Abstract
This chapter describes the complexity of ecological theory for building the social-cultural ecological (SCE) framework for social work practice. It addresses the cycle of problem formulation, solution, and evaluation of practice, which is a basis for understanding how clients’ micro-level problems may directly or indirectly be associated with the macro-level issues in their environment. Particularly, this chapter will illustrate how to measure clients’ social-cultural awareness – a concept linking mental health assessment to service planning. Two case studies will be presented to illustrate how to apply the SCE framework into practice using tools such as ecomaps and culturagrams. Clinical questions will be formulated and illustrated in these case studies. Lastly, six elements from the SCE perspective will be summarized to apply clinical skills for the promotion of effective prevention and intervention strategies, culturally relevant assessment of client-in-environment factors, and competency-based evaluation of an effective plan to improve mental health and social care services. Additionally, the ASK (Attitude Skill Knowledge) cultural competency instrument is introduced as a tool for self-assessment. The purpose of this multidimensional assessment is to empower individuals, specifically about replacing their negative thoughts with positive engagement using a holistic view to assess, implement, and evaluate interventions.
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Cheung, M., Leung, C.A. (2020). Social-Cultural Ecological Perspective. In: Ow, R., Poon, A. (eds) Mental Health and Social Work. Social Work. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6975-9_25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6975-9_25
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