Social work is a profession that is very much part of and contributes to an ever changing and
evolving society. It is therefore essential that social work is able to respond to the diverse and
dynamic demands that it may encounter in that society and in the future. The critique of social
work is, however, present and growing. The profession can no longer deny or ignore the need to
legitimize its value and effectiveness. In this article, a research project – entitled Procivi – aimed
at developing a method of legitimizing social work is presented. The method developed in Procivi
proposes a way of legitimizing social work through the development of reflective professionals.
The method teaches professionals to take a research frame of mind towards their own practice and
helps them develop a vocabulary to describe their work to different audiences. The paper discusses
whether and how this method forms a viable way of legitimizing social work and as such could
be an alternative for the growing demand for social work based on scientific evidence (evidencebased
practice, EBP).