provide resources such as a space to meet, observations, information, and a supportive climate that can be useful as people begin the journey toward empowerment (Hepworth et al., 2012). Practitioners may identify opportunities that can be empowering, such as teaching others or helping and supporting others. In AA groups, the role of sponsor is empowering to the sponsor.
Practitioners can also help people discover their strengths, identify their goals, and develop a plan to reach their goals. This type of collaborative work allows clients to accept responsibility for change and therefore experience a greater sense of empowerment. It can be particularly empowering for clients to work in a group because they will have the opportunity to help and support others, to take on tasks that might seem too challenging for any one person, to share experiences and competencies with others, to learn from others, to develop skills with others, and to get feedback from numerous people (Cattaneo & Goodman, 2015). Need Assignment Help?