Identifying people's needs and strengths

Focusing on holistic assessment, this chapter emphasizes the importance of recognizing not only the needs but also the strengths of individuals. It critiques the ‘we know best’ mentality that can arise from professional experience and warns against disempowering people through excessive control. Instead, the chapter promotes collaborative engagement, where practitioners respect individual perspectives and lifestyle choices. Topics such as resilience and spirituality are explored as vital resources in people’s lives that can support recovery and personal development. The authors highlight that values-based practice means seeing people as whole, complex beings, capable of contributing to their own growth. This chapter challenges practitioners to broaden their focus from deficits to capacities, encouraging a more balanced and empowering approach to support.