Julian Housing Strengths Model

Julian Housing Support Trust Ltd was set up in 1990. Since we have begun, we have been committed to trying to provide choice for clients in the way their housing and support needs can be met. This means that we need skilled and committed teams, who are able to work in a flexible and user focused way.

The primary approach we use to enable us to do this is to use the “Strengths Model”. This model originated in the United States, and was developed by Charles Rapp at the University of Kansas.

The Strengths Model grew out of dissatisfaction with traditional models of care, which puts the emphasis on diagnosis, illness and problems. Such models often focus on what is wrong with the individual, and what about them needs “fixing”. The Strengths Model enables us to help the client to recognise and use their strengths, their talents, knowledge, skills and experience, in order to help them achieve their goals and experience an improved quality of life, on their terms. We integrated the Strengths Model into our practice because it demonstrated a different way of seeing clients, their environments, and their current situation.

We continue to use it because we have found that even though it demands much of the worker, we have seen for ourselves the positive dramatic effect it can have on the way the client perceives themselves and the possibilities for their future.

The Julian Housing workers role is to convey to their client their belief and experience that things can get better no matter how difficult the current situation, and to work with the client to help them achieve this.

We try to apply the Strengths approach across all of our service, and not solely in our work with clients. This means that one of the core principles of the management function is to:
“Focus on developing team members strengths, interests, abilities and capabilities.

The Principles of the Strengths Approach

1	The focus is on the person’s strengths, and not their diagnosis, symptoms, weaknesses, problems, or what they are perceived to “lack”.

2	The community is viewed as an oasis of resources, not as an obstacle to working with people.

3	The client is the director of the support process.

4	The support worker/client relationship is primary and essential.

5	Pro-active community outreach is our preferred way of working with clients.

6	Everyone, including those with serious mental illness, continues to grow, to learn and to change.

These are the principles of a Strengths Approach. How then do we implement the model, when people are referred to our Project, specifically because they do have particular problems? We believe that the values of support workers and their attitudes towards the people with whom they work are primary in establishing and sustaining a Strengths focused perspective. Julian Housing believes that people can make positive changes in their own lives. This belief in people helps to restore their belief in themselves and their ability to influence their futures. As one client put it: “Your support helped me to think I could move on and see some hope. You have given me the chance to look forward and not down.” Julian Housing workers have expertise, particularly in the areas of housing, benefit and debt management. Every day we see the problems caused by our clients having insufficient income; being poorly housed, homeless or facing eviction, or struggling to cope with the burdens of debt. Clients in these situations need their problems recognised and dealt with urgently. Until the problems are resolved some components of the Strengths Model need to be put on hold. Whilst we remain user focused, optimistic and empowering, it is hard to see any learning for the client about their strengths when grappling with poverty and homelessness. A helpful analogy is that if you instructed a plumber to fix a burst pipe, you would not expect the plumber to discuss with you any strengths that you had that would help you to manage the problem, now or in the future. You would just want the job done as quickly and as painlessly as possible. Julian Housing always attempts to empower the client by trying to find long-term solutions to problems, whether on an individual basis by discussing with clients any strategies that could reduce the likelihood of the problem reoccurring, or on a wider level by campaigning for social change. The quality of the relationships we build with clients are of primary importance. We aim to be friendly and open, building on shared experiences of life and interests. We listen to how people talk about their lives and experiences and pick up the clues, which tell us more about their hopes and aspirations for the future. We see daily in our work, how helping people to believe in themselves, has led them to achieving things that few thought possible, and has enabled people to live richer and more satisfying lives.

We prefer to see people in their own homes, or anywhere else they feel comfortable rather than in an office. We can learn a lot more about a person, their interests and their skills, when we see them in the context of their everyday world.

The wider community can be the means of promoting recovery and sustaining mental health. We try to help people to use community resources rather than “mental health user only” services.

Nothing is done without the client’s approval. They direct the process, and as such have the right to make mistakes and to learn from them.

What are Strengths?

1	They are what people have learned about themselves, others and their world, as they have coped with their lives so far. People learn from their difficulties and disappointments as well as their successes.

2	They are the personal qualities, traits and virtues that people possess. E.g. sense of humour, caring, creativity, loyalty, insight, independence, patience etc.

3	They are what people know about the world around them, that they have learned through their life experiences, e.g. how to manage grief, illness, how to spot and manage interpersonal conflict.

4	They are the talents that people have, even though they may be hidden: musicality, cooking, DIY skills, creativity, being a good friend, etc.

5	They are the sources of meaning and inspiration that people find from their cultural and spiritual lives in times of difficulty.

6	It is the ability to have survived in circumstances that may have been detrimental to them in the past.

7	It is who they connect with within their local community. E.g. the local shop, the pub, the church, etc.

For more on the Strengths Model, and the importance of hope in helping to promote social inclusion and recovery, see: Rapp, Charles 1998 The Strengths Model Oxford University Press Ryan P, Morgan S 2004 Assertive Outreach – A Strengths Approach to Policy and Practice Churchill Livingstone Saleebey D 2002 The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice Allyn and Bacon Repper J, Perkins R 2003 Social Inclusion and Recovery Balliere Tindall