Social Work, Disasters and Communities —Challenging the Boundaries of the Profession
This article is based o n an empirical study undertaken with two communities who live in the flood affected Brahmaputra valley. It reveals a gap in the knowledge of the local realities—social, political, geographical resulting in grand and ineffective policy making. The current policies have a large imprint of the coloni al with little being done in terms of developing alternate, localised and participatory methods of flood management. It demonstrates how the community’s efforts transcend a spectrum of stages moving from prevention and adaption to mitigation. For the Brahmaputra floods, the reality is extremely te nuou...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 6, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Experiences of Domestic Violence among Newly Arrived Afghan Women in Australia, a Qualitative Study
This article concludes with a number of implications f or social work practice based on the study findings. (Source: British Journal of Social Work)
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 4, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Non-normative use of reflexivity in social work with families in the Czech Republic
AbstractDiscourse on the normative use of reflexivity predominates in the professional literature. Expert articles on the topic of non-normative use of reflexivity, which is based on the presumption that social workers do not use reflexivity to improve their work quality, but rather its functions for themselves to fulfil specific purposes, is missing, with some exceptions in the literature. The presented article therefore aims to understand the use of reflexivity in the practice of social work with families in its non-normative concept and to determine the implications for social work. Using the abduction method (in which ...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 4, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Radical Hope: Poverty-Aware Practice for Social Work, Michal Krumer-Nevo, Policy Press
Radical Hope: Poverty-Aware Practice for Social Work, Krumer-NevoMichal, Policy Press, 2020, pp. 263. Bristol, pp. xi + 263, ISBN 978-1-4473-5490-1 (pbk), 978-1-4473-5489-5 (hbk), 978-1-4473-5493-2 (ePub), 978-4473-5493-5 (ePdf) (Source: British Journal of Social Work)
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Social Workers during COVID-19: Do Coping Strategies Differentially Mediate the Relationship between Job Demand and Psychological Distress?
AbstractThe 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 se...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Exploring Peer Support as a Strategy to Reduce Self-Stigma for Marginalised Children of Parents with Mental Illness (COPMI)
This article adds to the evidence base, presenting findings from a primarily qualitative, mixed-methods programme evaluation of a COPMI service in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Formative evaluation data were gathered from a COPMI service which supports families adversely affected by chronic and severe parental mental illness, via interviews (N = 10) and four age-differentiated focus groups (N = 24) of child/youth service-users aged eight to eighteen years, and mixed-method surveys of adult service-users (N = 32). This article reports data from child/youth service-users who participated. Findings indicate that many part...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
For money or identity —or both? Which could promote the retention of social workers in China?
AbstractLow pay and the absence of professional identity (PI) are often blamed as major antecedents related to the turnover of social workers in China, yet no study has provided any consideration of the two antecedents together in predicting the turnover intention (TI) of social workers and comparing them, which acts as a more powerful predictor. Based on a sample of 819 participants and by using structural equation models, the current study indicated whether pay satisfaction (PS) or PI could predict TI; the results show that PS plays a stronger role. The findings identified the mediating role of PI in the relationship bet...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Does it feel right? —Emotional and embodied processes as a ‘shadowy epistemology’ in difficult child protection cases
This article argues and shows that emotional and embodied processes are an important source of knowledge in child protection. Such processes appear in social workers ’ narratives about worries for the well-being and security of children underpinned by moments of silence and symbolic bodily utterances. These ways of communicating emotions help social workers navigate and make sense in child protection cases, where knowledge is limited. The question ‘Does it f eel right?’ becomes crucial in terms of identifying and expressing potential risks. However, as a legitimate professional question that can lead to valuable know...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Negotiating Reunion in Intercountry Adoption Using Social Media and Technology
This article focuses on how intercountry adoptees use social media and technology to negotiate and facilitate reunion with their birth families. The qualitative data were drawn from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with eleven adoptees who were internationally adopted to Ireland and have contact with their birth families using social media and technology. The findings from this interpretivist study demonstrate that social media and technology have significantly transformed and can now play a central role in reunion in intercountry adoption. They also suggest that social workers need to be aware of the emerging role of ...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
‘Maybe a Maverick, Maybe a Parent, but Definitely Not an Honorary Nurse’: Social Worker Perspectives on the Role and Nature of Social Work in Mental Health Care
This study aimed to develop an understanding of how mental health social workers perceive and explain their role. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with seven social workers based within one English National Health Service mental health trust covering a large geographical area and their responses analysed using Ritchie, Spencer and O ’Connor’s Framework thematic model. Findings indicated that social workers only superficially engaged with the aspirational policy roles, instead presenting their own framework for what makes mental health social work distinctive. This was constructed around the context and intent...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Social Work Students ’ Experiences of Ethical Difficulties in Field Placements: A Qualitative Study in China
AbstractField placements provide social work students with opportunities to learn to handle ethical difficulties in a professional manner. In many developed countries, field staff are generally employed to supervise social work students ’ field placements. ‘Code of Ethics’ and other ethics documents have also been developed to guide students’ professional activities. However, there is a lack of field staff, ‘Code of Ethics’ and other ethics documents in China, which may lead to ethical difficulties amongst students duri ng their field placements. Based on the interviews of twenty-four social work students who c...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
‘We’re not delivering government’s agenda’: The Community Organisers Programme in England
AbstractCommunity organising is expanding globally. One example is the Community Organisers Programme in England, initiated by the Cameron coalition government from 2011 to 2015. This qualitative study of the Community Organisers Programme juxtaposes critical theory regarding neoliberalism and state devolution with the experiences of fifteen subjects interviewed in 2014 and 2015. The three cohorts included (i) five recruited, salaried and trained community organisers, (ii) five administrative staff from key social service organisations and government and (iii) five external professionals including leading full-time communi...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Social Workers ’ Encounters with Elder Abuse and Neglect: Giving Meaning to Their Experiences
This article examines Israeli social workers ’ experiences of their encounters with elder abuse survivors and its impact on professional and personal aspects in the social workers’ lives. Participants were seventeen experienced women social workers, who intervened with elder abuse and neglect. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structur ed interviews. Data analysis revealed three main themes: (i) ‘Sensing the Pain’: Exposure to the Complexity of Clients’ Life-Long Suffering; (ii) Taking Home the Pain: Social Workers Dwelling with the Sensitivity of the Encounter with Elder Abuse and (iii) ‘Caring for Them, a...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Building Collaboration with Child Protection and Domestic and Family Violence Sectors: Trialling a Living Lab Approach
This article describes a research partnership that aimed to explore the competing priorities by focusing on how workers interact across child protection and DFV specialist agencies. Using a Living Lab Approach, enabled twelve focus groups with child protection and DFV social workers (n = 100). Thematic analysis was conducted, and it was found that diverse understandings of DFV created tensions when trying to form collaborations. These tensions were often amplified when other intersecting issues were present in family lives such as drug and alcohol and mental health problems. Understandings of Aboriginal cultural safety...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Australian Social Work Research: An Empirical Study of Engagement and Impact
AbstractInternationally, non-academic research impact is assessed by governments as part of evaluating the quality of publicly funded research. A case study method was used to investigate the non-academic impact of Australian social work research. Interviews were conducted with fifteen leading researchers about outputs (research products, such as publications and reports), engagement (interaction between researchers and end-users outside academia to transfer knowledge, methods or resources) and impact (social or economic contributions of research). Twelve case studies were prepared using a standardised template. Content an...
Source: British Journal of Social Work - December 3, 2020 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
