Social Work as Uncommon Sense

Abstract

George Gammack graduated in psychology at Aberdeen University in 1968 and obtained the B.Phil, in social work from Exeter University in 1970. His work experience includes that of a child care officer in Birmingham; assistant warden at Carberry Tower, the Church of Scotland Youth Leadership Training and Conference Centre, Edinburgh; and in Glasgow that of a neighbourhood worker attached to an area team, a social worker in the psychiatric unit of a general hospital, and senior social worker at Fern Tower Adolescent Unit. He is now a social worker for Fife Regional Council in the Leven Area Office, 12 Station Road, Leven, Fife. SUMMARY Social work needs to resist pressures to identify itself solely at a superficial level of common sense responses to social problems. It has to go beyond this to recognize its use of'uncommon sense' as the means by which social workers cross the relationship gap and respond to their client's needs. The importance of doing this in the early stages of relationship, as in crisis intervention, are considered, and stress is placed on holding together both the explicit task-related aspect of the relationship, and the less obvious emotional interchange. By means of their uncommon sense, social workers are enabled to reflect for, and share with clients their areas of pain, in such a way as to render them more tolerable.