Creativity, fantasy, role-play and theatre in social work

Abstract

This article considers the development of social work research and social work practice. In contrast to the usual emphasis on evidence based studies and tools in social work research the article argues for the development of quantitative studies and tools and proposes creativity, fantasy, role-play and especially Forum Theatre as key elements of this development. This approach is compatible with Flyberg's 2002 concept of ‘actual science’ – a context-dependent methodology oriented more towards subjects than objects – or ‘phronetic social science’ – where judgements and decisions are based on values. Both approaches have the capacity to incorporate the complexity of social work, to involving users and social workers in research processes, and to build up knowledge production from the bottom up. The article also argues that creativity, role-play, fantasy and Forum theatre are as necessary and useful in developing social work practice as in facilitating the research process.