Social Work Frameworks: Empowerment Theory

Intrinsic to social work, empowerment theory is an intervention social workers use to help marginalised people build control and autonomy in their lives. Oppression worsens feelings of helplessness for marginalised people, and we know that when people are accessing services, they are often feeling disempowered in at least one aspect of their lives. They may be experiencing financial hardship, exclusion due to mental health issues, addiction or family violence, or experiencing oppression as a result of their gender, race, culture, sexuality or religion.

An empowered person, whilst not all the time, will generally feel confident and in control of their life. When you believe you are capable and have authority over your life, you often feel more able to cope when challenging life events occur. Suppose someone feels defeated, like their life is out of their control; it is harder to have the enthusiasm to complete regular tasks, let alone address challenging or painful circumstances. In a bid to combat feelings of disempowerment, a social worker can utilise empowerment theory to create an environment where people can regain their power.

This blog post is our third in a series on social work theories, aiming to highlight the educational foundations our Social Workers and Specialist Support Coordinators put to use in their work navigating not only the NDIS, but other systems our participants may be a part of, like health, justice, child protection, education and employment. The following post will go into more detail on the theory, key concepts and how social workers may employ strategy while assisting individual clients, communities and organisations.

Empowerment and Social Work

When someone feels "disempowered", they can feel as if they have no control over the outcomes of their life. As a result, there can be less of a capacity or desire to live in a future-focused way. They may be less hopeful, find life more meaningless, and are less likely to be able to act in a way that improves their current situation. Disempowerment is a direct result of oppression, and fundamental to to empowerment theory is the recognition of power differentials. Examples of typical power dynamics experienced every day include within personal relationships, power expressed by services and institutions and socio-cultural and ideological displays of power. 

Empowerment is a feeling; as social workers, we can't change how someone feels, so we can't simply "empower people". We can, however, create an environment and provide tools and resources for people to empower themselves. 

‘Empowerment practices are rooted in an understanding of power (personal, social, and structural), consciousness transformation, interactive systems, importance of relationships, and the long history of societal dehumanisation of marginalised communities.

Such awareness can spur on the examination of the national, state and local policies that disempower people, and inspire collective action against those policies.’ - Debora Ortega and Jessica Rodriguez-JenKins

Empowerment theory centres on helping marginalised people at individual, group and community levels gain the personal, interpersonal and political power to improve their lives. Additionally, the model seeks to challenge systems that prevent or hinder people from having their needs met.

Social workers may utilise empowerment theory to help individuals gain power in more aspects of their lives to improve their livelihood. On a broader, structural level, this social work theory can be used to challenge systems of oppression that prevent people from meeting their needs. What are some of the key tools in empowerment theory that social workers use to assist their clients?

Dimensions of Empowerment Theory

Overcoming direct power blocks

Direct power blocks is a term to describe the external structures inhibiting individuals from achieving their needs and gaining more power in their lives. Examples of direct power blocks include inequitable access to education, safe housing, or biased attitudes in the workplace. We know from Maslow's hierarchy of needs that our basic physiological needs are a foundation to satisfy higher needs, how humans are (generally) more likely to achieve higher goals when our safety, security, and belongingness needs are met.

Empowerment theory aims to combat direct power blocks by promoting awareness of oppressive power structures, motivating social movements and organisations, and developing programs to educate the community and empower marginalised individuals. Social workers often play a crucial role in organisation, advocating for policy reform and corrective laws.

Combatting indirect power blocks

Unfortunately for marginalised individuals, it's often not just external forces inhibiting change. Indirect power blocks is another term for internalised oppression. It's common for people in marginalised groups to absorb the negative messaging and oppressive beliefs directed at their communities, such as internalised ableism, racism or homophobia. These deeply ingrained thoughts and often turned beliefs need to be challenged.

Indirect power blocks will block individuals from believing they can achieve their goals due to parts of their identity or their current situation. Social workers can utilise interventions, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT), to help improve the self-image of individuals from oppressed communities to support their empowerment, pride and self-efficacy.

Fostering self-efficacy and critical consciousness

Self-efficacy is when a person believes in their ability to act in a way that moves them further towards their goal. If you can achieve small goals by making progress towards them, you can more easily foster a belief that you can change your circumstances. Achieving self-efficacy requires challenging deeply ingrained negative thoughts and beliefs about ourselves, why we believe them and how to change them. Social workers keep this principle in mind whilst supporting individuals in developing coping skills to adjust to or change their environments.

Individuals and communities are deeply related, with both systems having positive and negative impacts on each other. Empowerment theory in social work and other professions seeks to remind people of the intrinsic interdependency between individuals and communities as interdependent and mutually influential.

Understanding the systems we are a part of is crucial to creating change. Critical consciousness promotes people learning the systems they're a part of and how they affect them to seek ways to work around these structures. An example of social workers promoting this theory is suggesting settings for clients to share their experiences and connect with people in similar circumstances.

Empowerment theory is a cornerstone of social work practice, offering a framework to address both the internal and external forces that contribute to marginalisation. By fostering self-efficacy, challenging oppressive systems, and building critical consciousness, social workers create opportunities for individuals and communities to regain control over their lives. This approach not only helps clients overcome personal and systemic barriers but also emphasises collective action.

Empowerment is not something that can simply be given; it must be cultivated. Through understanding oppression, recognising intersectional experiences, and providing the tools and environments necessary for self-empowerment, social workers play a vital role in dismantling barriers and nurturing growth. In doing so, they help transform feelings of helplessness into confidence, agency, and hope, reinforcing the interconnected nature of individual and community well-being.