The multi‐professional approach: front‐line professionals' behaviours and interactions

Sousa L, Costa T. The multi‐professional approach: front‐line professionals' behaviours and interactions Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 444–454 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Given the complexity of social problems, the multi‐professional approach has been generally adopted in the Western world as a desirable work practice. This study aimed at identifying front‐line professionals' behaviours and interactions that significantly influenced (positively or negatively) multi‐professional processes and outcomes. The study was conducted using the critical incidents technique administered to 117 front‐line professionals involved in multi‐professional approaches from different agencies and areas of expertise. The main findings suggest that the multi‐professional approach among front‐line professionals is facilitated by the professionals' commitment and complementarity and inhibited by the absence of complementarity, professionals being aggressive and insensitive to other professionals, and incompetence. The multi‐professional approach emerges as a context in which it is necessary to articulate professionals' personal and professional similarities and differences. The results suggest that professionals need to develop new competencies, particularly interdependence, flexibility and reflection on the process and outcomes of the multi‐professional approach.