Pastoral Psychology

, Volume 62, Issue 2, pp 219–234 | Cite as

Connecting Theory to Practice: Karl Barth, Capability Theory and Psychiatric Social Work

Article
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Abstract

This paper explores linkages between theory and practice in psychiatric social work, specifically between Karl Barth’s theology of social justice, Martha Nussbaum’s capability theory, and an innovative component in psychiatric services called the decision support center. The decision support center is itself a multi-component system that not only aims at improving and enhancing psychiatric medication consultations, but, in so doing, also serves broader sociopolitical ends. Four congruent themes in Barth’s and Nussbaum’s theories are discussed and applied.

Keywords

Mental illness Social work Karl Barth Theology Social justice Capability theory Psychiatry 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.St. Ambrose University, School of Social WorkDavenportUSA

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