Seelenpflege 2016-3-4 Spezial

Beiträge | Contributions
people with restrictions who need lifelong support and
pedagogical help but the basic idea is that they want
to live their life autonomously – and that they are able
to do this with the necessary assistance.
When it comes to social therapy as such, we see a growing
process of individualization in the western world.
While community building is not actually called into
question, it is no longer setting the standards. More
alternatives are emerging to the traditional forms of
community such as family, church or clubs: communities
of individualists; people consciously choose these
new communities, join them voluntarily – and leave
them again.
In many existing social therapy communities participation
in the communal life is no longer the rule, but
rather an option that faces competition from other
forms of provision outside the community.
Trends such as the paradigm shift in working with
people with special needs (from the care to the client
principle) or the implementation of the UN’s CRPD
have inspired new self-confidence in these people, for
instance with regard to their rights and life plans. Many
young people with disabilities opt for more open ways
of living if they have the chance. People who used to
apply for a place in a residential community as a way of
getting away from institutions now try to find sheltered
accommodation in order to get away from institutions
– which now include the residential communities.
As a result of individualization and professionalization
many care workers in social therapy also have acquired
a new self-image and understanding of their role. Traditional
worldviews, anthroposophy included, are now
being called into question and professional aspects
feature more prominently: knowledge of disorders and
the search for suitable, verifiable interventions, the relationship
of proximity or distance to the client, the
encroachment of a client’s personal space. Professionalization
also goes hand in hand with the employees’
awareness of their own rights when it comes to giving
of their resources, taking time off or taking parental
leave. For younger care-workers in particular the
‹work-life balance› is increasingly important.
And last, but not least, the conditions within the institutions
have also changed: because more and more
adults choose to live outside the specialized institutions,
the remaining residents often need a very high
degree of assistance and living outside the institution
seems impossible for them. This means that the need
for assistance is generally growing in these institutions
and staff members are required to have more specialized
professional qualifications. The increasing average
age of the residents presents another challenge because
of the specialized care needed for the elderly.
Consequences
This has direct consequences for anthroposophical social
therapy if it wants to keep up with these developments:
It needs, on the one hand, to respect the fact
that the process of individualization affects everyone
involved and include this in its conception. In practice
this means that the ways people live, work and enjoy
cultural activities together need to be further differentiated
and alternatives need to be made available
to cater for the diverse needs, wishes and disabilities.
On the other hand social therapy needs to go with the
times and see its members as people of these times
– the younger generation in particular, since they are
the future of the communities.
The future task of the social therapy communities
At a time when the views and opinions of society
change ever faster, when concepts of assistance come
into and go out of fashion, it seems to me to be essential
to consider the foundations of human existence
and build the concept of social therapy on them. What
basic conditions are relevant to social therapy and
need to be addressed by it?
Existential needs and dependence
As human beings we have a basic need for attachment
and security on the one hand, and for autonomy and
freedom on the other. We depend on others throughout
our life. At the same time we strive to overcome these
dependencies as much as possible. Self-determination
allows us as adults to live our lives in accordance with
our own intentions and wishes. Yet, social relationships
remain important because they provide meaning, protection
and orientation. In secure attachments and safe
places we feel at ease and protected. It is in the alternation
between these two poles that the individual personality
evolves in the course of its biography.
In the professional or political debate on special needs
the dominating view today is for people with special
needs to live self-determined and autonomous lives.
Zeitschrift Seelenpflege Spezial / 2016
193