Understanding Empowerment Practice: Building on Practitioner-Based Knowledge

The concept of empowerment has become popular within the human service professions, but little agreement about its meaning or dimensions has been displayed. The authors describe an effort to clarify this elusive concept by integrating theory with practitioner perspectives. A focused, multiple-case-study method was used to gather the perspectives of human services workers on empowerment practice in the field. The authors identify areas of convergence and divergence between empowerment theory and practice.