The circles of sexuality : promoting a strengths-based model within social work that provides a holistic framework for client sexual well-being

Social workers who work from a strengths-based perspective take advantage of a client’s innate capacity to rebound and recover. It is this person-centered practice approach that guides social workers to see their role as helping clients discover their own internal gifts and graces (Saleebey, 1992) potential, hopes, and dreams (Kisthardt, 1997; Saleebey, 1997). Since the emergence in 1982 from the University of Kansas, the strengths perspective has proven practice applications for a range of issues including spirituality (Canda & Furman 2010); substance use (Siegel et al., 1995), domestic violence (Bell, 2003), and mental health assessments (Francis, 2014) as well as with diverse populations such as children (Mendenhall, Grube & Jung, 2019); the elderly (Chapin & Cox, 2001), Muslims (Abdullah, 2015), partner violence victims (Song & Shih, 2010), and offenders (Lee, Uken, & Sebold, 2004). And while scholarship has looked at applications for the lesbian and gay community (Crisp & McCave, 2007; Dentato, Orwat, Spira & Walker, 2014; Craig, Dentato, & Iacovino, 2015; Craig & Furman, 2018), with the exception of a few scholars (Turner, 2012; 2016a; 2016b), not much research has discussed the intersection of the strength’s perspective and a holistic or general understanding of client sexual well-being.