Determining the Theoretical Quality of the Strengths Perspective: A Critical Analysis

This paper asks a relevant question that previous work has not yet answered empirically: what is the theoretical quality of the Strengths Perspective (SP)? This paper answers this question, using the Theory Evaluation Scale (TES) and peer-reviewed materials from the existing literature. The findings indicate that, as a theoretical framework, the SP is a high-quality practice model that aligns itself with the values of the social work profession. As a practice model, however, this perspective has room for improvement in the areas of falsifiability, empiricism, boundaries, and client context. This paper concludes with a discussion of these findings and their implications for social work theory, research, and practice. This paper also provides directions for future research.