scholarly journals Social Workers during COVID-19: Do Coping Strategies Differentially Mediate the Relationship between Job Demand and Psychological Distress?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menachem Ben-Ezra ◽  
Yaira Hamama-Raz
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Job Demands ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Intervention Measures

Abstract The consequences of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have raised many challenges in the social services workforce. The current study aimed to examine the associations between job demands, coping strategies (i.e. emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping) and psychological distress exhibited by social workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the mediating role of different coping strategies was investigated for the associations revealed. The participants were 615 social workers, working in various organisations and with diverse populations in Israel. Each completed a validated self-report questionnaire. Results revealed that job demands were significantly associated with higher psychological distress, and that coping strategies, especially emotion-focused coping was associated with higher psychological distress and with job demands. In addition, emotion-focused coping strategies were found to mediate the association between job demands and psychological distress, especially ventilation of emotion beyond other strategies, which relate to emotion-focused coping. These findings are discussed with relation to a stress and coping theory, suggesting that in social work practice there is a need for intervention measures to improve social workers’ coping strategies during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Radical Hope

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Krumer-Nevo
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Impact

This book describes the new Poverty-Aware Paradigm (PAP), which was developed in Israel through intense involvement with the field of social work in various initiatives. The paradigm was adopted in 2014 by the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Services as a leading paradigm for social workers in social services departments. The book draws from the rich experience of the implementation of the PAP in practice and connects examples of practice to theoretical ideas from radical/critical social work, critical poverty knowledge, and psychoanalysis. The PAP addresses poverty as a violation of human rights and emphasizes people’s ongoing efforts to resist poverty. In order to recognize these sometimes minor acts of resistance and advance their impact, social workers should establish close relationship with service users and stand by them. The book proposes combining relationship-based practice and rights-based practice as a means of bridging the gap between the emotional and material needs of service users. In addition to introducing the main concepts of the PAP, the book also contributes to the debate between conservative and cultural theories of poverty and structural theories, emphasizing the impact of a critical framework on this debate. The book consists of four parts. The first, “Transformation”, addresses the transformational nature of the paradigm. The second, “Recognition”, is based on current psychoanalytic developments and “translates” them into social work practice in order to deepen our understanding of relationship-based practice. The third, “Rights”, describes rights-based practice. The fourth, “Solidarity”, presents various ways in which solidarity might shape social workers’ practice. The book seeks to reaffirm social work’s core commitment to combating poverty and furthering social justice and to offer a solid theoretical conceptualization that is also eminently practical.

Self-compassion among social workers

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 448-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Jay Miller ◽  
Jacquelyn Lee ◽  
Nada Shalash ◽  
Zuzana Poklembova
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
Relationship Status ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Self Compassion

SummaryIn recent years, the practice of self-compassion has garnered increasing attention in the literature, yet little is known about self-compassion in the field of social work. The purpose of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to examine self-compassion among social workers (N = 1011) located in a state in the southeastern United States. Specifically, this study was guided by two distinct, yet interconnected research queries: (1) How self-compassionate are social workers and (2) what personal and professional factors contribute to self-compassion among social workers?FindingsFindings suggest social workers are fairly self-compassionate. Significant group differences in self-compassion exist by perceived health status (self-report), relationship status, social work licensing, and professional organization affiliation. Significant predictors of self-compassion included health status, educational level, and relationship status (in descending order of predictive power).ApplicationsAdept and ethical social work practice requires that practitioners engage in self-compassionate practices. This study offers pragmatic implications for social work practice, including training and apposite areas for research.

Older people, pensions and poverty: An issue for social workers?

2011 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam Foster
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Poverty is encountered by the majority of users of social services but is often overlooked in social work practice. This article explores the relationship between poverty in older age, pension receipt and the role of social policy formulation in the UK with particular reference to New Labour governance. It also briefly explores the EU context before considering the implications for social work.

Can child and family social work research really assist practice?

1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Sellick
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Social Work Research ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
The Past

British social workers at the sharp end of foster care and social work practice have experienced a flood of official reports in recent years (Association of Directors of Social Services, 1997; Utting, 1997; Warren, 1997), mostly, though not exclusively, highlighting the problems of too few placements for an increasingly challenging number of children and young people. In addition, British and North American foster care research over the past twenty years has shown how children in public, including foster, care have been:

Using Single-system Research Designs to Evaluate Practice

2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Artelt ◽  
Daniel T.L. Shek ◽  
Bruce A. Thyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Single System ◽  
System Research ◽  
The People ◽  
Research Designs

The use of single-system research designs (SSRDs) has the potential to help social workers empirically evaluate the outcomes of practice. Descriptions of using SSRDs to evaluate social work practice are provided. SSRDs have the potential to help social workers in Chinese contexts to provide scientifically credible evidence to others that social services benefit the people.

scholarly journals Social work in the public services in Brazil - disclosing ruling relations in a local context

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-146
Author(s):  
Trond Heitmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Local Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

This article about social workers in the public social services in Brazil explores professional social work practice through the subjective standpoint of the social workers. Inspired by institutional ethnography, this approach explicates how understandings of social work are interpreted and implemented in various contexts. The findings show that the formalization of the relationship with the employer through contracts of employment implicate that the disciplinary normative definitions of social work succumb to institutional regulations, which are not necessarily discipline specific. In addition, the temporary character of the contracts of employment makes the social workers align their practice to institutional frameworks and demands, as they are personally interested in renewal of the contracts and the maintenance of their professional careers. With this approach, disciplinary, political, ideological, legal and moral definitions of social work are not viewed as the essences of social work, but rather as contextual processes that are locally activated in different contexts. At the same time, it underscores social work as a political profession which should naturally include interventions on political, juridical, economic and organizational levels. Consequently, professional social work is not one thing, nor only one profession, but rather professional practices adapted to a variation of contexts. This perspective is significant to help detect areas of intervention for social change.

scholarly journals Professionals unprepared: A critical appraisal of social work practice at the Drugs Abuse Rehabilitation Centres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-120
Author(s):  
Shakeel Ahmad ◽  
Abida Bano
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Social Work Theory

Social work is a practice-based profession that facilitates, enables, and rehabilitates the neglected segments of society facing various issues, including substance abuse. However, social workers' efficiency in substance use rehabilitation is constrained by several factors. Pakistan follows the imported theoretical models of social work, which face enormous challenges during implementation for lacking contextual understanding. This study examines professional social workers' role to examine the challenges in providing institutional service delivery in substance (drugs) abuse treatment centres in Pakistan. The study found that the social work theory and practice gap hurts services delivery in Drug Abuse Rehabilitation Centres through qualitative approaches. Training in social work theory does not adequately equip the students to provide the required social services at the drugs rehabilitation centres. Donor-driven social work drives and demotivated social workers testify to the mismatch between social work theory and practice. Indigenous philanthropy models and broadening institutional support could remedy the situation.

scholarly journals The triplets: Investment in outcomes for the vulnerable – reshaping social services for (some) New Zealand children

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Key Terms

Social work and social services are in a period of significant change built around three key terms; investment, vulnerable, and outcomes. Those terms are not simple neutral descriptors. Rather, they are shaped in critical ways by the neoliberal framework which informs them. The framework is critically examined here by exploring how it is reflected in the specific meanings and implications of each of the three terms. Social work practice and social services delivery will be heavily influenced by the political and ideological framing of investment, vulnerable and outcomes. The paper takes up some of these implications and raises a series of questions for children and families, for practitioners and for agencies. The responses to those questions will be critical for social work and for those with whom and for whom social workers work.

scholarly journals Exploring research on the coping strategies of black survivors of homicide victims: a scoping review protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. e049784
Author(s):  
Travonne Edwards ◽  
Tanya Sharpe ◽  
Antonia Bonomo ◽  
Notisha Massaquoi
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Black People ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Journal Article ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Future Health

IntroductionBlack people are disproportionately impacted by homicide. However, despite this over-representation, research is limited relevant to how black individuals, families and communities cope with the chronic traumatic devastation of homicide. This scoping review will provide an amalgamation of the current literature regarding the coping strategies of black survivors of homicide victims to inform future health and social work practice.Methods and analysisIn this scoping review, Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework will be used to succinctly gather and synthesise previous literature and identify gaps in research relevant to black survivors of homicide victims. This method will allow for a focused process of chosen pertinent databases. The seven databases include OVID (MEDLINE and PsycINFO), ProQuest (Sociological Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, International Bibliography of Social Sciences), EBSCO (Africa Wide, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature). The seven databases were chosen for their relevance to the topic of coping with homicide for black individuals, families and communities. All members of the research team will screen the abstracts and full texts of the literature based on the inclusion criteria. The findings will be charted and synthesised using a qualitative thematic analysis.Ethics and disseminationThe articles chosen for this review will be gathered from peer-reviewed journals and scholarly search engines. Due to this research project’s nature, ethics approval is not warranted. The results of this scoping review will inform culturally responsive approaches to research, policy and practice for first responders (eg, law enforcement, emergency medical technicians) and providers (eg, mental health clinicians, physicians and faith-based communities) who frequently render services to black survivors of homicide victims. The results will be shared through journal article publications, academic and community conferences, as well as professional training opportunities for practitioners who support Black individuals, families and communities.

Observation Programs in the United States: A Meeting of Social Work Colleagues

1951 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 288-294
Author(s):  
Eunice Minton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
English Language ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Study Programs ◽  
Basic Services

In a challenging and refreshing way these colleagues have been able to strip away the chaff and quickly isolate many of the basic fundamentals in our social work practice. Perhaps their limitations in the use of the English language proved to be an asset by preventing their becoming lost in our extensive professional vocabulary. They found that this is a land of wide contradiction—of great wealth, yet much need. They also found this contradiction in our social work—great resources and a high degree of specialization, yet many gaps in basic services to people. Perhaps this presentation of a few of the comments and reactions of these fellow social workers indicates the range of their social work interests, the keenness of their perception, and the depth of their professional consciousness. These comments may also indicate some of the possible values that accrued to them through the observation and study of social work in the United States. The reactions of agencies and social workers who have participated in their study programs indicate that American social workers have been enriched through their association with these social workers of other lands; perhaps their earnest and intense seeking of knowledge about the best ways to serve people has stirred American social workers in their particular specialization grooves to think of their international responsibilities and of the fundamental objectives in our total social work practice, and to examine American social work, not only in relation to its effectiveness in achieving adequate social services, but also, of perhaps greater importance, in achieving basic social justice.

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