The article presents the results of a phenomenological study of the experience of professional social assistance in dealing with various cases of social deviation. It justifies the formation of a preventive culture and its connections at the macro level with social policy, at the meso level with the activities of social service systems (regional and municipal authorities), and at the micro level with the professional provision of social assistance by specialists. The experience of professional social assistance is considered a special category of sociological analysis, involving various approaches to research. Particular emphasis is placed on organizing preventive work and building a system for preventive responses. Each country approaches its understanding of preventive practice, its scope, and boundaries differently. This is related not only to the economic capabilities of the specific country but also to sociocultural features, the system for defining significant (priority) social structures and institutions, and the support for civil society. The research methodology is based on a systemic approach, the phenomenological sociology of A. Schutz, the principles of social constructionism by P. Berger and T. Luckmann, as well as hermeneutic and existential developments. Various methods were used in analyzing professional experience, including case studies, observation, and qualitative document analysis. The scientific novelty is presented through the analysis of an excess of technologies, means, and methods of social assistance, along with the theoretical and preventive potential of social work, which is limited by fragmented social services, as confirmed by the lack of connection between research and the formation of modern social policy, which is disconnected from the realities of social life. A comparative analysis of the technological and phenomenological approaches in social work has been conducted. In conclusion, findings are justified regarding the need for further improvement of the phenomenological approach in the theory and practice of social work. The necessity for the development of the foundations of a theory of humanitarian assistance, based on the phenomenological method, is identified. The theory of humanitarian assistance is a set of research programs for studying and systematizing the experience of professional assistance to individuals, which includes: defining the definitions of the experience of professional social assistance; structuring professional cases according to established criteria; attention to linguistic practices and the construct of everyday life; identifying contradictions at the macro, meso, and micro levels of social assistance organization; and sociological understanding of the genesis of deviance, its connection with the practices of making sense of traumatic experiences and crisis situations.
Nikolai Andreevich Borisov (Sun,) studied this question.