This article discusses a way of understanding generalist practice and advanced generalist practice as a method of social work practice which is uniquely positioned to enable social workers to work with people and communities to address our common human needs in our culturally preferred manner and to overcome the systematic inequality in opportunities to do so which are imposed by unjust social systems such as oppression, dehumanization and exploitation.

 

The textbook Generalist Social Work Practice(2009) states that social work values seeing people holistically in terms of how we go about addressing our common human needs in our culturally chosen manner and how we pursue our unique desires and aspirations. The text properly juxtaposes the needs and wants of clients and communities to transactions between persons and their environments. However, continued conceptual clarification – within peer-reviewed journals -- of the nature of generalist practice is called for.

 

This article concludes that generalist practice and advanced generalist practice are important methods of social work practice in their own right, and can and should stand alongside other methods of social work practice (such as clinical social work, social administration, community organization) in the social work of the future. In order to illustrate how generalist and advanced generalist practice are methods uniquely situated to support and enhance the empowerment of people and communities to address our human needs, this article draw on emerging theories of human need (Author, 2016b).

 

In order to make that case, the article, in turn, discusses (1) the past of Generalist Practice, namely how the methods of generalist practice and advanced generalist practice evolved historically, (2) the recent of generalist practice, or how to understand generalist practice and advanced generalist practice in relation to clinical social work with individuals, families and groups, (3) the future of Generalist Practice, including initial suggestions for how to infuse generalist practice with conceptual frameworks from theories of human need, theories of injustice, ecosystems theory and empowerment theory.