“… We Didn't Connect at All …”

Abstract

This article presents a case study of an episode of service delivery in which a gay man sought counseling in relation to his sexuality from an AIDS service organization. The design was based on institutional ethnography, a research approach that focuses on discovering links between the experiences of marginalized people and the influence of oppressive ideologies on social institutions. Using a narrative approach to data analysis, I show concretely how this man was effectively prevented from accessing help by the silence of his social worker and the agency in relation to issues of same-sex sexual orientation. The study demonstrates the complexity and subtlety of the social relations that allow heterosexism to shape the delivery of social services. Implications for future research are identified.     

The Influence of Parental Identification on Attitudes in Same-Sex Families

ABSTRACT

Without the ability to be legally married in most U.S. states until 2015, same-sex couples did not have the rights and privileges of married or once-married couples. Even with the changing legality and increasing social acceptance of same-sex marriage, the relationship between nonbirth parents and children in same-sex parented families is often not recognized as a legitimate child-parent bond. The focus of this article is to investigate how attitudes related to social networks and the language used to identify parental figures likely contribute to the binary gender-role structure of the family. Using data from a self-administered survey, I examine whether nonbirth and birth parents hold distinct attitudes about social concepts that are relevant to their lives.     

An Evaluation of Mental Health Services for the Culturally Diverse

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this project was to examine the needs of multicultural populations in the mental health system, and see how these needs get addressed in current policies. As a social worker in the mental health system, I wanted to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of service providers in their ability to meet the needs of diverse populations. In doing this research, I hoped to make a space for people whose families have had to deal with mental health services, and explore the experiences of those who have not had the opportunity to discuss them. In addition, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to a body of increased knowledge on how the mental health system treats people who belong to a cultural minority.     

(Ap)parent Boundaries: Parents' Boundary Work at Cultural Events for Families with Children Adopted from China

Abstract

The adoption of children from China by American families represents a rich case study for an expanding sociological literature on boundaries: it brings to life many of our most salient borders and highlights their very permeability. This paper represents one aspect of a larger research project on parents' efforts to bridge perceived ethnocultural boundaries within the China adoptive family. Through ethnographic fieldwork and semistructured, in-depth interviews, I examine parents' interpretations of and participation in Chinese cultural events organized by and for China adoptive families. These events are significant sites for social research on boundaries because they: (1) appear to assume permeable ethnocultural borders; and (2) bring previously incoherent individuals together as a bounded group. Drawing on classic and contemporary theories of ethnic identification and collective identity, I reveal how parents activate existing symbolic and social boundaries and create new symbolic and social boundaries in their efforts to construct community. In particular, I demonstrate how previously incoherent parents cohere as a bounded community by actively distinguishing themselves from “authentic” Chinese/Chinese American referents and the “imagined community” of biological families. Likewise, I reveal how the community's boundaries and cultural events both mask and alienate a growing percentage of the China adoption contingent: African American and Asian American China adoptive parents, lower-middle-class and working-class China adoptive parents, and the adoptive parents of Chinese sons. Through this case-based analysis, I add general theoretical and methodological contributions to the diffuse boundaries literature.     

When Social Work and Psychoanalysis Meet

In this paper I share my personal journey from agency social worker to psychoanalyst. I show how I have brought to my psychoanalytic work the teachings of such well known social workers as Mary Richmond, Bertha Reynolds, Gordon Hamilton, and Florence Hollis as well those of such contemporary social workers as the late Gertrude and Rubin Blanck, Nancy Bridges, and Eda Goldstein, among others. In the presentation, I also consider how social work values, social work ethics and social work attitudes have influenced my approach to the practice of psychoanalysis. The attitudes which I refer to, include flexibility, beginning where the client is; an appreciation of the importance of understanding a patient’s cultural background and a recognition of the importance of the relationship in the therapeutic encounter. These were not standard for psychoanalysts at the time I began to practice. Today however psychoanalysis has largely caught up with social work, and this paper affirms how those of us who have had a social work background are well prepared for psychoanalysis in the 21st century.

Becoming a social work practitioner: The use of live supervision in the practice placement

Abstract

With the practice placement as a focus, this essay explores the process by which the student social worker learns to relate theory and practice, and the way in which the accomplishment of this learning is assessed.

It is argued that the structure of social work education is heavily influenced by Positivist epistemology; that this has impeded the understanding of social work as an organic process; and, further, that it has led to an inappropriate division between academics and practitioners, a schism which the student is forced to negotiate in learning to become a qualified social worker.

The essay attempts to construct a paradigm for understanding the student-to-practitioner learning which will facilitate a more holistic alternative to the current dichotomy between theory and practice. A congruent model for supervision of the practice placement is offered with some concluding suggestions as to how this may be extended to help bridge the academic-practitioner divide.     

Developmentalism and the Rhetoric of Best Interests of the Child

Abstract

The foster care system in Australia has recently recognised the importance of encouraging lesbians and gay men to become foster carers. Whilst this may be seen as an important step towards overcoming social stereotypes that position lesbians and gay men as unfit parents, I propose that foster care public policy in Australia is shaped by a number of key assumptions that effectively exclude lesbian and gay foster parents. In particular, I focus on how the logic of developmentalism [where children are assumed to follow a (hetero)normative developmental pathway] and the rhetoric of best interests of the child (within which a particular moral framework is employed to judge who can and who cannot protect children) work to recenter a normative understanding of families and parenting that encourages lesbians and gay parents to adopt a heterosexual model of parenting.     

Young persons as epistemological agents in social work assessment and intervention

SummaryLiterature debates whether young persons' participation in social work decisions is tokenistic in nature or it empowers them to shape their world. By and large, young persons deemed at risk remain the targets of intervention. This paper aims to underscore the need to move beyond soliciting young persons' voice merely in order to corroborate information provided by adults and professionals in social work assessment and intervention. Instead, it explicates the philosophical foundation for social workers to treat young persons as knowledgeable agents capable of contributing to professional knowledge.FindingsThrough reinterpretation of a published case study on children of sex worker mothers in India, this paper highlights how young persons are active agents of their own lives even in extreme dire situations. These children of sex worker mothers were capable of advocating for their own rights as well as that of their mothers. Through the secondary analysis of data, we illustrated the dynamic process of knowledge construction by young persons.ApplicationBy paying attention to the young persons' capacity as knowledgeable agents we propose social workers to intentionally incorporate their knowledge in their practice.     

E-technology and Community Participation: Exploring the Ethical Implications for Community-based Social Workers

ABSTRACT

To date, much of the work on social work, ethics and technology has been focused on clinical social work and micromorality—the ethical practices of the worker and their clients in one-on-one or therapeutic group interactions. In contrast, this article foregrounds social workers engaged in community work and the ethical implications at a macromoral level. Central to community-based social work, also known as social development work, is the principle of participation. In observing the ways e-technology is affecting community participation, the focus is upon communicative and social technologies, rather than assistive technologies, or technology enabled assessment. The article explores the intersection of these three themes of community participation, technology, and ethics to examine the implications for social workers located in the complex context of community work.     

Envy and anger in a boarding-school setting

Abstract

This paper looks at social work practice in a boarding-school setting. Individual work with mothers of two of the children is described, and structures which may help the school in dealing directly with parents are examined, focussing particularly on feelings of envy and anger. The counter-transference feelings of the worker in this kind of setting are touched on briefly, and it is concluded that a link with a boarding-school may be a useful tool in establishing support and working with deprived families.     

Neoliberalisation,the social investment state and social work

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the challenges to social work evolving from two major discourses contributing to the common sense contextualising social work within the new spirit of capitalism and the governing of the soul. Beside neo-liberal ideas and values challenging social work values and the welfare state, the question is also about managerialism. To what extent is the social worker able to contribute to liberating, reflexive critique, or exert pastoral power? I have chosen to see how the idea of the social investment state may be linked to Rose’s and Foucault’s ideas about expanding governmentality and end my discussion by relating to some of the early writing on social work’s challenges in confronting ideas and practices interpreted as neoliberalisation moves.     

A case for psychodynamic social work

Abstract

Psychodynamic casework is not as popular in social work theory and practice as it once was. It is considered by some to be impractical, unscientific, and not suitable for those customarily receiving a social work service. Task-centred casework, behavioural approaches, the newer psychotherapies, and family therapy have all taken over as major paradigms of social work method. This is especially so, I think, for the social worker working in a psychiatric setting, where many clients stay only for a short time and where emphasis is placed on assessment and short-term intervention.

In this paper I shall argue that a psychodynamic approach in social work is still relevant; that it is important for its humanizing qualities, for understanding and working with people with severe problems and for, perhaps, helping us to locate the position of social work vis-a-vis other mental health professions. I shall do this by focusing on a particular case I had as a social work student on placement in a psychiatric day hospital.     

Social work and pastoral counseling: Empowering each other

ABSTRACT

This article addresses the divergent outcomes which can result from counseling services offered pastorally versus clinically. As faith leaders often have greater direct access than social workers to supporting religious populations, it is important to explore the intersection between religious pastoral support and clinical social work. Presenting six scenarios from the author’s own experiences as both a rabbi and social worker, this article processes each scenario first through the pastoral lens of an Orthodox rabbi, followed by the clinical lens of a social worker or other mental health professional. The client outcomes which are produced from each modality are radically different. This contrast demonstrates the distinction between the goals, values, and training of each profession, and highlights importance for future work to be done in linking religious and pastoral training to mental health services, as well as broadening the scope of cultural competence for social workers and therapists who may engage with tight-knit religious populations.     

Responding to children’s ‘emotion talk’: a conversation analysis of a therapeutic encounter between a social worker and two siblings using child-centred play therapy

ABSTRACT

Reflection of feelings is a hallmark strategy of non-directive child-centred play therapy that enhances children’s emotional awareness and equips them with emotionally expressive words. The case presented here describes the application of child-centred play therapy by a social worker with two young children (aged four and six) with sibling rivalry issues. One of the sessions was videotaped, which enabled the use of conversation analysis to dissect the language patterns used by both the clients and the social worker. This in-depth verbal analysis illuminated subtle nuances in the children’s interactions and behaviour while also providing the social worker with the opportunity to reflect on practice. This case discussion presents a snapshot of that session and allows readers to understand how such therapy occurs.     

The Use of Online Social Support by Foster Families

ABSTRACT

The extent to which foster families utilize social support on the Internet is examined in a sample of 34 foster families in a digital divide intervention program and a comparison sample of 30 foster families who were not part of the program. In spite of increased Internet access, the frequency of using online social support is low. A minority of parents and children increased their use of the Internet to give and receive help, communicate with other foster families and e-mail with their foster care worker. More than half of foster youth have used the Internet to stay in touch with friends and relatives and have “made a new friend” over the Internet. Implications for child welfare practice and for further research are discussed.     

Beyond the iconic protest images: the performance of ‘everyday life’ on social media during Gezi Park

ABSTRACT

Using the Gezi Park protests as a case study this article considers the performative component of protest movements including how and why protestors actively produce protest activity ‘on the ground’ and how this is expressed through visual images. It looks beyond iconic images which appear as emblematic of the protest and instead shifts our focus to consider the more ‘everyday’ or mundane activities which occur during a protest occupation, and explores how social media allows these images to have expressive and communicative dimensions. In this respect, protests can be performed through humdrum activities and this signifies a political voice which is communicated visually. The research is based on visual analysis of Twitter data and reveals methodological innovation in understanding how protestors communicate.     

Professional Distance and Social Work: Stretching the Elastic?

Abstract

Professional distance and the parallel concept of models of practice reliant on professional objectivity have been major platforms in professional education. In social work, these ideas are often seen as contentious, unreasonable and, in some cases, unrealistic. Radical, feminist and rural social work approaches, for example, suggest that the expert role is not only inappropriate, but can be counter-productive and disrespectful of the people with whom we work. Postmodern approaches call for a deconstruction of professionalism in favour of context-specific partnerships between worker and client. How can workers ensure good, professional practice within a more flexible approach to professional distance and expertise? What are the issues and how may they be resolved? Are the boundaries of the professional relationship elastic and, if so, what are the consequences for practice and the individual worker? The present article explores the notion of flexible, elastic boundaries using literature and research from radical, postmodern, feminist and rural social work approaches.     

Social Work and the Treatment of Substance Abuse in Israel

SUMMARY

This paper examines the role of the social worker within the field of substance abuse in Israel at the start of the 21st century, its implications for the profession, and the training of its practitioners. Addiction to psychoactive substances is viewed as a bio-psycho-social phenomenon caused by a wide variety of factors and the respective interactions between them, placing it within the realm of the expertise of the social worker. The social worker plays a central role in providing both administrative and clinical interventions with this population. Additional ways in which the education and training of social workers can prepare them to deal more efficiently and comprehensively with the problem of substance abuse in both practical and academic terms is discussed.