scholarly journals Social workers' perception of practice with lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-78
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Onyedikachi George ◽  
Prince Chiagozie Ekoh

People from Low-to-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) like Nigeria, irrespective of differences in beliefs and sexual orientation, face similar challenges in terms of living standards, access to resources and quality of life. However, people who have been ‘othered’ on the basis of their nonconformity to heteronormativity face additional challenges. The existence of the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (SSMPA) of 2014, which criminalizes the normalization of homosexual ‘lifestyles’ and the persistence of a homophobic socio-political climate in Nigeria, exposes lesbians, gays and bisexuals (LGBs) in Nigeria to unique difficulties. Although social workers are expected to work, guided by the values of social justice and respect for human rights, with the vulnerable and oppressed in society such as LGBs, the socio-political contexts they operate in can limit how well they do this work. This paper seeks to explore the views of social workers on social work practice with LGBs in Nigeria, with qualitative data obtained from 12 professional social workers using in-depth interviews that were thematically analysed. Findings show that social workers’ perception of practice with LGBs in Nigeria is influenced by existing policies in the country, in addition to cultural and religious beliefs. Some social workers also view LGBs through a medical perspective of homosexuality being an illness, which can affect their work with this population. Recommendations from the study include developing a contextualized ethical code that addresses practice dilemmas and further research centred on the experiences of LGBs and social work practice, as this is one of the few studies on social work practice in Nigeria with this population.

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Petro Booysen ◽  
Barbara Staniforth

INTRODUCTION: Social work roles can sometimes be considered to sit on a continuum between a community work/social change perspective and a therapeutic work perspective. One perspective could be preferred above the other, at a particular time and in a particular context, or both perspectives could be supported. This article explores the legitimate function of counselling in social work in Aotearoa New Zealand.METHODS: Data were obtained sequentially through 16 in-depth interviews and four focus groups in a qualitative PhD study. The respondents were practising social workers from various ethnicities and fields of practice represented in Aotearoa New Zealand. Both the interview and focus group data were analysed using a general inductive and thematic data analysis method.FINDINGS: The data demonstrate a relationship between counselling and social work, that social workers regularly use counselling skills and that social workers have a need to develop their clinical skills. Rigid boundaries between the two professions can have adverse effects for clients at times when multi-skilled professionals are needed; participants in this study are calling for ethicality and accountability in this regard.CONCLUSION: The findings from the data confirm the legitimacy of counselling in social work and have implications for social work practice, education, and continued professional development.


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shabbeer Ahmed

The relationship between counselling and social work has always been complex and interactive. Relationship, one person interacting with another, is at the heart of all social work in health and social care settings. Social work emerged as profession in the 20th century and today it is profession charged with fulfilling the social mandate of promoting well being and quality of life.  Thus social work encompasses activities directed at improving human and social conditions and alleviating human distress and social problems. It is essential that social workers take responsibility for developing and improving those skills which enable them to build relationships. This enables them to provide a professional service for which they can be accountable. Social workers become involved with people needing support in a crisis, change, transition or loss; protection from self or others; help to deal with disadvantage or injustice; in fact any combination of life changing events depending on the particular circumstances (Seden and Katz 2003). The present paper attempts to focus on relationship between counselling skills and social work practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 960-960
Author(s):  
Vivian Miller ◽  
Tyrone Hamler ◽  
Susanny Beltran ◽  
Jacquelyn Burns

Abstract Social workers have an integral role in health care and a long-standing history in nursing homes. The novel pandemic, COVID-19, has disproportionately adversely affected nursing home residents, bringing to the fore the importance of practice in this setting. However, the role of the nursing home social worker is often ambiguous. The objective of this study is to (1) identify existing research studies that discuss the role of social work and nursing facilities, (2) synthesize findings to determine what is most often reported in the literature, (3) present recommendations for practice and implications for research and policy change. This rapid review used the PICO framework and PRISMA guidelines to systematically search for articles published in English between 2010 and 2020 across 11 databases. A final sample of 23 articles met inclusion criteria. Relevant details were extracted from these articles, and the following 3 categories emerged as broadly describing the literature: (1) elements of social work practice in NHs, (2) social worker responsibilities, (3) policy impacts on practice. Findings highlight that the literature on NH social workers is limited and outdated, despite the 2016 federal rule requiring increased consideration for resident quality of life, quality of care, and behavioral health, all features of social work practice. The nursing home social work role warrants greater attention, with an emphasis on how to support residents during the current pandemic to ensure the development and implementation of person-centered care. The literature points to research priorities including involving families and residents in data collection efforts.


Author(s):  
Michael S. Kelly ◽  
Rami Benbenishty ◽  
Gordon Capp ◽  
Kate Watson ◽  
Ron Astor

In March 2020, as American PreK-12 schools shut down and moved into online learning in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there was little information about how school social workers (SSWs) were responding to the crisis. This study used a national online survey to understand how SSWs ( N = 1,275) adapted their school practice during the initial 2020 COVID-19 crisis. Findings from this study indicate that SSWs made swift and (relatively) smooth adaptations of their traditional practice role to the new context, though not without reporting considerable professional stress and personal challenges doing so. SSWs reported significant concerns about their ability to deliver effective virtual school social work services given their students’ low motivation and lack of engagement with online learning, as well as significant worries about how their students were faring during the first months of the pandemic. Implications for school social work practice, policy, and research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 131-137
Author(s):  
Mim Fox ◽  
Joanna McIlveen ◽  
Elisabeth Murphy

Bereavement support and conducting viewings for grieving family members are commonplace activities for social workers in the acute hospital setting, however the risks that COVID-19 has brought to the social work role in bereavement care has necessitated the exploration of creative alternatives. Social workers are acutely aware of the complicating factors when bereavement support is inadequately provided, let alone absent, and with the aid of technology and both individual advocacy, social workers have been able to continue to focus on the needs of the most vulnerable in the hospital system. By drawing on reflective journaling and verbal reflective discussions amongst the authors, this article discusses bereavement support and the facilitation of viewings as clinical areas in which hospital social work has been observed adapting practice creatively throughout the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110247
Author(s):  
Mari D Herland

Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout compared with other healthcare professionals. The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions efficiently, frequently in complex care settings, is central to the role of social workers. This article highlights the complexity of emotions in social work research and practice by exploring the perspective of emotional intelligence. The article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s. The analysis contains an exploration of the researcher position that illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects that took place within this interview process. Three overall themes emerged – first: Recognising emotional complexity; second: Reflecting on emotional themes; and third: Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need to understand emotions as a central part of critical reflection and reflexivity. The argument is that emotions have the potential to expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions, related to normative societal views. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and paying attention to one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers.


Author(s):  
Charlotte Bailey ◽  
Debbie Plath ◽  
Alankaar Sharma

Abstract The international policy trend towards personalised budgets, which is designed to offer people with disabilities purchasing power to choose services that suit them, is exemplified in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This article examines how the ‘purchasing power’ afforded to service users through individualised budgets impacts on social work practice and the choice and self-determination of NDIS service users. Social workers’ views were sought on the alignment between the NDIS principles of choice and control and social work principles of participation and self-determination and how their social work practice has changed in order to facilitate client access to supports through NDIS budgets and meaningful participation in decision-making. A survey was completed by forty-five social workers, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with five of these participants. The findings identify how social workers have responded to the shortfalls of the NDIS by the following: interpreting information for clients; assisting service users to navigate complex service provision systems; supporting clients through goal setting, decision-making and implementation of action plans; and adopting case management approaches. The incorporation of social work services into the NDIS service model is proposed in order to facilitate meaningful choice and self-determination associated with purchasing power.


2020 ◽  
pp. 147332502097330
Author(s):  
James J Lucas

Life during the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain, intense, and traumatic. At the same time, there is room for hope, inspiration, and meaning for social workers through mindfully connecting with energy-information flow as it influences our Safety, Emotions, Loss, and Future – S.E.L.F. As adapted from the Sanctuary Model®, this S.E.L.F connection is an opportunity to discover within ourselves our unwavering core that is grounded, present, and connected and sustain an ethical and compassionate approach to social work practice, education, and research during this time of pandemic. The aim in this reflective essay is to provide an example of S.E.L.F. connection from the perspective of a Buddhist and social work academic at an Australian university during the COVID-19 pandemic. While beneficial, ongoing S.E.L.F. connections are necessary for social workers if we are to stay mindful of energy-information flow and steer this flow towards the creation of a story of relationship, compassion, and connection into the future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 1588-1610
Author(s):  
Niamh Flanagan

Abstract In the debate about what informs social work practice, research remains the dominant discourse. However, the relationship between research and social work practice has always been an uneasy one, arguably passed from other clinical disciplines without resizing to fit social work. Even as social work research matures as a discipline it represents one element in a much broader composite which informs practice. This article takes a unique step back from the traditional research-practice discourse and examines the broader information landscape of social work practice, asking how practitioners inform their practice, rather than how research informs practice. This study explores the information needs that prompt practitioners to search for information, the strategies they employ, their acquisition of information and the uses to which the information is put. This study aims to elucidate the information behaviour with a view to improving dissemination and use. Findings demonstrate that the social work information base is substantially broader than has been suggested. Practitioners employ a pragmatic palette of strategies to navigate the breadth of information that supports practice, from research through to knowledge sharing. This article proposes that a pragmatic framework of information behaviour is required to accurately reflect the information behaviour of social workers.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald de Montigny

Over generations, social workers have borrowed theories from sociology. However, sociologists have generally avoided borrowing theory from social work. By beginning with social work practice wisdom, we can unfold the complex elements organizing social work practice and by extension ethnographic research. Complexity and resulting uncertainty are antidotes for theoretical purity. Practice as grounded in life, that of client’s and social workers is inherently “dirty”, i.e., messy, disorganized, confusing, unfolding, and uncertain. Understandings and practices are accomplished in a connection of self to a profession, agency/organization, mandate and purpose, and ethical orientation, in interaction with colleagues and clients. Social workers take sides as they are grounded in an ethic of care. The challenge of developing an ethical practice in the face of difference, disagreement, disjunction, and conflict lead social workers to bracket, and hence reflect on the putative coherence of a “life world.” Face-to-face work with individuals rather than being a liability provides a source of knowledge and wisdom to inform social science generally.


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