Social workers as mediators

Abstract

This paper discusses the significant contribution social workers have to make to the growing field of mediation and alternative dispute resolution. The theories and practice skills of social work have major relevance to mediation. A sound generic social work education, combined with specialist study in mediation and alternative dispute resolution, ensures that social workers are well prepared for practice as mediators.     

Young people and social networking sites: exploring the views and training opportunities of CAMHS social workers in Ireland

ABSTRACT

Social Networking Sites (SNS) (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) have become a fundamental part of the daily lives of many young people. SNS engagement has been associated with a number of risks and benefits, some of which are particularly relevant to young people who access child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Consequently, understanding how and why young people engage with SNS, and the associated risks and benefits, may become an increasingly important part of CAMHS social work.

This small-scale study (n = 15) utilised an online survey to explore the importance that a sample of Irish CAMHS social workers attribute to maintaining an awareness of how young people use SNS, whether they, in their professional lives, have been offered the opportunity to learn about SNS engagement among young people, and whether they have taken it upon themselves to learn about this topic.

Findings suggest that participants consider an understanding of SNS to be an important part of CAMHS practice. However, participants report that they do not feel sufficiently aware of SNS trends among young people, suggesting that there is scope for SNS-focused training/learning opportunities among this sample of CAMHS social workers. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are outlined.     

An exploratory investigation of social workers’ knowledge and attitudes about autism

ABSTRACT

Although researchers continue to generate knowledge concerning autism, few have investigated social workers’ understanding about this condition. In this exploratory study, we surveyed licensed social workers (n = 793) to examine social workers’ understanding and attitudes about autism. Overall, we found social workers have accurate knowledge and hold strengths-based attitudes about autism and persons on the autism spectrum. Factors significantly associated with accurate autism knowledge were having special training in autism, having present clinical involvement with autism, and knowing someone on the autism spectrum. Implications for social work practice, education and training, and future research, are discussed.     

The Attitudes of Social Work Students and Practicing Psychiatric Social Workers Toward the Inclusion in the Community of People with Mental Illness

Abstract

This study measured and compared the attitudes of social work students and practicing psychiatric social workers to the inclusion in the community of people with mental illness. The Community Living Attitude Scale Mental Illness (comprising the four subscales of Empowerment, Exclusion, Sheltering, and Similarity) was administered to a random sample of 68 Israeli BA social work students (first year: n = 35; third year: n = 33) and 28 practicing psychiatric social workers. Overall, the participants endorsed Empowerment and perceived the Similarity of persons with mental illness to themselves more than they agreed with the Exclusion attitude of segregating those persons from community life. First-year students rated Empowerment and Similarity significantly lower than did the third-year students and rated Sheltering significantly higher than did psychiatric social workers. Psychiatric social workers did not differ from third-year students and did not have stronger attitudinal commitment to the inclusion paradigm. They differed from first-year students only in the sheltering attitude; they showed lower support for sheltering people with mental illness.     

Doing It Well

SUMMARY

Social workers are being challenged internationally to be accountable by defining competency standards at beginning and advanced levels. The study that is the subject of this article will develop the work of one of the authors, which involved a 5-year longitudinal study of beginning social workers and another of experienced social workers. These studies resulted in a book on professional expertise (Fook, Ryan, & Hawkins, 2000). The present study furthered that work and subjected this theory of professional expertise to further testing by examining the work of a sample of expert (rather than experienced) social workers in the mental health field in Melbourne, Australia. Data was collected from a selected sample of mental health social workers by the use of focus group interview. This article reports on the study's findings and discusses their significance and application.     

Supporting the Well-Being of People with Mobility Disabilities Through Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this insight generating study was to explore the viewpoints of people with mobility disabilities (PWMD) about ways for social workers to promote their well-being through social work practice. A qualitative participant action style methodology encouraged PWMD to voice their concerns and recommendations. Eighteen PWMD were interviewed, including nine consumers and nine social workers. Participants indicated from their experiences that social workers commonly are not sufficiently cognizant of the personal goals, perspectives, and health potentials of PWMD. Overall, they suggested that the social work practice approach for people with disabilities should become more holistic and proactive. Their recommendations are consistent with current ideas about best practice in the social work and disabilities literature and they reinforce the importance of making these ideas more widely practiced.     

Relationship-based social work and electronic communication technologies: anticipation,adaptation and achievement

ABSTRACT

While social workers continue to recognise the centrality of relationship in social work practice they are now trying to build and mediate relationships with service users in a context fundamentally changed by technology. The paper suggests that different modes of electronic communication are not simply add-ons to society but are altering the social texture of society including the ways that people relate and interact with others. The relationship base of social work is not immune or dislocated from the explosion of social media and electronic communication which is occurring in the wider society and, therefore, attention needs to be paid to the impact of these new technologies on the way in which social work is practised. Using qualitative research with early career stage social workers in Ireland this paper aims to contribute to knowledge on this emerging dimension of social work practice.     

Existential social work and the quest for existential meaning and well-being: A conceptual framework

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to conceptualize “existential social work.” A greater understanding of what existential social work means may enable social workers and those studying social work to see how its practice can reveal “the truth” about human existence and how they, as professionals, can enhance existential meaning and existential well-being among their clients. In such work, existential social workers have at their disposal tools such as the Frankl therapeutic approach to existential analysis (i.e., logotherapy) as well as spiritual-sensitive modalities (prayer and mindfulness). To interpret and understand apparent phenomena in the therapy is the ultimate goal with existential social work practices, thus providing clients with the opportunity to discover the meaning that exists in themselves. In addition, these practices pave the way for existential well-being.     

Secondary traumatic stress and self-care inextricably linked

ABSTRACT

Increasingly trauma scholars are exploring the susceptibility of mental health providers to secondary trauma reactions. The current study explores the relationship between clinical social work practice with trauma-exposed clients and secondary traumatic stress among social workers. The intent of this study is to identify the role various factors play in the development of secondary trauma (also known as compassion fatigue). A simple random sample of National Association of Social Workers members were asked to participate. Participants completed an online survey that explored their exposure and responses to secondary traumatic stress. The online survey consisted of standardized measures including the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale and The Coping Strategies Inventory which assesses secondary trauma and self-care strategies, respectively (Bober, Regehr, & Zhou, 2006; Bride, Robinson, Yegidis, & Figley, 2003). The magnitude of work (the extent and intensity of time working with trauma-exposed clients) is assessed by a non-standardized measure which consists of clinical caseloads composition questions. Job satisfaction is measured by items taken from the National Association of Social Workers’ workplace questionnaire (Whitaker & Arrington, 2008). 161 social workers completed the online survey. It required approximately 35 minutes to complete. This project empirically demonstrated that high-magnitude social work practice (providing therapeutic intervention to trauma survivors, i.e. military service members and veterans) is associated with higher levels of secondary trauma. There is also empirical evidence that self-care strategies can mitigate the impact of the secondary trauma. Educational and workforce implications for study findings are discussed.     

Recalibrating micro and macro social work: student perceptions of social action

ABSTRACT

As underscored by their professional code of ethics, all social workers are called to engage in social action that advances social justice. Yet, the focus of the profession has drifted toward individual treatment and away from social reform. Drawing upon data from an online survey of graduate social work students (N= 199) in the United States, this study explores the role of student perceptions relating to the importance of and their confidence in engaging in social action. Specifically, we assess whether perceptions vary according to practice level (micro or macro), social identity, or survey completion date (before or after the 2016 United States presidential election). Findings suggest that respondents exhibit a high degree of interest and confidence in social action with limited variation on the basis of their practice level or background characteristics. Furthermore, the 2016 presidential election did little to change perceptions of social action. This suggests that the profession’s marginalization of macro practice is not necessarily driven by student interest or confidence.     

Addiction Problems,Addiction Services,and Social Work in the Republic of Ireland

SUMMARY

The aim of this paper is to review policy and practice in relation to the management of alcohol and drug problems in Ireland, with a specific focus on the role of professional social work. There is a high prevalence of alcohol and drug problems in the caseloads of social workers that work within the statutory childcare and criminal justice services. Professional social work in Ireland is of comparatively recent origin and there are few social workers employed in specialist addiction posts or settings in Ireland. The profession as a whole, moreover, has not actively lobbied for a greater role in specialist services. While formal social policy on addictions has shifted in recent decades towards broad public health strategies, which reflect a pragmatic European perspective, the disease model from the United States of America continues to have popular appeal.     

Responsibilisation,social work and inclusive social security in Finland

ABSTRACT

In this article responsibilisation in social work is studied by analysing two Finnish state-level policy documents (called final report and research report) which concern a current activation initiative called inclusive social security (ISS). It is asked how social workers and clients are constructed as responsible subjects in these documents. Responsibilisation refers to the advanced liberal mode of governmentality, which aims to strengthen citizens’ abilities to self-governance through various techniques that include the intertwined elements of surveillance and empowerment. It is demonstrated that the policy documents construct the social workers’ and the clients’ responsibilities partly in different ways. The final report leads activation to be based on shared responsibility and social work to be more community-based, whereas the research report strengthens more individual-based responsibility of clients and social workers. For the clients, the interpretation of ISS based on shared responsibility would probably be less stigmatising and paternalistic than the one based on individual responsibilities, i.e. approaching long-term unemployed citizens as being personally ‘at risk’ and thus a justified target group of individualised techniques for activation. For social workers and clients, future activation appears to be a wide mix of different techniques, moral expectations and possible ways of being a responsible subject.     

Social Work and Criminal Justice

SUMMARY

We shall begin with the principal, and complicated, conclusion: Regrettably, the social work profession has largely abandoned the criminal justice field. That is not to say that social workers are not employed in criminal justice settings. Certainly they are. Significant numbers of social workers earn their living as probation and parole officers, caseworkers in public defender offices, counselors in correctional institutions and halfway houses, and so on. As a profession, however, social work no longer has a major presence in the criminal justice field (Gibelman and Schervish, 1993). Relatively few social workers embark on their professional education with the aim of employment in the criminal justice field. Virtually no courses in social work education programs focus explicitly or comprehensively on criminal justice (Knox and Roberts, 2002; McNeece and Roberts, 1997). Workshops offered at professional conferences or continuing education seminars rarely focus on criminal justice issues per se. And, relatively little serious scholarship on criminal justice issues is authored by social workers.

Interestingly, this has not always been the state of affairs. Earlier in the profession's history, social workers were much more visible and vocal participants in dialogue, debate, research, and practice related to criminal justice. Ideally-in light of social work's unique perspectives on practice and social problems, and the profession's noble value base-the profession will reclaim its preoccupation with criminal justice. As Sarri (2001) concludes with respect to social workers' involvement in the juvenile justice system in particular:

Thirty years ago, social workers were in leadership positions in juvenile justice in the majority of states. In the 1980s, a gradual decline began in agencies and in social work education for practice in juvenile justice. Some have suggested that the decline was at least partially due to professional resistance to working in coercive settings with involuntary clients. However, given the millions of people now caught up in the criminal justice system who are not receiving the social services they desperately need, it is a priority that social work return to a more central role in criminal justice. (p. 453)     

Social work guanxi: a reflexive account of the social work relationship in the Chinese context

ABSTRACT

In a guanxi-driven acquaintanceship, the worker, the client, and the community are tied together more closely than they are in mutually agreed-upon service contracts. This paper re-examines the contemporary boundaries in the social work relationship, especially in Asian nations such as China, where ‘relationships’ are generally translated and perceived as ‘guanxi’. The indigenisation of social work must be managed with care when translating from West to East. Drawing from the experiences of community development projects in rural Hong Kong, this paper discusses how guanxi among social workers, clients and other stakeholders in Chinese communities might challenge the professionalism of social work and breach the boundaries of social work relationships.     

Applications of a Capability Approach to Disability and the International Classification of Functioning,Disability and Health (ICF) in Social Work Practice

Abstract

As disability rates increase more social workers will require greater preparation to practice effectively with individuals with disabilities. The Capability approach and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health provide helpful tools for social worker training. The capability approach emphasizes the need to assess what individuals are able to do in their real-life environments (capabilities) rather than capacity or functional status. The ICF provides helpful disability-related terminology and an actual classification to assist social workers to develop appropriate interventions that facilitate capability development among individuals with disabilities. Using the capability framework with the ICF will contribute to improved understanding of disability among social work students and practitioners.     

Self-Determination and Confidentiality

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to further clarify the ambiguous nature of two of social work's most important values: self-determination and confidentiality. Previous research indicates that many ethical decisions in social work practice are difficult to make; and, many times decisions are made based on the worker's values and experiences rather than on written ethics, laws, and agency policy. To explore this concept further, an open-ended survey instrument was distributed to 82 social work students after completing the required practice classes. The participants were asked whether they would break confidentiality based on a specific vignette and describe what decision was made and why. Results indicated that degree level (MSW versus BSW) proved to be a significant factor related to whether and/or why the respondent would break confidentiality. In addition, students with more paid work experience were more likely to question the issue of confidentiality and were more likely to break it. Two issues reflected in the decision-making process involved ensuring client safety and self-determination. In conclusion, this article explores possible reasons for breaching confidentiality and pitfalls that can occur for all professionals in making these types of decisions. Furthermore, it explores the ambiguous nature of problem solving in this area, and suggests ways that social workers can improve their decision-making skills.     

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.     

Triage and Ethics: Social Workers on the Front Line

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the results of an international qualitative study examining the impact of terrorism and other disasters—both human-made and natural—on social work agencies and their labor force. The study was conducted with focus groups of social workers in health care and social service settings. The major research question concerned the impact of disaster—both natural and human-made—on agencies and social work practitioners. Focus was placed on the ethical dissonance experienced by social workers under pressure to prioritize how services and resources are distributed to those in need.     

Ethical Dilemmas of Practicing Social Workers Around Psychiatric Medication

Abstract

It is acknowledged that social workers in mental health and other settings routinely experience client-related ethical dilemmas. Further, there is wide recognition of the potential impact of ethical dilemmas on social work practice with clients who use psychotropic medication. Little is know empirically, however, about the experiences of practitioners with these dilemmas. This article describes the results of a national survey of practicing social workers regarding the nature of ethical dilemmas they face related to their work with clients on medication issues. The results make it clear that social workers regularly confront a variety of ethical dilemmas in this type of practice. Many of these dilemmas are related to ambiguities around the knowledge base of practice, appropriate roles of providers, and basic personal and professional values. The authors present implications of these findings for social work practice and further research.     

‘Never mind the mechanics,what about the (sexual) ethics?’ Sex,sexuality and social work education in sexual violence prevention

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the efficacy of sexual violence prevention education (SVPE) in the USA and Australasia: areas, which have some of the worst rates for sexual violence prevalence, globally. Paradoxically, they are also at the forefront of innovations in sexual violence prevention, compared to some European countries where SVPE is virtually non-existent or at the embryonic stage, such as the UK. Drawing upon the Authors’ previous research on the delivery of SVPE in New Zealand secondary schools, and literature reviews into these innovations, the authors argue that social work education is ideally placed to develop SVPE, due to the ways that some of these innovations, coalesce with social work theory, critical andragogy, and social work values. These synergies have the potential for transnational application through the ways that they can inform SVPE in those countries where it is delivered by social workers in schools, and via the ways it can enhance the social work curriculum to improve post-qualifying practice in addressing sexual violence (SV).