From knowledge to the heart: conceptualizing practice wisdom in social work from an Eastern perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT A truly holistic understanding of practice wisdom must be developed to address the contemporary crisis in social work and to cater to the multiple needs of non-European and non-Christian communities, in particular. I propose that the distinctiveness and professionalism of social work can be found in the intersubjective encounters between clients and self-actualised social workers. In applying the Chinese interpretation of wisdom (i.e. zhi hui), practice wisdom in social work helps social workers connect knowledge to the heart in reflective practice. This humanistic attitude and embodied practical sense can be cultivated only by engaging with clients in unconditional and person-centred social work relationships. IMPLICATIONS The soft knowledge involved in social work practice is tacit, intuitive, and embodied. Practice wisdom is not a type of codifiable professional knowledge and is also not merely practice experiences. Rather, it is value-driven, context-specific, and highly personalised knowledge. The worker-client alliance is at the heart of humanistic social work practice; it stipulates that real changes cannot be made without successful engagement in the intersubjective encounter between worker and client.