helen perlman problem solving model

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Helen harris perlman and the problem solving model.

                                         Helen Harris Perlman and the Problem Solving Model

                                                                             By

                                                          Allison D. Murdach LCSW

                                                                2942 Hardeman St.

                                                               Hayward, Ca. 94541

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Abstract: This article examines the work of Helen Harris Perlman in developing the problem-solving model of  social work direct practice.  The origins, development and subsequent spread of this approach throughout social work practice is discussed and the various ways in which this model has been applied in the profession is briefly reviewed. The current status of the model, including concerns about its contemporary viability and usefulness, is examined at the conclusion of the article.

Key Words: Problem-Solving Model, Social Work Method, Social Work History, Direct Practice, Social

                    Work Profession

   “I do claim to be an authority on the Problem-solving model in social work, both in

               its methodological aspects and its theoretical roots.  I am the originator and developer

               of that model.”  (Perlman, p. 1, 1980)

     This article examines the work of Helen Harris Perlman (1906-2004) in the development of the problem-solving model of direct practice in social work.  As we approach the third anniversary of her death (September 18, 2004), it is important to recognize once again the importance and magnitude of her contribution to the field. Perlman, a prolific social work author as well as a distinguished clinician and educator in social work, always laid special claim to her model, which she developed in the 1950’s.  Sadly, although she asserted ownership, her model soon slipped from her hands because of its wide acceptance and became, in the latter stages of her life, often misrepresented and at times unrecognizable.

                                                            Perlman and Problem-Solving

     Perlman did not start out to be a social worker.  Her original intention was to become a college humanities professor. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with honors in 1926 with a B. A. in English literature, she was told that she was unemployable at the college level  because she was a woman and especially because she was Jewish.  She then found work as a summer caseworker for the Chicago Jewish Social Service Bureau. Later she reported that  this first exposure to social work was a revelation.  “A whole world opened up to me,” she said, a world in which she also “got a great deal of satisfaction from being able to help people.” ( News & Notes, 2004, p. 1).  She continued working in various social work capacities and assignments at increasingly responsible levels until 1933, when she got a scholarship enabling her to enroll in the New York School of Social Work, now affiliated with ColumbiaUniversity.  While completing her training in social work in New York, she was in demand as a speaker and often addressed various conferences and professional groups about new developments in social work theory and method.  In 1943 she earned her master’s degree in social work from ColumbiaUniversity.  She joined the social work faculty of the Schoolof Social Service Administrationat the Universityof Chicagoin 1945.  While at the school she became first a national and then an international social work figure because of her writing about social work issues, as well as her teaching, consulting, public speaking, and her innovative development of the problem-solving model of social work practice. She published her classic text, Social Casework, A Problem-Solving Process , in 1957.  She officially retired late in her career, but continued to work, teach, write, and do research at the school until just before her death at age 98, even though afflicted near the end of her life with blindness.

     Despite her many scholarly achievements, Perlman always remained a clinician at heart.  As a professional with broad learning and classical training, Perlman was driven to use the insights derived from her clinical work as inspiration for conjecture about social work method and training.  She said her contacts with clients gave her valuable learning opportunities because these relationships involved her in “many cases…(in which) families faced the same kinds of problems and conflicts that one encountered in the great works of literature.” (News & Notes, 2004, p. 5.)   She also stated that it was through these experiences that she came to realize that she “had learned much more of the sickness in people than of their healthiness.”  She soon recognized that she needed to look beyond client pathology to see instead the great “human potential for recuperation and aspiration” that resided in the many ordinary individuals and families who sought her care and assistance on a daily basis (Perlman, 1971, p. xviii).  It was considerations such as these that eventually led to her interest in, and championing of, the importance of processes of everyday human problem-solving in resolving the difficulties in client’s lives (Perlman, 1957).

                                                 Development of the Problem-Solving Approach

     Before discussing Perlman’s model in detail, it will be instructive to review the intellectual background of her approach to gain a better understanding of the context in which it developed.   Prior to the appearance of Perlman’s text in the 1950’s the topic of problem-solving had been, and today continues to be, an area of study in this country in many fields, particularly psychology.  In 1907 the psychologist and philosopher William James established problem solving (which he called  “ common sense”) as a field of intellectual enquiry by giving it a central place in his doctrine of Pragmatism, a philosophical approach to truth which also sought to develop methods that were “helpful in life’s practical struggles” (James, 1963, p.36).  The goal of such methods, James believed, was to help individuals to find their own truth through observation and experience (James, 1963).  In 1910 James’ fellow pragmatist John Dewey conceptualized human problem-solving (or, in his terms, “reflective thinking”)as being composed of four central elements: recognizing and formulating a problem, gathering facts that will lead to a solution, testing each proposed solution, and deciding  upon a course of action (Dewey).  Perlman was the first social work author to use the term “problem-solving” in a social work context and credits Dewey’s writings as her inspiration for the concept (Perlman, 1971).

     Social work was at first slow to adopt the pragmatic idea of problem-solving as a style of intervention.   Mary Richmond, the founder of social work direct practice method, was influenced more strongly by medical methods of intervention (i.e., “study”, “diagnosis”, and “treatment”) (Richmond, 1917) than the philosophical and psychological approach taken by James and Dewey.  Although also a form of problem-solving, the medical approach was, and continues to be, practitioner-driven and assumes the pathology and passivity of the client.  The pragmatic approach, on the other hand, has always emphasized client normality and capacity for personal self-determination, which it seeks to enlist in a search for growth and positive change (Perlman, 1957). 

     The medically-oriented view of the helping relationship prevailed in social work throughout the early twentieth century, largely due toRichmond’s extensive impact on the profession’s development (Garton & Otto, 1964).  Due to the growing popularity of the pragmatic point of view in this country (Menand, 2001), the problem-solving mode of thinking began to influence direct social work practice and social work theorists in the 1920’s and social work authors increasingly began to refer to the practitioner’s efforts to involve clients in the helping interaction by engaging the client’s own problem-solving capacities.  The following list of recommended worker interventions from classic social work writers over several decades, much condensed, helps to indicate the progress of this development: 

a)   Help client acknowledge difficulty.

b)  Assist client in understanding the meaning of the situation.

c)  Aid client in making decision to change.  (Sheffield, 1922)

a)      Show sympathetic approach with client.

b)      Establish rapport.

c)      Present and discuss facts of the case.

d)      Stimulate the client to action.  (Young, 1935)

 a) Demonstrate to the client your ability to observe and listen.

b) Begin where the client is.

c) Ask only necessary questions.

d) Take leadership only when needed, otherwise use client’s own resourcefulness.

e) Offer interpretations of client’s situation, as well as resources and direction only as needed.

                                                                                                   (Garrett, 1942)

a)      Demonstrate acceptance of client.

b)      Discuss client request.

c)      Gather facts about request.

d)      Note and discuss client stresses and patterns of behavior.

e)      Offer only interpretations of the situation that can also utilize the client’s own insight and can aid the client to take action.  (Hamilton, 1951)

     In developing her problem-solving model, Perlman utilized the best features of these intervention schemes but infused them with even greater attention to client problem-solving efforts and capacities (Perlman, 1970).  First in a journal article in 1953 (Perlman, 1971b) and finally fully in her book, Social Casework, a problem-solving process (Perlman, 1957), she laid out the intervention stages required by her model.   These can be outlined briefly as follows:

a) Ascertaining and clarifying the facts of the problem.

b) Thinking through the facts.

      c) The making of some choice or decision.  (Perlman, 1957)

     Perlman’s problem-solving approach, which appears  extremely simple and derivative in bare outline, was actually sophisticated and innovative (Bunston, 1985).   Far from being just a rehash of John Dewey, her model was a synthesis derived from a number of sources: her background in the humanities, her philosophical reflections combined with her knowledge of psychodynamics and the social sciences, her extensive clinical experience, and her study of the “functional” version of social work originated by Jessie Taft, with its strong emphasis on the importance of the helping relationship in direct practice (Perlman, 1957, 1970).  Building from this foundation, she brilliantly formulated a unique cognitively-oriented and client-centered problem-solving process for social work intervention.  In doing so, she highlighted her concepts of “focus” and  “partialization”, which described ways of aiding the client to overcome difficulties by tackling small problems first and thus building confidence to move on to more challenging goals.

     Though this brief sketch of her work hardly does justice to the power and complexity of Perlman’s accomplishment, it does at least highlight the principal stages of her model: problem definition, problem analysis (including the generation and review of alternatives), and the need for specific decision about a course of action (including methods of monitoring and evaluating the results of such action) ( Perlman, 1957). This intervention method was initially controversial in the profession.  Some thought it a mere social work copy of long existent business and management intervention techniques.  Others found it too “rationalistic” and structured, and overly focused on method instead of process, while some in the “diagnostic” social work tradition complained that it was superficial and did not sufficiently address in depth issues of diagnosis, psychopathology, or treatment.  It also was buffeted by competing versions of problem-solving and by “adaptations” of her model  that both amused Perlman and caused her dismay (Perlman, 1980). However in the end, her brilliant synthesis of cognitive analysis, practicality, and psychodynamic compassion and understanding led her model to triumph over her social work critics and imitators.  So successful has the problem-solving approach become that it has now recently been enshrined in the international definition of social work practice (International Definition of the Social Work Profession, Supplement of International Social Work, p. 5, 2007).

                                                             Concerns about Problem-Solving

     It is ironic that the wide-spread influence, success, and acceptance of Perlman’s model makes her achievement appear today to be almost commonplace and banal.  This has even led some to question the method’s apparent efficiency and effectiveness and to seek more in-depth explanations of what actually constitutes problem-solving activity (DeRoos, 1990).  The easy accessibility of the problem-solving approach        has also caused others to question the accuracy of its empirical foundations (Bunston, 1985).  Perlman herself, reflecting on her model’s lack of adornment, was to complain in her later years that many social workers seemed to talk as if the problem-solving method in social work had always existed and “just happened”, that it seemed to have no author or source, and was not even inspired by her work (Perlman, p. 1, 1980).  The popularity and appeal of her approach, it seems, did indeed have its price.

     In addition to the above, other theorists have raised objections that question the whole notion of using a  problem-solving model in helping interventions.  In essence, these objections can be boiled down to the following four general statements:

1)      In reality problem “solving” doesn’t often happen– Some have claimed that in real life social workers and their clients deal with tremendous uncertainty and rarely with well-identified problems, therefore problem “solving” does not often happens and the most that can be hoped for is problem reduction and management—goals that are more realistic and far easier for clients and workers to achieve (Schon, 1983).

2)      Problem- s olving is only one form of thought— Authors in the narrative tradition of social work and therapuetic intervention have worried that fixation on the problem-solving mode of interaction can constrict the client’s ability to freely tell his or her “story” and thus fail to tap into alternate styles of thought and reflection ( Anderson, 1997).

3)      The problem-solving model is culture-bound— Since the social work problem-solving approach was developed initially in social work in the context of white, middle-class culture in the United States (though Perlman did have extensive clinical experience working with minority populations, Perlman, 1971a), some have raised concerns that the approach may be unsuitable for clients from other cultures or social groups.  It is held this model may be especially inappropriate for individuals from cultures that rely on less organized and  less focused methods to address difficulties in social life (such as Native Americans and Mexican-Americans) (Sue, 1981; Galan, 2001).

4)      The model is based on non-experimental (i. e., “soft”) evidence— Since Perlman developed her model when social work research was in its infancy, most of her supporting documentation was drawn from clinical and anecdotal sources, plus her own extensive clinical experience.  In other words, when developing her approach Perlman made extensive use of the now discredited “argument from authority” in her research (Gambrill, 1999).  Although this may put her model on shaky ground in our current social work world of evidence-based practice, it is also true that her problem-solving approach today stands out as a final tribute to the power of “practice wisdom” (DeRoos, 1990) especially as used by a practitioner like Perlman, who possessed a solid liberal arts background as well as infinite discretion and finesse.

                                                                       Conclusion

     Although today no social work author who today used Perlman’s model-building procedures exclusively would be readily considered for academic advancement, the fact that her conceptualizations were generally successful in actual practice appears to bear out psychologist Kurt Lewin’s famous adage that “there is nothing so practical as a good theory.”  However, it still needs to be asked how the model measures up today in our current research-heavy climate in social work practice?  In general one can answer: pretty well.  A number of evaluation research studies done over the past several decades have documented that problem-solving approaches and their variants, such as task-centered treatment and problem-solving therapy, have an impressive record of effectiveness in work with diverse different populations, cultural groups, treatment methodologies, and diagnostic categories (Reid, 1988; Reid & Fortune 2002; Dobson, Backs-Dermott, &

Dozois, 2000).  Indeed these research efforts have, for the most part, laid to rest the objections to Perlman’s problem-solving approach mentioned in the previous section.  One issue remain still remains, however.  As mentioned above, though the many current variants of  Perlman’s approach have been demonstrated to have proven efficacy and effectiveness, Perlman’s model itself is based on theory which has never been empirically tested.  Although some have tried to develop ways to accomplish this goal (Bunston, 1985), many of her sources now go back as far as seventy or eighty years, and it may never be possible to fully validate Perlman’s claims empirically. However as Perlman, who loved proverbs, would probably note: “the proof of the pudding is in the tasting.” Thus it appears that it is now in the proof offered by actual practice success that we can best find the final validation of her method.

                                                                        References

Bunston, T. (1985).  Mapping practice: problem solving in clinical social work. Social Casework,

     66, 225-236.

DeRoos, Y. S. (1990).  The development of practice wisdom through human problem-solving

     processes.  Social Service Review, 64, 276-287.

Dewey, J. (1910).  How we think.  Boston: D. C. Heath.

Dobson, K. S., Backs-Dermott, B. J. & Dozois, D. J. A (2000).  Cognitive and cognitive-behavioral

    therapies.  In C. R. Snyder & R. E. Ingram (Eds.) Handbook of psychological change , pp. 409-428.

   New York: Wiley.

Galan, F. J. (2001).  Experiential approach with Mexican-American males with acculturation stress.

     In H. E. Briggs & K. Corcoran (Eds.), Social work practice, pp. 283-302. Chicago: Lyceum.

Gambrill, E. (1999).  Evidence-based practice: an alternative to authority-based practice.  Families in

     Society, 80, 341-350.

Garrett, A. (1942).  Interviewing.  New York: Family Service Association.

Garton, N. R. &  Otto, H. A. (1964).  The development of theory and practice in social casework.

     Springfield,ILL: Charles C. Thomas.

Hamilton, G. (1951).  Theory and practice of social case work (2 nd ed.) .  New York:ColumbiaUniversity.

International definition of the social work profession (2007).  Supplement of International Social Work,50,

James, W. (1967).  Pragmatism and other essays.  New York:Washington Square.

Menand, L. (2001).  The metaphysical club.  New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

News & Notes (2004). Helen Harris Perlman, social work pioneer and distinguished educator,

     p. 1 and p. 5. Chicago: TheSchool ofSocial Service Administration.

Perlman, H. H. (1957).  Social casework.  Chicago: TheUniversity ofChicago.

Perlman, H. H. (1970).  The problem-solving model in social casework.  In R. W. Roberts & R. H.

    Nee (Eds.), Theories of social casework , pp. 131-179. Chicago: TheUniversity ofChicago.

Perlman, H. H. (1971a).  A guide to the reader of this book.  In H. H. Perlman, Perspectives

     On social casework , pp. ix-xxiv. Philadelphia:TempleUniversity.

Perlman, H. H. (1971b).  The basic structure of the casework process.  In H. H. Perlman, Perspectives

     On social casework , pp. 51-64. Philadelphia:TempleUniversity.

Perlman, H. H. (1980).  Letter to author.

Reid, W. J. (1988).  Brief task-centered treatment.  In R. A. Dorfman (Ed.), Paradigms of clinical social

     Work , pp. 196-219.

Reid, W. J. & Fortune, A. E. (2002).  The task-centered model.  In A. R. Roberts & G. J. Greene (Eds.),

     Social workers’ desk reference , pp. 101-104. Oxford:OxfordUniversity.

Richmond, M. E. (1917). Social diagnosis.  New York: Russell Sage.

Schon, D. A.(1983).  The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books.

Sheffield, A. E. (1922).  What is the case worker really doing?  The Journal of Social Forces, 1,

     362-366.

Sue, D. W. (1981).  Counseling the culturally different.  New York: Wiley.

Young, P. (1935).  Interviewing in social work.  New York: McGraw-Hill.

Share this:

I’m a social worker writing a paper on Corrective Action but have been influenced by Helen Harris Perlmans Problem solving process so I love this page.

Erika–Thanks for your comment. As a student social worker and later as a professional social worker I have always been deeply influenced by H. H. Perlman’s pioneering work. I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Allison D. Murdach

i m doing presentation on problem solving in social work, this is very usful article for students. Ashok.k. MPHIL IN PSW, NIMHANS, BANGALORE.

Dear Ashok–I am glad you find my article interesting and useful for students. I believe Perlman’s work on problem solving has helped to give social work intervention a firmer foundation in practical and effective helping approaches. Thanks for your comment. Allison Murdach

Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people think about worries that they just don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

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Practice Model: Problem Solving

Perlman’s model, planned change process model, practice approach based on planned change model

This page has three sections:

Background Material that provides the context for the topic

A suggested Practice Approach

A list of Supporting Material / References

Feedback welcome!

Background Material

Different authors look at the problem-solving model in varying ways.

Murdach (2007) suggests the principal stages of Perlman’s problem-solving model are simply:

problem definition,

problem analysis (including the generation and review of alternatives), and

the need for specific decision about a course of action (including methods of monitoring and evaluating the results of such action).

Chenowith and Lehmann (2008) describe a planned change process model:

Chenowith and Lehman also suggest the model outlined in the Practice Approach that follows. It consists of four phases:

The engagement phase involves making contact, exploring needs and setting preliminary goals.

The assessment phase involves collecting information, prioritising issues and agreeing on action.

The intervention phase involves implementing and modifying strategies to achieve goals.

The evaluation phase involves reviewing what has happened, celebrating progress and either concluding the work or negotiating a continued relationship.

• Practice Approach

Supporting Material

(available on request)

Chenoweth, L. M. D. (2014). Road to Social Work and Human Service Practice. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/une/detail.action?docID=1696405

Coady, N, & Lehmann, P. (2008). The problem-solving model: A framework for integrating science and art of practice. In N. Coady & P. Lehmann, Theoretical Perspectives for Direct Social Work Practice (pp. 67-86). New York: Springer Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/une/detail.action?docID=326279

Murdach, A. D. (2007). Helen Harris Perlman and the problem solving method. Retrieved from https://allisonmurdach.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/helen-harris-perlman-and-the-problem-solving-model/

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Helen Harris Perlman

Samuel Deutsch Distinguished Service Professor

Lingering prejudice and discrimination set Helen Harris Perlman on a course to become one of the most influential people in social services in her era. Ms. Perlman graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1926 with high honors and an A.B. in English literature. Advised that, as a Jew, she would never find an appointment as a professor in the humanities, she took a job as a summer caseworker for the Chicago Jewish Social Service Bureau.

“A whole world opened up to me,” she recalled. “I had no idea of the kinds of trouble people had. I got a great deal of satisfaction from being able to help people. I found that in many cases, families faced the same kinds of problems and conflicts that one encountered in the great works of literature.”

She began her career in social work at a particularly advantageous time. There was, she said, “a sudden flood of psychological knowledge.” In 1933, she received one of four Commonwealth Fund scholarships for students at the New York School of Social Work, now a part of Columbia University.

As she finished her studies in New York, she worked as a caseworker, lecturer, and clinical instructor at the New York School of Social Work, Columbia University, and the Bureau of Child Guidance. It was through this range of experience that she began to develop the conceptual framework for direct-work practice. She earned her master’s degree in social work from Columbia University in 1943.

Shortly after joining the SSA faculty in 1945, she began working on Social Casework: A Problem-solving Process . The book, originally published in 1957, has sold nearly 200,000 copies and has been translated into more than ten languages. Ms. Perlman’s work, together with later work by her colleagues, established the “Chicago School” approach to problem-solving, which is still applied in practice today.

Ms. Perlman’s theories stood apart from the leading theories of the day, which typically focused on long-term psychotherapy. She argued that in-depth study wasn’t always necessary and could even impede progress.

The core idea of her approach was that success could be achieved by partializing – or separating into manageable segments - a client’s intertwined problems and focusing on one specific issue the client and social worker agreed needed to be resolved at a given time. “An important feature of partialization,” Ms. Perlman said, “is the fact that the problem-solving process was transferable to other areas of life’s difficulties.”

Ms. Perlman continued to break new ground in social work, writing more than 75 articles and seven other books, including So You Want to Be a Social Worker , Persona: Social Role and Personality and Relationship: The Heart of Helping People , and a memoir entitled Dancing Clock & Other Childhood Memories . She also edited the book Helping: Charlotte Towle on Social Casework . She also kept up with her love of writing fiction, publishing poetry and stories in newspapers and magazines, including the short story “Twelfth Summer,” published in the 1950s in the New Yorker.

Ms. Perlman was active in many professional and educational circles throughout her career, serving for many years on the editorial board of the Journal of American Orthopsychiatry. The society recognized her service with a life membership. She also served on the editorial board of Social Work, the major publication of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and on the curriculum development committee of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSWE named her a Pioneer of Social Work Education. She received honorary degrees from Boston University, the University of Central Florida, and her alma mater, the University of Minnesota.

Many of her highest accolades came from the University of Chicago. She was the first woman and the first SSA faculty member to be named a Distinguished Service Professor by the University in 1969. In 1996, SSA established the Helen Harris Perlman Visiting Professorship in the School of Social Service Administration in honor of her numerous scholarly contributions.

Ms. Perlman was also the first woman elected to the Quadrangle Club Board, the first woman appointed to the Library Board, and, in January, 1970, the first woman to address the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees and faculty.

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Casework Theory

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• James G. Barber  

Part of the book series: Practical Social Work ((PSWS))

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The following brief history of social casework theory is intended to introduce some of the more influential ideas that have informed social work practice over the years. More than this, it seeks to clarify the reasons why social work should have attracted so much criticism from radical writers and to identify the problems in previous theorising that our model seeks to address. The list of theoretical approaches is not exhaustive, nor is it strictly chronological. No discipline proceeds in an orderly fashion from one paradigm to the next. Indeed, it could be argued that the divisions between approaches are somewhat artificial; as we shall see, the social work literature displays a penchant for incorporating ideas from multiple sources, making it difficult to assign some authors to one camp or the other. The review has been divided into ‘pre-generalist’ and ‘generalist’ eras because it is fair to say that a discontinuous shift in theorising occurred in the 1970s when caseworkers began searching for common ground with their social work colleagues from other fields. However, even a cursory glance at the dates of the publications cited will demonstrate that pre-generalist approaches continue to attract adherents today.

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Barber, J.G. (1991). Casework Theory. In: Beyond Casework. Practical Social Work. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21569-0_2

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The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women

Helen harris perlman.

by Rhoda G. Lewin

A pioneering figure in social work education, Helen Harris Perlman developed the "Chicago School" of social work theory, an approach that has influenced social work education and practice around the world. For more than seventy years, till her death at the age of ninety-nine, she remained a respected expert in the field to which she had devoted a lifetime.

Institution: University of Chicago

Helen Harris Perlman pioneered the “Chicago School” of social work, arguing that many people in crisis needed short-term solutions rather than long-term Freudian analysis. Perlman earned a BA from the University of Minnesota in 1926 and won several undergraduate prizes for her writing. She began working for the Jewish Social Service and was compelled by the stories of those she helped, spending eighteen years as a caseworker at various institutions. She then earned a master’s in social work from Columbia in 1943 and began teaching at the University of Chicago in 1945. In addition to publishing a wide array of work, Perlman served on the editorial boards various publications in the field and was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Council on Social Work Education in 1992.

Helen Harris Perlman, with almost seventy years as a social work practitioner, supervisor, teacher, consultant, and author to her credit, was a legend in her field. The Samuel Deutsch Distinguished Service Professor Emerita in the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, Perlman developed the “Chicago School” of social work theory, an approach that has influenced social work education and practice around the world. She also served on national policy committees, lectured around the world, and participated in pioneering social work programs and research. 

Early Life and Academics

Born on December 20, 1905, in St. Paul, Minnesota, she was the oldest of seven children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Her parents had come to St. Paul from Eastern Europe, and her father was a factory manager whose sympathies were often with his socialist and union workers rather than with his employer. Helen earned a B.A. in English literature and education from the University of Minnesota in 1926, a certificate in psychiatric social work from the New York School of Social Work in 1934, and an M.S. from the Columbia University School of Social Work in 1943. She married Max Perlman in 1935 and they had one son, Jonathan Harris Perlman (b. 1942).

Perlman originally hoped to teach college English, but she found that in the 1920s opportunities in academia for women, and for Jews, were scarce. She went to Chicago to look for a job as an advertising copywriter, but instead found a summer job as a counselor at the Jewish Social Service. “I had no training, but I used the ways I had developed as a writer to understand people’s actions and behaviors and feelings and problems,” she explained. “A whole world opened up to me. I had no idea of the kinds of trouble people had. I had a great deal of satisfaction from being able to help them. I found that in many cases, families faced the same kinds of problems and conflicts that one encountered in the great works of literature.”

When she was finally offered an advertising job that fall, she turned it down to stay in social work. She spent eighteen years as a social caseworker in family service agencies, schools, a child guidance clinic, and a psychiatric hospital, lectured part-time at the Columbia University School of Social Work from 1938 to 1945, and in 1945 became an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, where she taught until her retirement. She also taught and lectured in Canada, England, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Scotland, India, and Puerto Rico.

Research and Work

Perlman’s areas of study included ego psychology and its implications for clinical work; lifetime personality growth and development resulting from a person’s daily transactions at work, at home, and in society; therapeutic and educational problem-solving processes; and how social values and value conflicts affect future planning. She also taught social casework: its governing principles, ethics, values, and methods of helping and enabling people suffering from stress, disability, and other social or psychological problems.

During the 1950s, while scholars continued to debate the merits of the two existing schools of social work theory, the New York Freudian and the Pennsylvania Rankian, Perlman culled together her own clinical experience and her work with experts from both schools to develop a third approach, the “Chicago School” of public welfare. A new method of looking at controversial treatment issues, Perlman’s work laid the foundation for the Chicago School’s problem solving approach, still used by social workers today. 

Recognition and Legacy

In 1957, Perlman published  Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process  (1957), which was based on the premise that the “social surround” of our society and its value systems affect what is and is not possible, and that certain kinds of solutions breed new problems. It has sold over nearly two hundred thousand copies in English and been translated into ten languages. She wrote eight books, in all, which have been translated into eleven foreign languages, as well as over eighty published articles. She returned to her first love, literature, in her 1989 book  The Dancing Clock.  It offered a collection of her childhood memories to help others “explore and remember how they reacted to and were marked by events in their youth.” Her many honors ranged from the undergraduate Drama Prize for Best Playwright and the Best Writing of the Year award from the Department of English Literature at the University of Minnesota in the 1920s to her Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Council on Social Work Education in 1992. In 1996, the University of Chicago celebrated Perlman’s ninetieth birthday and commemorated the establishment of a chair in her name at the School of Social Service Administration. Perlman was also active throughout her career in professional and educational circles of social work, serving on the editorial boards of the  Journal of American Orthopsychiatry  and  Social Work.

Perlman continued to teach single graduate courses for nine years after her retirement, including “The Minority Child in Twentieth Century Literature” and “Utopias and Human Welfare,” in which she sought to establish how present-day social workers and thinkers can, and should, connect with humanists of the past. 

Helen Harris Perlman died on September 18, 2004, in her home in Hyde Park, Illinois. Till her death at the age of ninety-nine, she remained a member of the Honorary Board of Trustees of the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago—still a respected expert in the field to which she had devoted a lifetime.

Selected Works

The Dancing Clock, and Other Childhood Memories . Chicago, Ill: Academy Chicago Publishers, 1989.

With Charlotte Towle.  Helping: Charlotte Towle on Social Work and Social Casework . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969.

Looking Back to See Ahead . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.

Persona: Social Role and Personality . University of Chicago Press, 1968.

Perspectives on Social Casework . Temple University Press, 1971.

Relationship: The Heart of Helping People . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

So You Want To Be A Social Worker. New York: Harper & Row, 1962. Rev. ed. 1970.

Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process . University of Chicago Press, 1957.

“Perlman: Lifetime of leadership in social service.” The University of Chicago Chronicle, 1996.

“Helen Harris Perlman, 98.” The University of Chicago Chronicle, 2004 ;“Perlman developed ‘Chicago School’ of social service practice.” The University of Chicago Chronicle, 2004.

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Lewin, Rhoda G.. "Helen Harris Perlman." Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women . 27 February 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on August 28, 2024) <https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/perlman-helen-harris>.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Chicago Press (March 15, 1957)
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The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Helen Harris Perlman Papers circa 1910s-1998

Guide to the Helen Harris Perlman Papers circa 1910s-1998

Search this finding aid, table of contents.

• Descriptive Summary

Information on Use

Biographical note, related resources, subject headings.

• Series I: General Correspondence
• Subseries 1: Social Casework
• Subseries 2: Human Growth and Behavior
• Subseries 3: Special Courses, Institutes and Lectures
• Subseries 4: Restricted
• Subseries 1: Books and Articles
• Subseries 2: Subject Files
• Series IV: Unpublished Writing
• Series V: Administration and Professional Activities
• Series VI: Degrees and Awards
• Series VII: Personal
• Series VIII: Max S. Perlman
• Series IX: Audio-Visual Materials

University of Chicago Library

© 2008 University of Chicago Library

Series II: Subseries 4 contains evaluative student records. This material is restricted until 2052.

Series IX: Audio-Visual Materials, does not include access copies for audio and video recordings. Researchers will need to consult with staff before requesting material from this series.

The remainder of the collection is open for research.

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Perlman, Helen Harris. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Helen Harris Perlman (1906-2004), social work educator and author, served on the faculty of the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration from 1945 to 1971.

After graduating with a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota in 1926, Perlman was told she would have difficulty finding work in the humanities because she was Jewish. She turned to social work, finding a summer job as a caseworker with the Chicago Jewish Social Service Bureau. She continued to focus on social casework and treatment while attending the New York School of Social Work. After earning a master's degree from Columbia University, she joined the faculty of the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration in 1945.

Perlman's integration of psychoanalytic theories and clinical experience contributed to the development of the "Chicago School" of social service practice. At a time when, long-term, in-depth psychotherapy was the most popular approach to treatment, Perlman advocated short-term treatment and "partialization," in which the caseworker sought to help solve small problems that in turn related to the client's more complicated social and emotional issues. In 1957, she published Social Casework: A Problem Solving Process, now a basic text in social work education. Her other books on social work practice and education include Persona: Social Role and Personality (1968); So You Want to Be A Social Worker (1970); Helping: Charlotte Towle on Social Work and Casework (1970); Perspectives in Social Casework (1971); Relationships: The Heart of Helping People (1979); and Looking Back to See Ahead (1989). Perlman also contributed dozens of essays and scholarly articles to journals of education, social welfare, and public policy.

Within the School of Social Service Administration, Perlman was a popular teacher who led courses on casework, human behavior and personality development. She also taught courses on minority children, the position of women and children in utopias, and developed a "Great Ideas" course in social work. She served on SSA committees related to educational objectives and faculty status. Within the broader scope of the University of Chicago, Perlman served on administrative committees on the arts and educational curricula. Perlman was well-known in the university community for her contributions to amateur theatrical productions and campus events, such as the Quad Club Revels.

Perlman was a cultural groundbreaker at the University of Chicago: In 1951, her short story "Twelfth Summer" was published in the New Yorker. She used this occasion to protest a new policy that mandated that faculty contribute a portion of their outside earnings to the University of Chicago; Perlman asserted that this event finally "broke the back" of this policy. In 1970, Perlman was the first woman

to address the annual dinner of the university's faculty and Board of Trustees. Her speech on the role of women in universities was acclaimed in the campus community, and reprinted for many years afterward.

In addition to "Twelfth Summer," and the humorous pieces she composed for campus events, Perlman wrote other works of short fiction, essays and poetry throughout her life. Many of her pieces were published in newspapers, magazines and journals. She was interested in writing as therapy, and contributed to journals on therapeutic poetry. Her book of memoirs, the Dancing Clock and Other Early Childhood Memories, was published in 1989

Perlman was active in professional organizations, and received honorary awards from the Council on Social Work Education, the National Association of Social Workers, and the Association of Clinical Social Workers. She also received honorary degrees from Boston University, University of Central Florida, and University of Minnesota.

At the University of Chicago, Perlman was honored with the President's Award and the Samuel Deutsch Distinguished Service Professorship. The School of Social Service Administration established the Helen Harris Perlman Visiting Professorship in honor of her contributions.

Helen Harris Perlman's husband, Max S. Perlman, was a University of Chicago alumnus and social work administrator. During World War II, he worked with the American Joint Distribution Committee to aid Jewish refugees. From 1945 to 1971, he served as Assistant Director of the Jewish Federation of Chicago, a social welfare institution dedicated to the Jewish community.

The Helen Harris Perlman Papers include correspondence, teaching materials, scholarly and creative writings, administrative records, artifacts, memorabilia and audio-visual material. Also included is a small collection of papers related to Helen Harris Perlman's husband, Max S. Perlman.

Series I: General Correspondence, includes incoming and outgoing correspondence with educators, researchers and social workers, mainly those outside the University of Chicago. Also included is correspondence with friends, students, mentors, publishers, and university colleagues. Correspondence in this series spans the years 1938-1998.

Series II: Teaching, contains course notes, bibliographies, syllabi, case records, readings, assignments, and other material from courses taught by Perlman from the 1940s-1990s. Most of these courses are in the area of either social casework or human growth and behavior, and were taught at the School of Social Service Administration. Also represented is Perlman's teaching of short courses, workshops, institutes, and special topics.

Series III: Published Writing, Research and Notes, contains manuscripts, drafts, notes, outlines, reprints, pamphlets, reviews, periodicals and related correspondence. This series spans the years 1927-1995, and includes Perlman's professional writing on social work, as well as creative fiction, essays and poetry.

Series IV: Unpublished Writing, contains manuscripts and drafts of Perlman's professional and creative pieces that she identified as incomplete or unpublished. Related notes, outlines and correspondence are also included. Material in this series spans the years 1927-1994, and the files are organized alphabetically by title, format or subject.

Series V: Administration and Professional Activities, documents Perlman's administrative relations with the School of Social Service Administration and the University of Chicago in general, as well as her activities with other institutions and professional organizations. Material in this series consists primarily of correspondence, spans the years 1945-1994, and is arranged alphabetically by organization.

Series VI: Degrees and Awards, documents Perlman's academic degrees, honorary doctorates and professional awards. Material in this series spans the years 1926-1992, and includes academic hoods, plaques, certificates, diplomas, clippings, press releases, correspondence, and speech drafts.

Series VII: Personal, includes biographical files, as well as material related to Perlman's family and early education. Material in this series spans the years 1910s-1995.

Series VIII: Max S. Perlman contains personal papers of Helen Harris Perlman's husband, as well as some material related to his death and memorial. Material in this series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, speeches and publications, an outline of the development of the Jewish Federation, certificates, awards, and biographical material. Material in this series dates from 1935-1996.

Series IX: Audio-Visual Materials, includes audio and video recordings from 1963-1990. Included are recordings of interviews and speeches, as well as audio-visual teaching aids for social work educators.

Throughout the collection, Helen Harris Perlman's later annotations are found on documents. Her annotations were made circa 1980s-1990s, and often provide contextual information or personal reflections about the documents.

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

• Perlman, Helen Harris
• Perlman, Max S.
• American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
• Jewish Federation of Chicago
• University of Chicago. School of Social Service Administration
• Jews -- United States -- Charities
• Social case work
• Social service
• Social work education
• Social workers

This series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence with educators, researchers and social workers, mainly those outside the University of Chicago. Also included is correspondence with friends, students, mentors, publishers, and university colleagues. Files in this series are arranged into one set of chronological files, spanning the years 1938-1983, and one set of alphabetical files, spanning the years 1963-1998.

This series contains only a small fraction of Perlman's correspondence. Larger amounts of correspondence are included in Series II-VI, filed with other related documents.

This series contains course notes, bibliographies, syllabi, case records, readings, assignments, and other material from courses taught by Perlman from the 1940s-1990s. This series is divided into four subseries.

Subseries 1: Social Casework, includes files from courses taught at the School of Social Service Administration in this broad area in which Perlman specialized. Files are organized by course number when identified. Materials from multiple courses are found in some files.

Subseries 2: Human Growth and Behavior, also includes files from courses taught at the School of Social Service Administration, representing another area in which Perlman specialized. As in Subseries 1, files are organized by course number when identified, and materials from multiple courses are found in some files.

Subseries 3: Special Courses, Institutes and Lectures, includes material from courses Perlman taught at other institutions, as well as special courses she taught at the University of Chicago. Included in this subseries is material from her course on utopias and social welfare; preparatory material and notes for a course in "Great Ideas" in social work; material from outside courses in collaboration and fieldwork supervision; and several lists of her lectures, seminars and short courses.

Subseries 4: Restricted, consists of one folder of course material including student grades.

Additional materials related to Perlman's study and teaching of human behavior, casework and social welfare are found in Series IV.

This series contains material related to Perlman's published writing. Material in this series spans the years 1927-1995, and includes Perlman's professional writing on social work, as well as creative fiction, essays and poetry. This series is divided into two subseries.

Subseries 1: Books and Articles, is arranged alphabetically by title. Material in this subseries includes manuscripts, drafts, notes, outlines, reprints, pamphlets, reviews, periodicals and correspondence. This subseries includes files on books such as Social Casework and Persona: Social Role and Personality; articles written for social welfare and public policy journals; short stories including "Twelfth Summer;" biographical writing about Charlotte Towle; and autobiography and memoirs.

Subseries 2: Subject File, contains notes, outlines and correspondence regarding Perlman's publications, as well as reprints and reviews. A small number of manuscripts and drafts are also found. This subseries contains drafts and print copies of Perlman's speech about the place of women in universities, as well as correspondence commenting on the content and significance of the address. Also included are book and manuscript reviews; poetry; Perlman's work as a student and young professional; and files of notes and outlines on topics in casework and psychoanalysis.

Material related to Perlman's unpublished professional and creative work is found in Series IV.

This series contains manuscripts and drafts of Perlman's professional and creative pieces that she identified as incomplete or unpublished. Related notes, outlines and correspondence are also found. Material in this series spans the years 1927-1994, and the files are organized alphabetically by title, format or subject.

Included in this subseries are scripts and occasional verse from amateur theatrical productions and campus events; short fiction and essays; poems; a diary; work on an intended revision of Social Casework; and drafts and compilations of writing for Notes from the After-Life, a book on aging and dying.

This series documents Perlman's administrative relations with the School of Social Service Administration and the University of Chicago in general, as well as her activities with other institutions and professional organizations. Material in this series consists mainly of correspondence, but also includes newsletters, minutes, and publications.

Perlman's work on SSA and university-wide committees is represented in this series, as are her teaching awards, development activities, and negotiations regarding salary and work responsibilities. Also found in this series are files on her board member work for the American Orthopsychiatric Association and Boston University; consulting projects for Hong Kong University and Hallmark; and contributions to the 1966 White House civil rights conference "To Fulfill these Rights..."

Material in this series spans the years 1945-1994, and is arranged alphabetically by organization.

This series documents Perlman's academic degrees, honorary doctorates and professional awards. Material in this series spans the years 1926-1992, and includes academic hoods, plaques, certificates, diplomas, clippings, press releases, correspondence, and speech drafts.

This series includes biographical files as well as material related to Perlman's family and early education. Biographical material includes clippings, curricula vitae, bibliographies, biographical publications and autobiographical notes. Other material in this series includes photographs of Helen Harris Perlman and Max S. Perlman; family correspondence; childhood and college writing; correspondence regarding retirement; a family friend's M.F.A thesis; material related to the deposit of Perlman's papers; and a catalog from an exhibition on the history of the SSA. Material in this series spans the years 1910s-1995.

Most material related to Max S. Perlman is found in Series VIII.

This series contains personal papers of Helen Harris Perlman's husband. The first part of this series consists of a set of correspondence files, arranged alphabetically and dating from circa 1940s-1970s: Included is incoming and outgoing correspondence, primarily of a professional nature and relating to fund-raising and collaboration among Jewish philanthropies.

Also included in this series are speeches and publications, an outline of the development of the Jewish Federation, certificates, awards, biographical material, letters of congratulations on his birthdays and retirement, and materials from his funeral and memorials.

Series IX: Audio-Visual Materials, includes audio and video recordings from 1963-1990. Included are recordings of interviews and speeches, as well as audio-visual teaching aids for social work educators. Items in this series are organized by format. The accessibility of the media is not known.

• Corpus ID: 40129461

Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process

• Published 15 March 1957
• Sociology, Education

230 Citations

Components of the social casework method, client goals and dreams: replacing the norm of functioning, social casework : an afrocentric perspective, empowering marginalized people by maximizing reflective intelligence: a pragmatist problem solving approach, nondeliberative forms of practice in social work: artful, actional, analogic, a generalist approach to social work practice : model and synthesis, engaging with social work: a critical introduction, mutual goals and goal-setting in casework, social work organizations from within, thinking on the front line: why some social work teams struggle and others thrive, related papers.

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Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process . By Helen Harris Perlman. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957. 292 pp. $5.00

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Dorothy M. McKay, Social Casework: A Problem-Solving Process . By Helen Harris Perlman. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957. 292 pp. $5.00, Social Work , Volume 2, Issue 4, October 1957, Page 75, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/2.4.75

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Perlman, helen harris.

• Kenneth S. Carpenter Kenneth S. Carpenter NASW Foundation, Washington, DC
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.763
• Published online: 11 June 2013

Helen Harris Perlman (1905–2004) was a caseworker for the Chicago Jewish Service Bureau and joined the faculty of the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, in 1945. Her textbook Social Casework: A Problem Solving Process is still used.

• Helen Harris Perlman
• social casework
• University of Chicago
• social services
• psychotherapy
• Jewish services

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