Articles

An Overview of Social Role Valorization Theory

By Joseph Osburn | 2006

In this updated article, the author gives a basic introduction to the theory of Social Role Valorization (SRV), incorporating the latest developments in SRV made by Wolfensberger since 1998. The article covers the major goals of SRV, and gives a brief history of its conceptual development. The article also includes a short bibliography for further reading.

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Some of the Universal 'Good Things of Life' Which the Implementation of Social Role Valorization Can be Expected to Make More Accessible to Devalued People

BY WOLF WOLFENSBERGER, SUSAN THOMAS, AND GUY CARUSO

The International Social Role Valorization Journal, 2(2), 12-14. 1996.

People who fill valued roles in society are vastly more likely to attain the things that society values, or to have others accord these to them, than people who do not fill valued roles. There has been much de facto consensus in human history as to what constitutes 'the good life.' The following article lists some of those things which constitute the 'good life,' and connects these to valued social roles.

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Problems Associated With Use of Physical and Mechanical Restraints in Contemporary Human Services

by Marc Tumeinski

Mental Retardation, Volume 43, Number 1: 43-47. February 2005.

The use of restraint techniques in contemporary human services is endemic and in some fields is growing. This article offers an in-depth critical analysis of this common practice in services.

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Adopting A Personalist Response Within Impersonal Service Structures

by Marc Tumeinski

This paper was presented at the “Many Faces of Abuse” conference hosted by Standards Plus in Auckland, New Zealand on August 10-12, 2005.

Abuse and harmdoing against vulnerable and socially devalued people carried out by human service workers in service settings is an individual as well as a systemic problem. The purpose of this article is not to exhaustively analyze human service abuse, but to set a context for describing a positive response to such systemic service harmdoing.

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The Dangers of Qualifying Life, How We Devalue the Disabled

by Adam Hildebrand and Jo Massarelli.

Published in Ethics and Medics April 2006 volume 31, Number 4

People with impairments are vulnerable in society, even to the detriment of their very lives. This article illuminates the particular dangers associated with Quality of Life thinking, especially in medical settings.

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Overview of PASSING: A Social Role Valorization-Based Human Service Evaluation Tool

July 1999 by the Training Institute for Human Service Planning, Leadership & Change Agentry

PDF (6 pages - 436 K) >