ABSTRACT
Liberation health theory draws from three different conceptual frameworks and practices: Paulo Freire and popular education, liberation psychology, and the radical social work tradition in the United States. The goal of liberation psychology, like Freires popular education movement, is to transform both the individual and society. In their outstanding book summarizing the history of radical social work in the United States, Reisch and Andrews outline the origins of the social work profession and the longstanding tension within the profession between an individually focused case based approach and a community/social action focus. Similar to Fooks casework model of radical social work and Almeidas cultural context framework, the liberation health model integrates individual case work with socio-political analysis and social action. The liberation health model argues that ideology, how individuals, families and communities think about their problems and their relationships to them, is one of the most important arenas for critical social work practice.
