Yet, as indicated above, it provides the framework that underlies most of our interventions. It is understudied and is rarely taught as a therapeutic asset in our classrooms. We learn and discuss the importance of empowerment, resiliency, the strengths perspective, and advocacy, but hope is often overlooked as a resource. We rarely define it, assess it, measure it, research it, or use it as a clinical tool. While we recognize the power of hope in a general way, perhaps we have not paid enough attention to hope as a concept in our field. It is this activism that sets social work apart from other helping professionals.
Equally important is that social workers combine hope with human rights, social justice, and advocacy. It is a testimony to the importance of hope for our clients, our communities, and our nation (Clark & Hoffler, 2014). Called Hope Matters, this collection of case studies spans the continuum of hope from the individual to society. In 2012, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) held an annual conference with the theme of “Restoring Hope: The Power of Social Work.” After the conference, 58 social work experts wrote essays that described examples of hope in their practices. Without hope, without a belief that positive change is possible, the profession would cease to exist. Regardless of the reason for entering the field, social workers come to the profession with an essential hopefulness.
Some see social work more as a calling than a career choice. Certainly, most of us want to make a difference in the world. It is, after all, the profession that works with marginalized, disadvantaged, and even devalued populations-what President Lyndon Johnson in his War on Poverty called people who live in “the outskirts of hope.” Many factors contribute to the decision to become a social worker. Few would dispute that social work is the profession of hope.
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