Relational Social Work Research Articles

From knowledge to the heart: conceptualizing practice wisdom in social work from an Eastern perspective

ABSTRACT A truly holistic understanding of practice wisdom must be developed to address the contemporary crisis in social work and to cater to the multiple needs of non-European and non-Christian communities, in particular. I propose that the distinctiveness and professionalism of social work can be found in the intersubjective encounters between clients and self-actualised social workers. In applying the Chinese interpretation of wisdom (i.e. zhi hui), practice wisdom in social work helps social workers connect knowledge to the heart in reflective practice. This humanistic attitude and embodied practical sense can be cultivated only by engaging with clients in unconditional and person-centred social work relationships.

Unconventional practice placements as learning experiences. Social work students’ views in an online survey

ABSTRACT Practice learning is a significant opportunity for future social workers. In consideration of the central role it plays, the Catholic University of Milan offers the chance to carry out both traditional and unconventional practice placement. Unconventional Practice Placements (UPP) is closer to Service Learning, but it is also based on the theoretical framework known as the Relational Social Work method. The aim of UPPs is creating or implementing social intervention starting from collaboration with a network of people (professionals of public or private organizations, service users, caregivers and citizens). The process begins with the identification of a real need of the local community. The purpose of this paper is to analyse UPPs presenting the results of quantitative research. An online survey collects the students’ learning experience, who attended the academic years from 2015 to 2019. The research shows that UPPs important learning is achieved in the field, especially in relation to group and community work. Not only that, but the local communities benefit from the social interventions planned in a participatory manner emerging from the UPPs.

Contemporary Practitioner Experiences of Relational Social Work: The Case of Child Welfare

ABSTRACT Relationships are core to effective social work and provide the glue that binds diverse aspects of practice. Relational practice has come under threat in an era of managerialism, yet at the same time, it is undergoing a revitalisation in social work discourse. For practitioners on the ground, this can create something of a dilemma, because while their discipline steers them towards building relationships in their practice, their efforts are often unsupported by their organisations, which potentially adds to their workload. This paper presents Australian research that was designed to explore how social work practitioners in the child welfare field experienced the emotional labour involved in building and maintaining relationships in organisational environments characterised by economic and technical rationalism. In-depth interviews were used to explore how participants managed their feelings and the findings revealed how they had to “dig deep” into personal and professional resources to connect and converse with clients and colleagues in a meaningful way. When considered through a gendered lens, this issue raises questions about the ethics of workload distribution for relational work in a profession that is predominantly female. IMPLICATIONS The process of building relationships can be undermined by organisational environments that are heavily influenced by managerial principles and this can potentially threaten the ethos of relational practice. Practitioners need to sustain critical reflection on the value of relationships in order to maintain focus on them. Considering this issue through a gendered lens raises questions about the ethics of care afforded to practitioners.

Meanings of a client-employee relationship in social work: clients’ perspectives on desisting from crime

ABSTRACT In the context of social work, the importance of social interaction and the client-employee relationship in helping the client and supporting their desistance from crime are highlighted issues. Disengagement from crime requires self-motivation, as well as social support provided by social work professionals, NGOs and peers. This article asks what meanings people with a history of crime give to social interaction and the client-employee relationship from the perspective of desistance in different social work settings. The analytical starting point of the study is based on moderate social constructionism and Billig’s rhetorical analysis. The research data was collected by interviewing 26 people with a history of crime. The results showed that social work was seen differently in various social work settings. Social interaction was talked about from the perspectives of municipal social work and multiagency support, as well as a personal encounter that crosses the conventional practices of social work. An employees’ respectful and determined interaction, and the holistic support of NGOs as a community and peers was seen as significant in supporting desistance from crime. On the other hand, distant and formal encounters appeared to be challenging in the data. As a conclusion, desisting from crime is seen as a long-term and challenging process for the client, and thus, the aspects of continuity and genuine encountering in the client-employee relationship play a key role.

Social workers and refugee service users (re)constructing their relationships in a hostile political climate

Summary This article explores the relationship between social workers and adult Eritrean refugee service users in the context of a hostile political climate and restrictive state policies. It examines the implications of politics and policies on the formation of this relationship based on findings from a qualitative study conducted in Israel and Germany. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 38 participants – 16 Eritrean refugees and 22 social workers who work with refugees. Findings Despite different political, social and organizational contexts, especially in the asylum policies towards Eritrean refugees, our thematic analysis yielded two main themes common to both countries: First, changing relationship structures, in particular moving away from a ‘traditional’ conceptualization of the social work relationship towards ‘informal’ practices. These included modifications of the setting, of professional boundaries and of the therapeutic language. Second, shifting power relations, characterized by a friend-like dynamic, which enabled more egalitarian relations, and a parent–child dynamic, which included increased power imbalances and dependency. Implications An increased understanding of the role of restrictive policies, everyday racism and exclusionary political discourse in the reconstruction of the user-worker relationship dynamics could inform social work education and practice. Beyond the refugee arena, establishing informal relationship structures could help to reduce power differentials, increase trust-building and improve therapeutic outcomes with refugees and other service users. The possible risks of informal relations, such as misunderstandings or worker burnout, are also discussed.

Psychological Well-being of Police Officers and Its Impact on the Level of Job Commitment and Quality of Social Relationships

This study aimed at examining the effect of an employee's sense of psychological well-being at work and the quality of social work relationships (the relationship between colleagues and the relationship with superiors) on the level of job commitment; the study was conducted on 80 police officers working in the Police College (Qatar), four measures were used to measure study variables. The regression analysis results indicated a positive correlation between the sense of psychological well-being at work and career commitment to the high level of social relations at work. Note that this study makes a set of significant contributions to the Arab work environment, whether at the theory or practice level. The study's most important results indicate the necessity of giving social work relations the appropriate attention, given its significant role in several organizational and individual outputs, which departments are rarely interested in.

Using Anticarceral Feminism to Illustrate the Impact of Criminalization on the Lives of Individuals in the Sex Trades

This research study is informed by anticarceral feminism to understand and highlight the experiences of violence and oppression that individuals in the sex trade experience as a result of police stings, raids, and incarceration. We present findings from 23 in-depth, qualitative interviews with men, women, and trans individuals who were arrested in the Los Angeles sex trade. More specifically, we explore experiences of violence that occurred interpersonally, systemically, and institutionally. Such experiences examine police violence, arrest and incarceration, coercion, and client violence. The findings from this research shed light on the impact the criminalization of sex work has had on research participants in terms of their physical health and mental health, economic security and opportunities for growth and education, and their sense of freedom and autonomy. We also attend to the role that intersecting identities might have played during their encounters with the police. This study explored these aspects while being mindful that the policies and procedures followed by the police are born out of a carceral state. We conclude with antioppressive and antiviolent implications for social work practice, policy, research, and education as we imagine the next decade of social work in relation to sex trade.

The Reconceptualisation of social work in Chile and Argentina: the centrality of the profession’s relationship with social struggles1

This article addresses the relationship of social work with the movements and processes of popular organisation in Chile and Argentina in the context of the Latin American Reconceptualisation movement in the 1960s and 1970s. We will analyse the current context of the class struggle in these countries and the relationship that was established between social work and the social organisations and movements of the subaltern classes. Our hypothesis is that the relationship between the profession and the struggles developed by the subaltern classes, in their peculiarities in Chile and Argentina, was the central mediation for social work to question its social function in the reproduction of social relations and, as a result, erode its traditionalist and conservative bases.

O Serviço Social na saúde em Portugal e os desafios da Covid-19

Esta é uma reflexão realizada entre maio e julho de 2020 considerado 28 documentos e que teve como objetivo apresentar a prática do assistente social em saúde no contexto da Covid-19 em Portugal. Abordou-se as seguintes temáticas: Relação do Serviço Social com o sistema de saúde em Portugal; O Serviço Nacional de Saúde e o direito à saúde: o que temos?; Competências consolidadas do Serviço Social na saúde; O que mudou no Serviço Social da saúde com a Covid- 19?; Serviço Social em contexto hospitalar; Serviço Social na política de cuidados continuados integrados; e O antes e o depois da Covid-19. A Covid-19 alterou as rotinas e as práticas dos assistentes sociais colocando desafios até agora nunca experienciados. Estes profissionais tornaram-se agentes de saúde pública, comunicando, informando e mediando as respostas das instituições de saúde com as respostas da comunidade. O uso das novas tecnologias possibilitou o trabalho remoto e a intervenção, alterando os processos de intervenção. Por sua vez, os assistentes sociais, se orientaram mais para a satisfação das necessidades emergenciais da pandemia e menos para a promoção do desenvolvimento humano e social.

Social Work in the Digital Era: Theoretical, Ethical and Practical Considerations

Abstract Social work, its fields of practice, institutions, professionals and client groups are affected by the digital transformations taking place across society in many ways. In different fields of practice, digitalisation opens up new potentials, but also poses challenges and problems. To date, theoretical approaches and ethical principles for social work, which should lay the foundations for professional concepts and action, have only marginally addressed the digital era. Robust theoretical and ethical foundations should make it possible to position social work in relation to accelerated technological development. In the following article, different theoretical approaches will be discussed in a comparative way and proposals for the theoretical understanding of digital transformation in social work will be made. Building on this, ethical substantiations for the integration of digital technologies into social work will be presented along the lines of Hans Jonas' theory of responsibility. Finally, conclusions for the innovation, implementation and use of digital media in social work will be discussed.

Transformative practice: social work practice with vulnerable young people

ABSTRACT Social workers across the globe are being challenged to provide meaningful support to young people who face multiple challenges. Drawing on the findings of a longitudinal study of vulnerable young people’s transitions to adulthood, this article explores the key elements of effective social work practice with vulnerable young people. The young people (aged between 12 and 17 at the first interview) had experienced chronic exposure to adversity from an early age (violence, poverty, addictions, mental health issues and exclusion from school). They were clients of statutory and non-governmental services: child welfare, youth justice, remedial education, and mental health services. This article draws on the qualitative phase of the study (n = 107); young people and a trusted other participated in three annual qualitative interviews. Interviews focused on young people’s experiences of services, transitions, relationships, and the strategies they used to locate resources and support. The article presents young people’s perspectives on services and support and identifies the elements that constitute practice which can be transformative for young people. Central to this practice are relational social work practices which underline the significance of authentic and respectful helping partnerships in realising positive change and futures for vulnerable young people.

Gender, Parenting and Practices in Child Welfare Social Work? A Comparative Study from England, Ireland, Norway and Sweden

Abstract This article explores ways in which gender equality, family policy and child welfare social work intersect in four countries: England, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Over time, conditions for gender equality in parenting have improved, partly due to family policy developments removing structural barriers. These changes, however, vary between countries; Sweden and Norway are considered more progressive as compared with the UK and Ireland. Here, we draw on focus group data collected from child welfare social workers in England, Ireland, Norway and Sweden to compare these different contextual changes and how these are reflected in related social work practice decisions. The focus group discussions were based on a vignette, and thematic analysis was applied. Overall, welfare social workers are aware of the need to support gender equality in parenting, there is a heavy focus on mothers in child welfare practice decisions, and fathers are largely absent. Uniquely, we show that this is influenced by both a strong child-centred perspective, and a gendered risk perspective, in which fathers are seen to pose more risk to the children than mothers.

The Essentials of the Helping Relationship between Social Workers and Clients.

The helping relationship between a client and a practitioner is often described as the heart and soul in social work. This research explored the helping relationship between social workers and clients (the clients were mothers) in the context of public social services in Israel. The results presented here are part of a larger ethnographic study that included interviews with 14 social workers, 20 mothers who are clients, and extensive participant observations and textual analysis. Presented in this article are the results pertaining to the essential elements of the helping relationship as perceived by the research participants. Social workers and clients pointed to similar elements that comprise a good helping relationship: love and support; trust and feeling safe; listening and feeling understood; making an effort to help; humanness, compassion, and sensitivity; availability, continuity, and being there when needed; and chemistry. Participants' accounts exemplify the importance and centrality of the helping relationship in social work. The article concludes with a discussion of the study's implications for practice, policy, and research.

Watching over or Working with? Understanding Social Work Innovation in Response to Extra-Familial Harm

This paper critically reflects on the role of surveillance and trusted relationships in social work in England and Wales. It explores the characteristics of relationships of trust and relationships of surveillance and asks how these approaches apply to emerging policy and practices responses to extra-familial forms of harm (EFH). Five bodies of research that explore safeguarding responses across a range of public bodies are drawn on to present an analytical framework that explores elements of safeguarding responses, constituting relationships of trust or relationships of surveillance and control. This analytic framework is applied to two case studies, each of which detail a recent practice innovation in response to EFH studied by the authors, as part of a larger body of work under the Contextual Safeguarding programme. The application of this framework signals a number of critical issues related to the focus/rationale, methods and impact of interventions into EFH that should be considered in future work to address EFH, to ensure young people’s rights to privacy and participation are upheld.

INTANGIBLE WORK AS A PHENOMENON AND CONCEPT: STATUS IN A WORLD OF INSECURITY AND RESEARCH POSSIBILITIES

The article is devoted to the problem of immaterial labor in the modern world as a phenomenon, as well as to the possibilities of studying it using sociological tools - as a category. Immaterial labor is considered by the authors as a specific phenomenon, the formation and spread of which is significantly associated with the world of global capitalism. The article describes the features and aspects of immaterial labor as a phenomenon and as a concept. Based on the developments of P. Bourdieu, M. Lazzarato, G. Standing, the researchers analyze the formation and development of immaterial labor phenomenality and epiphenomenality in the global world. Special attention to the precarious status of immaterial labor and its workers, the ratio of unreliability and precariousness in the nature of immaterial labor is paid. These concepts and ideas are used to study current transformations and attempts to predict future changes in the status, activities and characteristics of immaterial workers in the modern world. The authors argue that social policies and social work in relation to immaterial labor workers cannot be implemented according to modern models and patterns, but must be specified for new conditions. In addition, the authors argue that the unreliability of immaterial labor changes the prospects, limitations and features of both the status of labor itself (in particular, hiding a considerable part of it as labor), and the possibilities of instruments of state regulation, social policy and social work in relation to it: in particular, it turns out that the global world gives rise to whole groups of immaterial labor, included in the precariousness of the economy, the insecurity of social status - and at the same time excluded from social policy and social work. The very phenomenon of (immaterial) labor in this light becomes deinstitutionalized, amorphous, diffuse, constellative, oscillating and opalescent.

Importance of Psychoanalysis of Childhood Drawings for Prediagnosis of Mental Diseases

Psychoanalysis and its application in the biological area. The area of Psychology already presents a lot of research in the context, looking for artificial and laboratory situations; however, the importance of contextual analysis of the individual as a whole, of their daily activities and, from this, the understanding of their perceptions. Through psychoanalysis it is possible to observe widely the subject as a whole, not focusing on the presence of organic or genetic disorders, Ansermet (2003) addresses this problem by stating that “We cannot see the subject only as someone who manifests an organic or mental defect, according to the logic of disability”. The systems that compose and organize the environment, according to Bronfenbrenner (1996), are constituted by the fitting of concentric structures called microsystem, what presents itself as the most active and direct contact environments, such as family, school or social work relationships; mesosystem referring to two or more environments of active social participation; exosystem, understood as environments that influence events that take place in the immediate environment of social relationship; and macrosystem, which comprise, in addition to the behavior of individuals, the connections between other people, the nature of bonds and the direct or indirect influence on the developing individual in the contexts in which they live and act actively. The use of psychoanalysis as a tool to decipher possible mental disorders has become essential, since it is intrinsically linked to the biological look for the diagnosis of a patient. Autism, attention deficit disorder, depression and hyperactivity (ADHD), among other diseases that can be diagnosed during childhood or late they are psychosocial disorders that have their diagnoses complemented by psychoanalysis. In this way, it is possible to perceive the challenges that psychoanalysis faces in terms of complementing the diagnosis of mental disorders in children, as well as the importance of psychosomatic studies in the elaboration of an accurate diagnosis that can be applied to children and their pathologists.

Path Analysis of Rural Social Work Intervention in Precision Poverty Alleviation in Sichuan Province

The targeted poverty alleviation policy is one of the important methods to solve the problem of poverty in China. After the implementation of the targeted poverty alleviation policy in China, some results have shown positive. However, due to the shortage of resources and talents for poverty alleviation, there are still some shortcomings in the targeted poverty alleviation work. In the process of targeted poverty alleviation, if we can promote social work to participate in targeted poverty alleviation and use a wider range of social forces to provide more professional and targeted assistance work for the poor, we will achieve the final sprint for the success of targeted poverty alleviation in China and a well-off society. Based on the actual situation of China's current targeted poverty alleviation work, this article takes the relationship and content of rural social work in Sichuan Province as part of the targeted poverty alleviation as well as the difficulties it faces. The analysis focuses on the path of rural social work in Sichuan Province to targeted poverty alleviation and aims to provide more reference suggestions for targeted poverty alleviation in China.

Social Worker–Client Relationships: Social Worker Perspectives

ABSTRACT Social worker–client relationship practice has always been and remains central to contemporary social work purpose and identity. The professional “helping relationship” can and does enable change and alleviate distress. Nevertheless, what happens in social worker–client relationships remains unclear warranting research attention. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the lived experience of social worker–client relationships with 16 social workers employed in child and family welfare services in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Findings confirmed the centrality of social worker–client relationships for achieving client outcomes and revealed a distinctive practice approach where the social worker–client relationship is seen as the workspace for the intervention, and the social worker acts as relationship-building agent. Overall this constitutes a distinctive practice approach perhaps usefully described as social work relationship praxis (SWRP). The findings are discussed with reference to the literature and implications for research, practice, and education are outlined. IMPLICATIONS This study valorises the centrality of the social worker–client relationship for achieving client outcomes. A relational paradigm needs to be elevated in social work education to prepare students for practicing relationally. Development of social work practice theory needs to embrace relational views of “the self”.

Teaching Note—An Interprofessional Book Club: Bringing Together Social Work and Health Affairs Students

ABSTRACT The demands for interprofessional education (IPE) are becoming increasingly more explicit among health professions accreditation standards as well as within social work education. The following teaching note describes an interprofessional book discussion related to Paul Kalanithi’s 2016 book, When Breath Becomes Air. The book explores the end of life experience of a young neurosurgical resident unexpectedly diagnosed with terminal cancer. This content allows students to reflect on their mortality while pursuing their educational goals while also addressing clinical concepts related to team-based care, coordination, and personal, familial, and system perspectives of a major health diagnosis. The book is rich with examples for students to engage in interprofessional discussions salient to social work and across disciplines. The following teaching note includes a detailed description for programs wanting to engage in new or increased IPE efforts at their institution. The rationale for why this book was selected, as well as questions to guide discussion, and related social work competencies are included. Further, lessons learned throughout the planning and implementation process, as well as guidance on how this activity could be replicated or adapted for social work and other programs are discussed.

Service Users as Collaborators in Social Work Practice, Research, and Education

The idea that social work needs to be concerned with thinking and acting in a more collaborative way with the people in need is common around the world. At the international level, codes of ethics and social work principles inspire practitioners, researchers, and educators in bridging the gap between themselves and people in trouble, commonly known as service users. Beyond a common agreement around such principle, to realize collaborative relationships in practice is a challenge that requires prudence, coherence, and methodology. The Relational social work method supports the practical development of participation, collaboration, and reciprocity. Through concepts and examples, this article aims to describe how service users can assume the role of collaborators in social practice, research, and education.