Abstract

Maps transmit powerful messages, both conscious and unconscious, about the world and our place in it. Although no map is distortion free, many common map projections that have helped form the worldviews of social workers and clients alike reflect ethnocentric biases that reinforce historic patterns of world dominance. This article discusses ways for practitioners to recognize this subtle source of ethnocentric bias, which may affect their work with clients. An understanding of these biases also illuminates concepts in the theory of practice, which the author regards as a bidirectional process between social worker and client system involving a continuing evaluation and reevaluation of initial assumptions and concepts.

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