ABSTRACT
This chapter presents selected developmental theories and reviews how they inform the social work practice processes of engagement, assessment, and intervention. It discusses the strengths and limitations of developmental theory in regard to difference. The chapter explores how developmental theory contributes to social work practice. Some developmental theories, such as Sigmund Freud's theory of psychosexual development, suggest clinical interventions. Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory, also in the psycho-dynamic tradition, offers additional ideas to apply in social work practice. In contrast, Jean Piaget's cognitive theory and Kohlberg's moral theory are explanatory theories, proposing which development tasks are to be accomplished at a particular life stage. Developmental theory, an area of scientific inquiry, focuses on specific aspects of individual growth, organizes life cycle events, and suggests the tasks a person must accomplish at each life stage.
