Professional Hope in Working with Older Adults

Authors

Terry Koenig, University of Kansas
Richard Spano, University of KansasFollow

Keywords

Hope, growth, culture change, strengths perspective

Abstract

Writings about hope within gerontological literature assume social workers already possess hope that they can use in their practice. The purpose of this article is to challenge this assumption and to examine ways in which social workers can sustain hope in personal life, in their agencies, and in the reform of larger social structures that impact older adults. The authors examine culture change in nursing homes as an emerging approach that can be more fully developed by applying the strengths perspective to interpersonal work with elders, agency change and broader structural change.

Recommended Citation

Koenig, Terry and Spano, Richard (2006) "Professional Hope in Working with Older Adults," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 33: Iss. 2, Article 3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.3159
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol33/iss2/3