Critiquing the goal of autonomy: Towards strengthening the 'relational self' and the quality of belonging in casework practice

Abstract

An argument re-affirming a progressive role for casework is introduced. This argument seeks to articulate an acknowledgement of the atomising effects of ongoing structural change with the profession's long-standing interest in promoting the quality of interpersonal relations and proceeds in three steps. Firstly, recent theoretical work is brought forward to advance the premise that the self can be understood as 'relational' as well as 'autonomous'. Secondly, a summary is offered of the research concerning the relationship between well-being and the quality of a person's social network which, more recently, has been framed in terms such as 'social connectedness' and 'attachment'. Building on these two propositions it is then suggested that it is possible for caseworkers, particularly those whose roles tend to be concerned with less urgently material and advocacy tasks, to promote the quality of interdependence and connectedness of those service users we work with irrespective of their presenting problem and the practitioner's preferred method and assigned practice role. Preliminary suggestions as to how this may be commenced are then briefly introduced.