by Allan Barsky, JD, MSW, PhD
Photo credit: BigStockPhoto/Vaniss
Recently, social media has been buzzing with memes based on a quote from Vice President Kamala Harris: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” The quote, derived from her mother’s rhetorical question from childhood, demonstrates the importance of appreciating the context in which we live and what came before us. As social workers, this message resonates with the “person-in-environment (PIE)” and the “ecological” perspectives of social work.
When we try to understand the individuals, families, groups, and communities that we serve, we do not just focus on the particular client as if they live in a vacuum. We explore their relationships with family, school, employers, healthcare systems, government organizations, financial institutions, ethnocultural groups, religious organizations, peers, and other systems in their social environment. The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers also enshrines the importance of context in its core value of “the importance of human relationships.” This value affirms the importance of social connections and the prominence of context to human well-being.
Understanding Coconut PIE
When we say that social workers value human relationships, we acknowledge that an individual does not simply fall from a coconut tree. Everyone comes from somewhere. In evaluating client strengths, we look beyond their biological and psychological attributes to consider how these attributes were nurtured. This includes the past and current support from family, friends, and other community systems. Likewise, when we assess a client’s concerns, we explore the environmental stressors that may have contributed to these issues and identify potential sources of environmental support to help address them.
Making Coconut PIE
As social workers, we utilize our human relationships with clients in numerous ways. We offer empathy, respect, and care to build trust and rapport. We assist clients in identifying sources of support and sources of stress. We help clients navigate complex social systems. We link clients with supportive resources. We strengthen community relationships. And we empower clients to develop their own social connections. In essence, we help clients appreciate that they have not simply fallen out of a coconut tree.
Allan Barsky, PhD, JD, MSW, is Professor of Social Work at Florida Atlantic University and author of Social Work Values and Ethics (Oxford University Press).
The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of any of the organizations to which the author is affiliated, or the views of The New Social Worker magazine or White Hat Communications.