Meaning of Strength-based Approach
A strengths-based approach is a solution focused therapy that puts focus on people’s strengths, interests and ambitions. This approach places individuals at the core of decision-making and enables individuals to take control of their care journey. SBA goes beyond focusing and solving problems, conditions and challenges; it seeks to amplify people’s abilities and strengths and identify their goals and ambitions collaboratively.
The fundamental principle of this approach is the belief that people’s care and support plans should be individually tailored around that person’s abilities and the resources accessible to them. The approach seeks to focus on allowing individuals to have the ability to choose and become more aware of their strengths and aspirations.
Ultimately, SBA shows many advantages in achieving better outcomes for families and individuals across organisational levels, while individuals experience more stability and increased well-being and resilience. The strengths-based approach outlines the transformative potential and the positive change it can bring by shifting this paradigm.
Importance of Strength-based Approach
The SBA can be utilised across multiple fields like mental health, elderly care, substance misuse and supporting children and young adults with learning disabilities as well as autism.
Communities that embrace a strengths-based approach are known to empower their residents and instil confidence in people’s abilities and contributions. When people feel supported through their achievements, they become more confident in their abilities, which enriches the community. The SBA approach also improves wellbeing and the overall quality of life by creating a support network to help individuals navigate challenges.
Examples of a Strength-based Approach
There are plenty of examples of how this approach provides multiple benefits and advantages, whether in primary care, home care, or care and support for people who need it most. By utilising their strengths, individuals don’t feel the pressure of failing. They can be more encouraged and motivated to build upon their strengths and become active participants in improving their quality of life.
Struggle With Mobility Issues
One of the most essential aspects of the strengths-based approach is encouraging self-determination, especially for individuals with mobility issues. Through SBA, health professionals can create an individually tailored care plan that will enable the individual to improve mobility through various therapies and exercises. For example, physiotherapy can help build up endurance and strength but also help individuals set targets as motivators to achieve even bigger goals.
Self-determination is what helps individuals set up goals and face challenges. However, therapists play a key role in supporting people with mobility challenges to gain confidence in their decision-making abilities by allowing them to experience confidence in the therapy itself.
Mental Health Difficulties
SBA correlates with mental health recovery merely by focusing on people’s personal strengths and abilities and helping them develop the confidence needed to embark on their recovery journey.
People are known to have strengths within themselves that can enhance recovery since personal factors are known to aid the recovery process and improve the likelihood of positive outcomes without focusing on mental health issues alone. Strengths-based therapy aims to shift an individual’s mindset and instil an optimistic worldview, allowing them to perceive themselves as resilient, resourceful, and prepared. What makes this approach different is the focus on differentiating factors that may hold back the person’s growth and empowering people to become agents of change by creating a proactive environment.
Learning Disabilities
A strengths-based practice is also highly effective in helping children and young adults with learning disabilities succeed on their educational journey. Teachers are the main actors in creating a more engaging and positive environment that will foster motivation, academic success, and self-esteem by identifying the students’ abilities, unique skills, and strengths.
Parents, teachers and caregivers are the ones who can initially recognise the strengths of every student with learning disabilities and are responsible for creating a classroom environment that will build upon these strengths. Using key principles from the SBA, students with learning disabilities can improve their confidence and classroom engagement but, more importantly, become successful in their learning through the strengths assessment.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
SBA is also used to support autistic individuals and help build upon their existing strengths while focusing on their likes, unique skills and abilities. The SBA approach gravitates towards following the lead of an autistic individual and their interests and engaging with others, which are all relevant aspects when creating a tailored care plan that will focus on the person’s progress and development.
The SBA studies the interests, for example, of an autistic child and what are the things that the child will find stimulating by allowing them to fully explore the environment, objects and surroundings around him because these interests help gain knowledge of what helps the brain develop and how that child perceives the world. The concept of accepting children and adults with autism as they are while incorporating their ways of thinking into therapeutic and educational techniques is one of the principles of the strengths-based approach.
The focus of SBA for people with autism is to support people in learning to adapt to the world around them while retaining the essence of who they are through a strengths perspective.
Addiction and Substance Abuse
This positive approach is often utilised in positive psychology. It is used alongside other therapies for treating addiction and substance misuse by focusing on the person’s strengths rather than their weaknesses.
The SBA approach is used to tackle people’s challenges from a positive perspective. This can be done by helping clients build confidence and developing coping mechanisms to help them endure challenging periods. The goal is to help people see themselves with compassion and respect and cultivate a positive outlook on life and the world around us. This approach can remind us that no matter how hard things get, we have the strength and the skills to overcome these obstacles.
The strength-based practice helps people showcase their own strengths and learn how all learned skills have helped them navigate life and past experiences in their own lives. By understanding people’s best qualities and positive aspects, everyone is better equipped to use healthy coping mechanisms that feel empowering and help make choices intentionally.
Person-cenred Care as a Part of Strength-based Approach
The SBA approach is closely linked to a person-centred methodology that promotes dignity, compassion and respect while putting people’s needs at the core of receiving and delivering care. The person-centred approach focuses on a collaborative process with the person and their family to provide the best health outcomes and embrace all aspects of people’s lives.
Person-centred care gives a different aspect of delivering and receiving care as people are seen for who they are and not through the lens of their condition or health condition.
Strength-based Approach with Unique Community Services
At Unique Community Services, we have developed a person-centred framework that unlocks the needed resources to ensure people’s needs are always heard and seen. We place every individual at the heart of everything we do by empowering people to be the drivers of change towards their wellbeing and support human health.
We train our clinicians in Positive Behaviour Support and are proud to be recognised as a Great Place to Work and Best Workplace for Wellbeing.
You can reach us through our offices in Bristol, Manchester and Leeds or contact us today to learn more about our services and how we provide support for our local community.
