Conation: A Missing Link in the Strengths Perspective (Report‪)‬

In 1984, Karen E. Gerdes was a newly graduated MSW and a wide-eyed Peace Corps volunteer living in a land-filled barrio on Manila Bay in the Philippines. In the following block of text, she describes an experience that profoundly influenced her thinking about the ways that individuals approach challenges in their world. Without a clear understanding of the conative aspect of behavior, social workers limit their ability to understand clients' and their own behavior and are unable to use a significant source of client strength. In this article, we describe conation--a group of differing but equally valuable modes of action possessed by all humans. We then discuss how knowledge about conative abilities can be practically applied in strengths-based social work practice.