The Two-Level Resource Model: Activated and Potential Resources as a Practice Framework for Social Work

Document from the year 2026 in the subject Social Work, language: English, abstract: The Two-Level Resource Model is a practical tool for resource-oriented practice in social work. It was developed in the context of work on Resource-Oriented Interviewing, a specific form of strengths-based interviewing that originally emerged in the field of addiction services and was subsequently applied and further developed in psychiatric care, social integration services, and project management. The Two-Level Resource Model is characterized, on the one hand, by the clear differentiation of its individual and highly practice-oriented components, and, on the other hand, by the considerable flexibility it offers practitioners in adapting the model to the specific conditions of their respective fields of work. The name "Two-Level Resource Model" derives from one of its central features: resources are systematically divided into two distinct categories, referred to as Resource Level I (RL1) and Resource Level II (RL2). While the model also includes two additional levels - the Occasion Level (OL) and the Problem Level (PL) - the distinction between activated and potential resources, represented in RL1 and RL2, forms the conceptual core of the model and therefore provided the basis for its title.