Glenda The Good: System Theory Analysis

the Wizard and Dorothy to Glenda the Good, they discover that the abilities and strengths they desired were within them the whole time (Jones-Smith, 2014). Utilizing this metaphor the social worker would be akin to the Wizard or Glenda, helping the client (Dorothy, et al) to recognize that she has the ability within herself to change. Applying this theory at the micro level, the social worker would work with the individual to help him determine his strengths and abilities and how these will serve him to move forward to resolve his problems. A critique of this theory could be that there is not really a good way to apply this to the mezzo or macro systems. Other critiques of this theory maintain that it is just “contemporary, neoliberal notions of self-help and self-responsibility, and gloss(es) over the structural inequalities that hamper personal and social development” (Gray (2011) cited in Shriver, 2015, p. 63). This criticism would stand to point out the inequalities of poverty and mental illness that would hamper Jacob’s abilities to utilize his strengths and abilities to work toward recovery. It may also point out that due to the hardships he faced during his upbringing, he may not have the …show more content…
The solutions must arise from all levels, from the individual/macro level to the organization/facility/mezzo level, to the government/funding/legislative/macro level. This problem has so many facets; one level system is not enough to address it. Although I believe Systems theory would be the best approach in this case, I am a huge proponent of Strengths-based theory as well. I feel that enabling people to see the abilities that they already possess is an excellent way to guide them toward more positive thinking, and toward more positive