Service Users’ Knowledges and the Social Construction of Social Work

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Beresford ◽  
Suzy Croft
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Service Users ◽  
The Social

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liz Beddoe ◽  
Allen Bartley
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Service Users ◽  
The Social ◽  
Country Specific

This chapter summarises the recurring themes and lessons from the preceding substantive chapters and reflects upon their implications. It draws together the different issues, laws and culture in social work across the five countries examined, and compares the country-specific challenges raised in the chapters. The editors make recommendations for how the social work profession can take a more active role in the transition of Transnational Social Workers, and highlight good practice in preceding chapters. Finally, they comment on the need for more research in the area, including with service users.

scholarly journals Perceptions of the social worker role in adult community mental health teams in England

2020 ◽  
pp. 147332502092408
Author(s):  
Michele Abendstern ◽  
Jane Hughes ◽  
Mark Wilberforce ◽  
Karen Davies ◽  
Rosa Pitts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Community Mental Health Team ◽  
Mental Health Team ◽  
Health Team ◽  
The Social

There is a growing recognition of the importance of the social work contribution within community mental health services. However, although many texts describe what the mental health social work contribution should be, little empirical evidence exists about their role in practice and the difference it might make to service users. This qualitative study sought to articulate this contribution through the voices of social workers and their multidisciplinary colleagues via focus group discussions across four English Mental Health Trusts. These considered the impact of the social worker on the service user. Thematic analysis resulted in the identification of three over-arching themes: social workers own perceptions of their contribution situated within the social model; the high value their colleagues placed on social work support and leadership in a range of situations and the concerns for service users if social workers were withdrawn from teams. Key findings were that social workers are the only professional group to lead on the social model; that this model enhances the whole teams’ practice and is required if service users are to be offered support that promotes long-term recovery and that without social workers, the community mental health team offer would be more transactional, less timely, with the potential for the loss of the service users’ voice. If social work is to make a full contribution to community mental health team practice, it must be clearly understood and provided with the support to enable social workers to operate to their full potential.

Neoliberalism, austerity and social work with children and families: challenges and critical/radical possibilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Rogowski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk

In the UK, neoliberalism and associated austerity have dominated social work and welfare provision over the last decade. Consequences include severe financial cuts to social work with children and families, as well as public services generally, and large increases in poverty and inequality. Despite increasing numbers of people in difficulty, the social work and welfare system has become more punitive and presents ongoing threats to social work’s commitment to human rights and social justice. This article examines such developments and includes the views of practitioners. Despite the strength and depth of challenges, it argues that critical/radical possibilities remain for practitioners to work both individually with service users and collectively. Such opportunities need to be taken with a view to working towards a more just and equal society, this being a much-needed antidote to the unequal neoliberal world we currently inhabit.

When Douby looked for a home: ‘standing by’ within the establishment

Radical Hope ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 203-210
Author(s):  
Michal Krumer-Nevo
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Ethical Principle ◽  
Service Users ◽  
The Social ◽  
Local Social Services

This is the first chapter of Part Four of the book, which is titled “Solidarity”. Solidarity is an ethical principle that dictates the positioning of the social worker vis-à-vis service users. The chapter tells the story of a woman who was evicted from the apartment that she had occupied for 12 years and the struggle of her social worker to change the eviction order. The chapter addresses the tension between practice based on solidarity and mainstream social work practice in local social services.

The social construction of violence in old age

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Hörl
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Elder Abuse ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Family Carers ◽  
The Social

Varying definitions and conceptualisations of violence in old age exist within and between the scientific community, medical and social work professionals, family carers and the elderly persons themselves. In this paper it is argued ‐ and illustrated by examples ‐ that each of the different actors or observers in this field construct their own social reality and hold selective perceptions of what is meant by violence in general, or elder abuse in particular.

scholarly journals A Social Work Perspective on the Biographical Research Interview with Natalia

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-115
Author(s):  
Johanna Björkenheim
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Clinical Work ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Biographical Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Interview ◽  
Present Life

Biographical interviewing is used not only in research but also in clinical work such as social work practice. However, as social work settings differ from research settings, the ways of doing, analyzing, and using biographical interviews will differ. The differences arise from the reasons for and the purposes of the interview, the institutional context, the relationship between interviewer and interviewee, interviewees’ capacity for storytelling and reflective work, time limits, the structure of the biographical interview, and follow-up interviewing. In social work, interviewees are in a more vulnerable position than in research, and there is a stronger power imbalance. The service users’ expectations are essential for the work, and it is important that the users articulate their expectations because the purpose of social work is to change and improve the life situation of service users. This asks for ethical considerations that are partly different from those necessary in research. The biographical interview with Natalia is here analyzed using the strengths perspective as the social work theoretical framework. The analysis shows that in her present life Natalia has many strengths and resources, which, in a social work situation, could be mobilized to support her in getting more control over her life. Her perceived strengths are: her capacity for storytelling and reflection; her emotional and cognitive capacities; her willpower; and her capacity for enjoying her present life and planning for her future. Resources identified are: her significant others; her economic situation; her satisfying job situation; her capacity to have dreams for the future; and her religion. Implications for social work, both in the past and in the present, are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document