Psychosocial Approach as a Constantly Evolving Concept and its Implication in Social Work

Karolína Přádová

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the paper is to summarize basic information about the roots and fields on which the psychosocial approach is based and in which it occurs, and to include it in the system of sciences. THEORETICAL BASE: The paper reviews the development of the psychosocial approach from the 1920s to the present. METHODS: It draws on the findings of both the founders of the psychosocial approach (Richmond, Hollis) and contemporary authors affiliated with the Association for Psychosocial Studies (e.g., Frost, Lucey, Frosh). OUTCOMES: The result of the paper is the genesis of the psychosocial approach concept. Furthermore, the fields of the psychosocial approach are mentioned, and the place of the psychosocial approach in the system of sciences is defined. The topic of psychosocial approach in social work is also mentioned. The last section describes how social interaction is understood from the point of view of the psychosocial approach. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: The findings presented can be of benefit to all workers and researchers who are interested in a holistic concept of man and perceive social and psychological processes as interconnected and inseparable. The researchers point out that by removing these boundaries, hitherto hidden structures and processes in qualitative knowledge of man may appear.

Keywords
psychosocial approach, social interaction

p. 122-129