Rural social work The perceptions and experiences of five remote practitioners

Abstract

Living and working as a remote, rural social worker is a challenging experience. This qualitative study explores the experiences of five longer-term social workers in rural Western Australia. It provides a glimpse of their world including initial experiences, factors which support long-term rural practice, the demands and skills needed, the difficulties working in a bureaucracy and the positive aspects of rural practice. Tentative conclusions indicate that rural practice is distinct, due to the demands of living and working in the same community. Moreover, skills must be applied in the context of few secondary referral points or after hours services, and huge distances. The difficulty of maintaining professional identity and feelings of personal isolation are significant, but are compensated for by families who are settled and reluctant to leave, These findings can be used to inform social work education and improve retention of workers and quality of rural practice.     

Insights on Professional Identification and Licensure from Community Practice Social Workers

ABSTRACT

This article describes a qualitative study designed to explore both how community practice social workers identify professionally and to examine their view towards professional regulation. Thirty-five MSW-level social workers in a large metropolitan region who self-identified as community practice social worker participated in in-depth interviews. The respondents shared their views regarding professional identification as social workers and the impact of professional identity on their work as community practitioners. Approximately half of the respondents indicated that they only sometimes or never identify as a social worker. The respondents were generally critical of the licensing burden placed upon them as community practice social workers.     

Strengths and Pathological Perspectives in Community Social Work

ABSTRACT

Current social work theory distinguishes between the traditional pathology-oriented perspective and the strengths perspective. This paper posits that the working model of community social workers is grounded in a strengths perspective, which, in relation to community work, is compatible with and supplementary to empowerment models, providing a methodological base for the values and practice of the macro method of social work. The current study aimed to assess the prevalence of each of these two perspectives towards community activity, and to examine the differences between them regarding the sense of empowerment and professional skills acknowledged by community social workers in Israel. The findings revealed that while the majority of community social workers adopt a strengths perspective in their work, they experience a greater sense of empowerment and of professional skills when adopting a pathology-oriented perspective.     

Social work in mental health services: A survey of the field

Abstract

A survey of social workers employed in mental health services was conducted in Victoria in mid-1997. Approximately 300 social workers were identified as working in the sector. About half were employed in adult clinical services, 23% in psychiatric disability services, 12.4% in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and the rest in a range of other services. More than 90% worked in a community based service or team. The number of entry-level (SW I) positions in clinical services was found to have declined over the last ten years from 61 to 14, resulting in a lack of opportunities for social workers to gain experience in base grade positions, and difficulty in recruiting to SW II positions. Major issues of concern reported by social workers included: the lack of accommodation and other community resources for consumers; diminished opportunities for professional development, supervision, and discipline-specific training; lack of professional recognition; increasing workloads; and organisational emphasis on throughput rather than quality.     

Rural social workers and their jobs: An empirical study

Abstract

Results are reported from a national survey of 194 social workers commencing rural positions in Australia in 1994 and 1995. This paper focuses on: practitioner, position and community characteristics; which location the practitioners came from; their professional, rural practice and rural living experience; preparation for the positions by employers and educators; satisfaction with rural work and life; and anticipated length of stay. Results challenge myths about rural social workers and support key themes of rural practice literature. Respondents were mixed with respect to age and experience, scattered widely throughout Australia in different-sized communities, mostly living and working in the same communities and engaged predominantly in generic practice. There appears to be a pool of rural practitioners in Australia who are committed to living and working in rural places. Implications are developed for practice, employers, the profession, professional education, research and theory. Tentative explanations are offered for high rural staff turnover.     

Beyond “Dry Drunkenness”: Facilitating Second Stage Recovery Using Wilber's “Spectrum of Consciousness” Developmental Model

ABSTRACT

The usefulness of Wilber's “Spectrum of Consciousness” developmental model in the treatment of substance abuse is demonstrated by a case study that illustrates how underlying emotional pain and intimacy issues can be worked through in the counselling process with a client during the second stage of recovery from addiction. Wilber's model allows for narcissistic, critical self, social, identity, intimacy, existential, and psycho-spiritual issues to be integrated into the counselling process for long-term recovery. This model provides social workers and addictions counselors with a useful map in embracing client recovery.     

Picturing social work,puzzles and passion: exploring and developing transnational professional identities

ABSTRACT

Exploring and in turn developing professional identity is a challenge faced by social work programmes, nationally and internationally. This paper developed from the authors’ shared research interest in how social workers and students of social work develop and express their professional identities. We report findings from a workshop designed to explore how a group of social workers from different countries conceptualised social work identity, including the effects of transnational and cultural contexts. Our starting point drew on theoretical concepts developed in Wiles’s research, in which the term professional identity is used to convey multiple meaning, and the method developed in Vicary’s research which uses drawing to elicit data. We found that a collective identity is shared across national boundaries albeit, and ironically, that this shared identity has components that are not cohesive and are continually being redefined. In the participants’ own words, the notion of social work identity is always just out of reach conceptually, or ‘over the horizon’. Tensions in identity were also revealed, alongside a sense of passion or deep commitment. These findings complement and add to the existing literature on exploring and developing professional identity in social work.     

A comparative analysis of Norwegian and American social workers’ views about inclusion of religion and spirituality in social work

ABSTRACT

This article presents results from a comparative analysis of national surveys of Norwegian and American social workers’ views and practice with regard to inclusion of religion and spirituality in their professional work with clients. Findings include views about professional values, educational preparation, raising the topics of religion and spirituality with clients experiencing oppression, and use of related interventions. Overall, American social workers are more likely to address religion and spirituality than Norwegians. International comparative statistical and conceptual analyses consider influences of differences in practice settings, respondents’ age and length of experience, and cultural contexts.     

What students’ Facebook posts teach us about the identity challenge in field placements abroad

ABSTRACT

Facebook is a common tool that enables students to publicly express their emotions, thoughts, experiences, and knowledge. On the assumption that the personal narratives of students can provide deep insights into their learning processes during practical training programs, the article presents content analyses of Facebook posts written by Israeli students who participated in an international social work field placement program in India. Content analysis of the students’ posts reveals that they grappled with their personal and professional identities as part of the learning process that occurred while they were formulating their professional identity as social workers. The analysis elicited three main themes: (1) awareness of the national identity; (2) exploration of other identities (personal, professional, and global); and (3) an attempt to contain multidimensional identity. The students discussed the main challenges they faced in the process of formulating an identity that will enable them to engage in international social work, and they described the fluctuations that occurred in those identities. The results show how public Facebook posts can be used as a tool to shed light on the contribution of social work education in international field placements, and provide insights into the learning processes that students experience in field placements abroad.     

Mental Health Workers Negotiating Risk on the Frontline

Abstract

Following deinstitutionalisation and the shift to models of community care, mental health practice has become increasingly focused on managing the risks posed by service users. However, the effects of risk management on workers’ professional identities have not been investigated empirically in Australia. Drawing on in-depth interviews with mental health workers from Victoria, Australia, this paper explores the diverse ways in which these workers adapted the formal technologies of risk management (e.g., the completion of risk assessment screens) to their professional identities. Some workers experienced risk management technologies as constraining their interventions with clients, while others saw these technologies as providing opportunities to strengthen and enhance their professional skills. Pondering these differences, the author speculates on the emergence of a new form of professional identity in the broader context of contemporary community mental health care.     

A balancing act: a grounded theory study of the professional judgement of child protection social workers

ABSTRACT

This paper explores professional judgement of social workers working to protect children. Based on 22 in-depth interviews with social workers, a grounded theory methodology is adopted. The policy context for child protection practice is outlined and analysed. This study then explores how information, responsibility and in particular anxiety, are transacted between social workers and other professionals. Additionally, this study explores the delicate balances social workers are required to negotiate, focussing on two elements of the findings, ‘closeness- distance’ and ‘power over- power together’. The delicacy of the balances negotiated by social workers leads to a powerful analogy of social workers as tightrope walkers, and strategies to seek balance are identified. The implications for practice are explored. The internal mental processes of social workers require closer attention, a cautious approach should be taken to rational-technical solutions and social workers should be better prepared to respectfully challenge other professionals.     

‘Not Easily Put Into a Box’: Constructing Professional Identity

Researching the interplay between social work students' personal and professional identities, I found that, in talking about becoming professionals, students drew on a wide range of discourses. Three common usages of the term ‘professional identity’ are explored here: it can be thought of in relation to desired traits; it can also be used in a collective sense to convey the ‘identity of the profession’. Taking a more subjective approach, professional identity can be regarded as a process in which each individual comes to have a sense of themselves as a social worker. I argue that the variations in students' talk reflect a wide range of cultural understandings that are prevalent within the social work community and society in general, and conclude that professional identity is more complicated than adopting certain traits or values, or even demonstrating competence. The different meanings of professional identity all have something to offer, providing resources for students as they construct themselves as social workers. This is important for social work education because it acknowledges the dynamic nature of professional identity, highlights the difficult identity work which each student must undertake, and prompts us to consider how this process might best be supported.     

Hearing the stories of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social workers: challenging and educating the system

Hearing the stories of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social workers highlights the powerful influence that cultural identity has on their practice. Their identity is continuously negotiated alongside a professional social work identity that is dominated by Western discourse. The tensions that these social workers experience in their practice is revealed in the findings of a qualitative research project conducted by an Indigenous and a non-Indigenous practitioner and researcher. The researchers spoke to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social workers engaged in diverse areas of practice across Australia. Their stories reveal a complex range of cultural and professional challenges. These include the difficulties encountered when working with their own kinship networks and the need to constantly negotiate personal and professional boundaries. The paper concludes with some thoughts about how the practice of Indigenous social workers can provide valuable lessons for Australian social work.     

Responses to Homelessness in Australian Cities: Social Worker Perspectives

Abstract

Responses to homelessness in Australia are provided by a range of government and nongovernment services. The present study examined the experiences of social workers within these diverse services. The article discusses how social workers make meaning of their professional identity and responses to homelessness in contemporary practice and policy settings. The findings of a qualitative study of 39 social workers employed in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney are analysed from a social constructionist perspective. The practice dilemmas for social workers interviewed related to the dominating influence of the contemporary political and economic climate, the managerial requirement of organisations, and the personal and professional tensions these political and organisational contexts created.     

Social Workers as Boundary Spanners: Reframing our Professional Identity for Interprofessional Practice

One of the more difficult tasks for social work educators is socializing students into a professional identity. Social identity theory provides a lens to consider what is needed for a social work identity that will continue to be salient for students as they move into practice. Framing social workers as boundary spanners might offer students a professional identity that is congruent with core values, reflects what social workers do and places less emphasis on old debates about the profession. It also positions students well for work in the increasingly interprofessional realms of health and social care. I consider how social workers are well equipped to meet the demand created by ‘joined-up working’ for people with boundary-spanning expertise. Seeing ourselves as boundary spanners is one way to reconcile our professional and interprofessional identities, thereby increasing the chances that our students will continue to identify as social workers when they move into interprofessional practice.     

Concern for Community: A Case Study of Cooperatives in Costa Rica

ABSTRACT

Through enacting the principle concern for community, cooperatives hold promise in promoting social welfare. This article builds on the literature about the intersections of cooperatives and community practice by using empirical evidence gathered through intensive case-study immersion. The data suggest that cooperatives bolster the well-being of their associates and the entire community along economic, social, and political axes. The evidence suggests that ideological, contextual, and social factors provide the rationale for cooperatives’ community engagement. Given the congruence between cooperatives’ community practices and social work aims, the article ends by raising questions about opportunities for collaborations between cooperatives and social workers.     

Digital identities – overcoming visual bias through virtual embodiment

ABSTRACT

This study sheds new light on the role of identity in virtual environments when virtual representation of self is in support of disabled individuals and the potential impact of their virtual identity on work opportunities. It is widely understood that individuals who live with disability often experience a lifetime of bullying, exclusion, marginalization and rejection. They often experience workplace bias and discrimination. Yet, when they can create an identity and experience embodiment in virtual environments, the results can be extraordinarily powerful – even life-changing. This research builds on nearly a decade of ethnographic research in 3D online immersive social virtual worlds; seven of those years working with disability communities to answer the following: RQ1: In a virtual world where one can choose any avatar form, how does that visual sense of self-representation influence one’s ability to gain access to a social network, to be a leader in that network, and to find work? RQ2: How does realism in representation influence work experiences in these digital worlds? The results reveal the importance of choice in online representation of avatars in creating work and online social engagement. Implications contribute to our understanding of visual bias in the workplace and how emerging virtual reality technologies may open new avenues for meaningful work and social interactions for people with disabilities.     

‘What shall I pack in my suitcase?’: the role of work-integrated learning in sustaining social work students’ professional identity

Interest in the reflective practitioner as a model of a ‘good professional’ has increased in several professional fields and is also valued within social work education as a key aspiration to address the uncertainties and challenges encountered in contemporary working environments. Reflecting on their own professional identity, as well as theories, values, and devices used in professional practice, can help practitioners deal with complex work demands and help students be better equipped to transition from university to work. Work-integrated learning (WIL) provides students with an opportunity to integrate academic learning with ‘real-world’ experiences to develop both valuable self-monitoring and professional self-constructive ability. This paper presents a case study in social work higher education in which WIL class-based teaching was combined with the use of reflective journals to explore the role of WIL in developing reflective practices for professional identity formation. 21 reflective journals by social work students are analysed. The findings suggest that teaching practices based on WIL enable professional identity formation by developing reflective practices, and that different learning conditions sustain specific dimensions of professional identity, i.e. professional expertise, membership to a professional community and sense of professional self.     

Social workers: a new precariat? Precarity conditions of mental health social workers working in the non-profit sector in Greece

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, in western countries, the social work profession primarily has come into contact with issues of precarity through the lives of service users. This paper introduces precarity in the social work scholarly literature as a feature of social workers’ professional and personal lives. It draws from the findings of a qualitative small study of mental health social workers working in the non-profit sector in Greece. The findings reflect a picture of social workers experiencing precarious conditions as they have become part of the growing phenomenon of the working poor, surviving by loans, experiencing housing insecurity, reproductive insecurity, fuel poverty and unable to pay for their commuting expenses to and from work. Furthermore, the paper maintains that the expansion of the conditions of precarity to university-educated professionals, such as social workers, needs to be understood within an International Political Economy (IPE) perspective in order neoliberal capitalism which brings rising levels of inequalities to become a focus of intervention.     

Empathy in Social Work

ABSTRACT

A dominant conceptualization of empathy in social work practice and education, provided by Karen Gerdes and Elizabeth Segal, relies heavily on the simulation theory adopted directly from the cognitive neurosciences. The aim was to critically challenge such a view by reporting on some recent empirical findings from the field in which professional social workers were interviewed about their experience of empathy in working with forced migrants. The findings support a phenomenological, critical account of simulation theory and provide evidence that empathy is constituted as a direct social perception of the other's experience. It was concluded that simulation theory is insufficient in providing an exhaustive approach for the professional use of empathy in social work practice and education.