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perfection (e.g. Col. 3,8-10; Gal. 4,19; 2 Tim. man is seen as God’s creation, God can also be
3,16f., see also Eph.4,12-14) perceived as giving a commission. “Threefold
Ability to relate to man and God, faith (e.g. commission” thus means:
Luke 17,15-19) 1. A commission to supply help to the person
affected and his/her social environment, with
Depending on the person and the initial situa- the aim of more successful living in the sense of
tion, the aims are differentiated (e.g. Jude 22f). self-determination in everyday life. For this, the
Not only God, but also those seeking help, can professional must be prepared, under certain
and should set aims (e.g. Mk. 10,51, see also Mt. circumstances, to adopt uncomfortable attitu-
20,32) des towards the social systems involved.

A first conclusion: 2. A commission from the social system (e.g. so-
Secular therapies and biblical models of healing ciety) with the aim of (re-)integration, maintai-
are both distinguished by a variety of very dif- ning contacts with society, or the avoidance of
ferently defined aims. In addition, definitions further resulting costs. With this commission,
of therapy aims are strongly dependent on the forceful means (sanctions and methods of con-
therapist’s own ideas of the mode of action and trol) are often associated. Here, under certain
methods of the therapy. circumstances, considerable tensions can arise
with the needs, wishes or values of the person
Source of aims: the three-fold commission affected.
(Psycho-)therapy is not always a voluntary
commission for individual help given by a client 3. A commission which arises from one’s own
to a therapist. In many cases, the interests of the calling or professional motivation, motivated
cost-carrying agency, a therapeutic institution, by ethical values and norms (the double com-
an employer or other factors are involved. This mandment of love, human rights, professional
second commission, as a rule, aims at (re-)inte- codex) and informed by professional know-
gration, at a certain level of control over “non- ledge. This third commission enables a certain
integrated persons”, and the avoidance of resul- independence from the “external” commissions
ting costs for society. In social work, in work of the first two commissions, but, for precisely
this problem is even more pronounced, Bönisch this reason, can also lead to conflict.
and Lösch had already coined the phrase of the
2
“double commission” in 1973. More recently, What is needed is to be conscious of tensions
Staub-Bernasconi suggested speaking of a resulting from the different commissions and to
3
threefold commission, denoting the commissi- define as clearly as possible, for oneself and the
on to supply help to the individual, a commissi- client, in which commission one is acting. 4
on from society, and a professional commission
in the sense of scientifically-based knowledge 1. What commission is my client giving me?
of treatment and transformation and of ethical With what does he need help?
norms.
I share this view, but would add, by way of ex- 2. What is my commission (what I should do,
planation of the third mandate, that, wherever not what it would be “nice to have”) as a thera-
pist or under our commission as an institution

2 Böhnisch, L., Lösch, H. (1973): Das Handlungsver-
ständnis des Sozialarbeiters und seine institutionelle 4 The main feature of professionality “is the requirement
Determination. In: Otto, H.-U.; Schneider, S. (ed.): Ge- to make one’s own picture of the problem situation on the
sellschaftliche Perspektiven der Sozialarbeit. Vol. 2, Neu- basis of science and professional ethics and – proceeding
wied/Berlin, pp. 21-40 from that – to formulate a self-determined commission
3 Staub-Bernasconi, S. (2007): Soziale Arbeit als Hand- which takes into consideration the points of view and
lungswissenschaft. Syste¬m¬theoretische Grundlagen interests of the person affected by the problem as well
und professionelle Praxis – Ein Lehrbuch. Bern (Haupt), as those of the (in)direct commission-giver in the social
pp.198-202 care authority.” (Silvia Staub-Ber¬nasconi)
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