Image: BiancaVanDijk via Pixabay.
On Tuesday, September 13, the Harris County Hainsworth Law Library had the opportunity to host Patrick Lloyd, licensed social worker, and clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, for his presentation “I See You: The Strengths-Based Perspective in Public Service.” This presentation was part of a series of internal continuing education trainings and was delivered to Law Library staff virtually. The following is a summary of Patrick’s presentation, which can be viewed as a recording on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s website. Presentation slides are also available on the same webpage.
Patrick Lloyd, LMSW, was previously employed as Community Resilience Consultant at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and is now a clinical assistant professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Before holding his position at TSLAC, Patrick was employed as a library social worker for the Georgetown Public Library.
The main goals of the presentation were to:
Begin to understand problem-focused and strengths-based lenses
Consider the strengths-based perspective (SBP) in the context of public service
Learn practices for bringing a strengths-based lens to your interactions
When someone is asking for help, it’s easy to fall into what is called the “problem-focused perspective” by focusing on the perceived shortcomings of the individual and the contributions of those shortcomings to the person’s difficult situation.
The problem-focused perspective:
Offers advice or directions
Focuses on deficits
May feed the victim mindset
Provides reactive, short-term solutions
However, using the strengths-based perspective to acknowledge an individual’s strength and accomplishments while they are asking for help avoids placing the individual’s perceived shortcomings at the forefront of the problem at hand. This approach is a tenant of trauma-informed public service, which invites public servants to consider individual patrons’ and the greater community’s social, political, and economic backgrounds and their particular challenges when creating and providing public services.
The strengths-based perspective:
Helps the patron feel valued and seen
Acknowledges work already done
Is proactive
Addresses the root of the problem
For further information about trauma-informed library service: