ABSTRACT
There is a general tendency in social work to assume a capacity, amongst its clients, for purposeful activity. This is especially the case for approaches such as task-centred practice or problem-solving approaches, but it would be difficult to envisage much of social work without the idea that human have conscious purposes and that they are, in principle, capable of conscious directed activity. The preconscious concerns material of which we are not aware or not fully aware but which are, relative to unconscious material, much easier to recall or become aware of. While attention to the more psychological aspects of what it is to be human is highly significant, it is equally important to recognise that humans are essentially social beings. What is important is the extent to which the idea of a human nature, and of particular facets which might be identified, is assumed in social work.
