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Martins, Lauren; Tucker, Laura A
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac238
Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) is a complex and often stigmatising diagnosis. Although falling under the remit of mental health services, it is not always seen as a mental health need, and research suggests that if parents or carers are not provided with more holistic support, parental mental health will deteriorate with children likely to have poorer outcomes, placing them at an increased risk of harm. This likelihood of harm increases with compounding factors such as substance misuse and domestic abuse. One organisation alone cannot effectively address the complex difficulties that people with this diagnosis may experience, thus inter-agency working is necessary. This article explores the barriers and facilitators to inter-agency working to support parental care-givers with a diagnosis of EUPD between Children’s Social Care and a Community Mental Health Team within the same English area. Five mental health care coordinators and two children and families’ social workers who had experience working with this client group were interviewed. Participants identified the challenges and benefits of working with their partner agency around communication, knowledge, stigmatisation and resources. The research provides suggestions to develop current inter-agency working relationships and to enhance care and support available to people experiencing the diagnosis.
Calatrava, Maria; Swords, Lorraine; Spratt, Trevor
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac241
Family services offer the possibility of producing data sets, capable of primary analyses to measure service efficacy, and secondary analyses to develop nuanced understandings of family needs. In this article, we report secondary analysis of data drawn from 1,151 families elicited upon intake to family centres in Ireland. The aim was to examine correlates of children’s socio-emotional functioning, with focus on the quality of relationships between children and parents. Participating families completed surveys containing socio-demographic questions and standardised instruments tapping into children’s social, emotional and behavioural strengths and difficulties, parents’ mental health, and closeness and conflict in parent–child relationship. Findings indicated that parents’ perceptions of their children’s socio-emotional functioning significantly influenced the quality of the child–parent relationship. Higher levels of conflict were significantly associated with psychological difficulties, whilst greater closeness was significantly related to prosocial behaviours. These relationships held after controlling for a range of child, parent and family socio-demographic variables, such as the child’s experience of chronic illness or stressful life events, both of which independently predicted poorer outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of the dynamic, reciprocal nature of family relationships whereby parent–child conflict and children’s problematic socio-emotional functioning likely influence, and are influenced by, each other.
Zuchowski, Ines; McLennan, Simoane; Sen Gupta, Tarun
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac244
Social work and social work student placements in general practice [GP] can contribute to wholistic healthcare. The overall aims of this research were to develop, implement and evaluate a field education placement curriculum for social work student placements in GP clinics. Between December 2021 and June 2022, six students completed their social work placements in four GP practices in North Queensland. Data collection included student records and an online survey that invited students, field educators, task supervisors, mentors, allied health professionals and GPs to provide feedback about the usefulness of the developed materials, the benefits and challenges of the placements, the services provided by the students, patient outcomes and feedback, social work learning, service delivery overall and the value of, and satisfaction with, the social work GP placements. Social work student placements in GP practices offer a valuable broadening of field education learning opportunities for social work and can benefit GP settings. Such placements need to be particularly carefully scaffolded and supported through a comprehensive curriculum, supervision, and a welcoming GP setting. Students interested in embarking in such a learning journey need to be highly confident and competent in social work practice.
Baugerud, Gunn Astrid; Røed, Ragnhild Klingenberg; Hansen, Helle B G; Poulsen, Julie Schøning; Johnson, Miriam S
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac245
High-quality interviews that follow best-practice guidelines are the best means available to frontline child protective service (CPS) workers and specially trained police officers to investigate and detect abuse and maltreatment. In Norway, the CPS and police are trained in the same interview method. In the current quantitative study, we investigate sixty-five interviews conducted by the CPS of children ages 4–8 years and seventy-two interviews conducted by the police of children ages 3–6 years. Our analysis shows that the CPS workers presented more open-ended invitations and fewer suggestive questions than the police officers. However, the CPS also asked more option-posing questions. Still, this finding may indicate that CPS workers come closer than police officers to follow best practice guidelines when they conduct child interviews. It should be noted that the police are also trained in an extended interview method, unlike the CPS workers. The number of open-ended invitations was sparse in both samples. Differences in the span of children’s ages in the two samples and different legal frameworks may have affected the findings. Implications for interview training are discussed.
Sarre, Sophie; Meakin, Becki; Geoghegan, Luke; Robert, Glenn; Sanders, Charlie; Lavanchy, Roxane; Minogue, Shani; Fadden, Tom; O’Brien, Molly
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcac248
The value of co-produced research is increasingly recognised. This is a case study of a lay conducted, co-produced qualitative research study on the experiences of social workers and Disabled users of their services of using (or not) digital technologies when communicating with each other. We describe the co-production process from inception to dissemination and draw out lessons for future studies. Disabled lay researchers developed interview topic guides, conducted semi-structured interviews with social workers and Disabled users of social work services, analysed the data and led or contributed to study outputs. Several factors contributed to the success of this study. It was co-produced using service user, practitioner and academic knowledge. It is built on existing trusted relationships. Training and support were targeted and relevant, and delivered using a variety of learning methods, including peer support. Disabled lay researchers drew on their lived experiences to develop topic guides and interpret data. The study team was committed to inclusion, capacity building and an assets-based approach, and to carefully managing power relationships. Challenges were the time required to setup the study and to train and support lay researchers, and the bureaucratic and governance systems that were not ideally suited to root and branch co-production.
Baviskar, Siddhartha; Antczak, Helle B; Bjerregaard, Anne H; Ebsen, Frank C; Larsen, Karin S; Mackrill, Thomas; Rosted, Malene K; Steensbæk, Signe
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad002
Statutory meetings are at the core of social work practice, yet there is no quantitatively tested common set of criteria for assessing statutory social workers’ communication skills with young people. Reliably measuring such skills is important for the training and supervision of social workers as well for drawing conclusions about whether such skills impact service users’ outcomes. To fill this gap, we developed a new measure, the My Social Work Partner (MRP in Danish abbreviation) scales, which measure eleven dimensions of statutory communication. We tested the inter-coder reliability and intra-coder reliability of codings on the MRP scales using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) in a random sample of thirty videotapes of statutory meetings. Five professional social workers participated in the inter-coder reliability test; three of them coded the same films again after a three- to five-month interval for the intra-coder reliability test. ICC estimates of inter-coder reliability ranged from good to excellent. Intra-coder reliability estimates ranged from fair to excellent. Overall, the results are promising and support the use of the MRP scales in social work practice with young persons, education and research. Future research will focus on how to improve the intra-coder reliability of the scales, in particular the Dialogue structure scale.
Reid, Katherine; Alford, Jennifer
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad009
Recovery, as a concept is internationally recognised as a means to empower children to manage their own mental health. Recovery-oriented mental health policy production and service delivery in many Western countries, however, occurs in a discursive field influenced by biomedical and neo-liberal discourses. This article uses Critical Discourse Analysis to investigate an Australian policy—'A National Framework for Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Services: Guide for Practitioners and Providers', to critically analyse the competing versions of recovery. The findings reveal ideological slippages at work and show the operation of biomedical, developmental, collaborative, empowerment and responsibilisation discourses that compete in this mental health policy. This article shows how social workers require critical analysis to discern the consequences of different understandings of recovery in the child and youth mental health field. Despite the collaborative and strengths-based language of recovery, the analysis demonstrates the need to recognise the fine line between empowerment and the neo-liberal imperative for children to self-manage their mental health concerns.
Roulston, Audrey; Gerson, Sheri Mila; Csikai, Ellen; Dobrikova, Patricia
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad042
The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) generated life-defining challenges on a global level, affecting healthcare professionals, who faced the same imminent public health threat as patients and families. Reduced face-to-face contact, wearing personal protective equipment and enforcing visitor restrictions generated moral distress in healthcare professionals, unable to provide holistic care. This scoping review explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on palliative care social workers (PCSWs). PubMED, CINAHL and PsycINFO were systematically searched. Empirical studies and reflective articles about palliative care social work during the pandemic were screened. Data extraction used Arksey and O’Malley’s framework. Thematic analysis was underpinned by Braun and Clarke for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns. From 706 citations retrieved, 125 were selected for full-text review and 32 were included in the scoping review. Thematic analysis revealed three themes: (i) moral distress, (ii) transitioning and (iii) inequality. Implementing visitor restrictions caused moral distress and raised questions about their justification. Not being present at the time of death generated feelings of anger among bereaved family members. Virtual communication replaced face-to-face contact, yet improved access to Telehealth. Inequalities were illuminated and PCSWs advocated for disadvantaged populations, worked creatively to minimise suffering or stigma and supported peers.
McFadden, Paula; Ross, Jana; Byrne, Julie; Flanagan, Niamh; Dolan, Rose; Kirwan, Gloria; Kelly, Eleanor; Shore, Caroline; McDonald, Orla; Wilson, Elaine; Slavin, Paula; Roulston, Audrey; McCartan, Claire; Ketola, Markus
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad046
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people’s lives worldwide, including the work of social workers and the education of social work students. Field placements are a significant part of social work education, but during the pandemic they were cut short and most teachings moved online. The current mixed methods study examined the effects of social work education on social work students’ empathy and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic on the island of Ireland. A matched sample of forty-nine students completed an online survey at the start (T1) of their degree and at the end (T2). A further 229 students who only completed the T1 survey were compared to 70 others who only completed the T2 survey. The results showed improved resilience in the cohort comparison. There were no differences in empathy in the matched sample nor between the cohorts. Thematic analysis of students’ narratives showed that they found the switch to online learning difficult, with some reporting negative impacts on their mental health and the abrupt ending of placements impacting their feelings of preparedness for practice. Implications of this study and future research areas are discussed.
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad056
Uncertainty in thinking and reasoning is crucial in allowing professionals to engage with the complexities of practice, yet the way it is expressed in childcare social work remains under-researched. This study examines the uncertainty expressed by professionals when discussing children who present a serious threat of harm to others. Discourse analysis is used to examine data from twenty meetings involving seventy-five professionals. The findings suggest that there is considerable variance in the way professionals express uncertainty and in many of the meetings it appears to be relatively infrequent. The low levels of expression of uncertainty in such complex cases are problematic because it reflects limitations in professionals’ thinking and actions. The majority of instances of uncertainty occur in response to a question from another professional. This is a positive aspect of professional interaction and suggests that robust questioning from peers that encourage analysis of our practice might be particularly useful in prompting uncertainty. Rather than ignore or supress uncertainty by viewing it in negative terms, it should be valued and embraced by professionals who want to reduce unnecessary errors and enhance children’s safety.
Ebsen, Frank; Svendsen, Idamarie Leth; Thomsen, Line Pape; Jørgensen, Susanne
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad065
With theories of heuristics and decision-making ecology as our analytical lens, we examined social work practitioners’ use of heuristics (rules-of-thumb) as a response to real-world situations, emphasising the legal framework and how the work was organised. The data comprised eleven exploratory and follow-up group interviews with thirty-nine social workers and team leaders, observations of 108 decisions in child cases during eighteen meetings, and an analysis of fourteen case files in two Danish municipalities. Open, interpretative coding was used within a systemic approach, using Fish et al. (2008). Three heuristic rules guided decisions in all cases: (i) Form and maintain the first impression. (ii) When in doubt or disagreement, wait. (iii) Avoid parents’ resistance. Key takeaways are that these heuristics help social workers and managers and are connected to satisficing strategies as a natural response to legal and organisational factors. However, the heuristics can also lead to a lack of transparency, delayed interventions and other kinds of bias. We point out the need for understanding such patterns through an extended research to facilitate better and timely feedback to practitioners on their decisions.
Wroe, Lauren Elizabeth; Peace, Delphine; Firmin, Carlene
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad077
There is an absence of evidence supporting the use of ‘out-of-area placements’ to address risks adolescents face beyond the home. Approximately one in ten adolescents in England and Wales are ‘relocated’ from their hometowns by children’s social care teams due to these risks. Initial findings from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in England situate these relocations as a ‘failure’ to safeguard teenagers. Using participatory approaches to research design and data collection, this article asks what do we learn about the impact of relocations when we ask about safety? Activity-based, qualitative interviews were conducted with young people (n = 5), parents (n = 3) and professionals (n = 15) based in England and Scotland between 2020 and 2021, asking what worked and what didn’t when a relocation was chosen, and what was the perceived impact on safety. Interview data were thematically analysed in collaboration with young people and a Research Advisory Group of professionals, all with expertise in the area. Data indicated a tension between what professionals, and then parents and young people, thought was significant when planning relocations and an ambivalence about the impact of relocations. Considerations for safety planning are suggested to support young people’s holistic safety needs.
Fitton, Emily; Kuylen, Margot; Wyllie, Aaron; Michalowski, Sabine; Bhatt, Vivek; Martin, Wayne
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad078
The use of ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’ (DNACPR) recommendations has come under scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued a call for new standards, guidance and training. One group for whom new training is required is ‘capacity professionals’ working in and with residential care facilities. These professionals (including Independent Mental Capacity Advocates and Best Interests Assessors) typically have a social work background and have specialist training regarding the 2005 Mental Capacity Act, the provisions of which have a direct relevance to DNACPR recommendations. We report on a survey and focus groups that probed the experiences of this professional group during the pandemic. We recruited 262 participants by approaching civil society organisations in which capacity professionals are well represented; twenty-two participated in follow-on focus groups. We used manifest content analysis and descriptive statistics to analyse the results. Our findings contribute to an emerging picture of what transpired in residential care homes during the first year of the pandemic and help to provide an empirical and normative basis for the development of the new guidance and training for which the CQC has called.
2023 The British Journal of Social Work
doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad004
International Perspectives on Social Work and Political Conflict is a timely book given Putin’s attack on Ukraine, shattering the peace of Europe and with profound implications ricocheting across the world. This hostile act has caused mayhem in the routines of daily life through a cost-of-living crisis that includes food scarcities and expensive fuel costs to heat homes and travel to and from work and schools. These developments have had a huge impact on people’s pocketbooks, particularly those who are on no or limited incomes as they spend a greater proportion of their funds on these items. It has also exposed the interdependencies of countries in a globalised world. A horrendous war in one country carries implications for the entire world. Social workers are involved in supporting the people of Ukraine through their organisations, the International Association of Schools of Social Work, the International Federation of Social Workers mainly through their regional associations and Social Work for Peace. This edited collection contains thirteen chapters that cover conflict zones from across the globe in terms of social worker engagement with victim–survivors, the search for peace, and coverage of the issues raised in the social work curriculum to prepare social work students for practice in conflict and post-conflict zones. The wide range of contributors, many of whom have lived experiences of conflict, gives authenticity to the conflicts that are covered. These include Northern Ireland (Chapters 3 and 4), the 9/11 events in New York (Chapter 5), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Chapter 6), Cyprus (Chapter 7), Israel (Chapter 8), Palestine (Chapter 9), South Africa (Chapter 10), Tajiksan (Chapter 11) and Hong Kong (Chapter 12). My favourite chapter in this book is the last one. Written by Rory Truell, it not only has an overview of the key issues that face social workers in this field, but also offers hope and a commitment to doing their best to resolve difficult issues through non-violent means. This, he argues will enable social workers to contribute to the future of peace and security. The chapters are ensconced with an analysis of other books covering political conflicts that is provided in Chapter 1. In this, Jim Campbell identifies three key themes that inform this text. These are the variety of interventions relevant in supporting victim–survivors of conflict situations; the impact of conflict on the role and physical and mental well-being of social workers; and the importance of addressing political conflict—the knowledge, skills and theories that are essential in any intervention in disputed areas. These three areas are essential to working in conflict zones and are areas that should be included in social work training at all levels. However, such training is in short supply, although there is the occasional module on this, e.g. at UCL in London, and an entire programme on this as in Stirling. The absence of a chapter on what should be included in the social work education curriculum is a gap in this book, although there is a limited discussion, particularly in pages 179–183, that focuses on trauma-informed training. Issues of gender and the importance of decolonisation in shaping the development of social work in various conflict zones are also covered in various chapters. And, there is a historical context in most chapters that is considered in terms of its impact on the various conflicts discussed in this book. An interesting inclusion is the chapter by Raees Begum Baig on the development of social work in Hong Kong and its central role in keeping the torch of democratisation going through the Umbrella Movement and other social work organisations. However, repression followed as the Communist Party of China sought to impose authoritarian rule over the territory and undermined many hopes for a grassroots-led approach to social reform. Also, shameful is the failure of the British state to democratise the society and establish robust democratic institutions before the handover in 1997. Baig also argues that ‘security’ considerations triumphed over ‘deliberative democracy’ when the Chinese state exercised sovereignty over Hong Kong and threatened any activist who actively participated in demanding democratic reform by invoking the ‘Basic Law’. This led many activists, including social workers, to flee Hong Kong for safety. Also disquieting for the social workers who remained was the depoliticisation of the profession leading to a greater focus on therapeutic interventions over collective community-based actions. I recommend this book be read by every social worker on a qualifying course. © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights)