Developmental Social Work Practice and Social Welfare Perspectives in Building Healthy Human Relationships in South Africa

Abstract

This chapter discusses how developmental social work practice and social welfare perspectives could facilitate the promotion of healthy human relationships in post-apartheid South Africa. After South Africa became a democracy in 1994, it adopted a developmental approach to social welfare, which called for the realignment and transformation of social work services, among others. Consequently, developmental social work, which is a type of social work that is informed by the social development approach, was adopted in the post-apartheid era. The former also aligns with calls for decolonised and indigenous practice approaches in social work. In this chapter, the author reflects on the role of social workers in fostering healthy human relationships through decolonised and indigenous practices.