Social Work in the US: Sociohistorical Context and Contemporary Issues

Social work occurs in a context and, in part, reflects that context. In the present paper, we address the sociohistorical context of social work in the US and attempt to illustrate a correspondence between the current practices of social work and the context of its development. Of particular interest are the concepts of individualism and instrumental reason, and how they became intertwined with politics, social policy, and the practice of social work in the US. It is our contention that US social work is currently dominated by a focus on the individual and an instrumental perspective that places cost considerations above all others. This is manifest in a particularly narrow definition of evidence-based practice popular within the US.