On the one hand, it has been suggested that the traditional representation of professional boundaries reinforces power imbalances and tends to undervalue the personal exchange required to engage with clients meaningfully (Bird, 2000; O'Leary, 2004). Given this changing practice landscape and the recognised shortcomings of traditional notions of professional boundaries, conceptualising boundaries in social work contexts that are conducive to these emergent professional purposes is a timely and important undertaking. Power dynamics play a key role in problems and innovation. In developing this new model that optimises the boundaries of social work relationships, we are not advocating for the uncritical adoption of a post-structural interpretation of professional boundaries in social work. Restore content access for purchases made as guest, 48 hours access to article PDF & online version. Or ask service users to do so. View your signed in personal account and access account management features. ( 2006) 'Understanding Power and Powerlessness: Towards a Framework for Emancipatory Practice in Social Work', Journal of Social Work 6(1): 33-51. This essay "Power Dynamics and Social Work" discusses the power of social workers, which are developed through their professional function, social role and interaction with clients. Modelling this through the delivery of teaching, for example, that is done in collaboration with clients, is an important means of bringing alive in the classroom the dilemmas this approach generates. Social workers and clients may decide to position particular types of behaviour or attitudes outside the boundary of their relationship. Traditional Conceptualisation of Professional the Boundary. Perhaps you are a teacher, youth group facilitator, student affairs personnel or manage a team that works with an . After teaching English around the world, she obtained her MSc in Social work from the University of Brighton in 2019. Suggestions to minimise, challenge and overcome such issues. The default assumption is that these boundaries refer to the traditional model of separation from clients. 16763. July 23, 2018 - The ideal patient-provider relationship will always include a mutual respect between both parties that then leads to a healthcare partnership. As human beings, we feed off the energy and discourse of others. And what of power? However, the model challenges these theories to pay more critical attention to how boundaries can be negotiated in a global world. In social work, therefore, one is always dealing with power relations. When I was studying at university, I could see that my lecturers were keen to highlight power imbalance and the importance of recognising this in social work practice. Search for other works by this author on: The cultural mediator: Bridging the gap between a non-Western community and professional social work practice, Caring, mutuality and reciprocity in social workerclient relationships: Rethinking principles of practice, Redefining social work standards in the context of globalization: Lessons from India, Diversity Perspectives for Social Work Practice, Use of self in relational clinical social work, Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Code of Ethics: Australian Association of Social Workers, We don't see her as a social worker: The importance of the social worker's relationship and humanity, The Heart's Narrative: Therapy and Navigating Life's Contradictions, British Association of Social Workers (BASW), The Code of Ethics: British Association of Social Workers, Risk, instrumentalism and the humane project in social work: Identifying the informal logics of risk management in children's statutory services, The nature of practice wisdom in social work revisited, Social work as moral and political practice, The workerclient relationship revisited: Families in society, Good helping relationships in child welfare: Learning from stories of success, Service-user perspectives on relationships, Relationship-Based Practice: Getting to the Heart of Social Work. Originally, the pneumonic was arranged as disgraces to highlight the fact that such inequalities were disgraceful, but it was feared this could be rather off-putting. More specifically, when used ethically and effectively, the power differential offers people in therapy, students, supervisees, and patients some important assurances: Confidence in their . Applying this to the example above, the Social Graces can help us to understand the child in the context of their relationships. Within the fields of family therapy and counselling, Bird (2000) and O'Leary (2004) have suggested an alternative model for professional boundaries. Alexander and Charles (2009) argue that the difficulty of balancing the need to relate to clients and the ideals of professional behaviour can make the position of social worker untenable when placed within the traditional notion of professional boundaries. Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Our proposed model acknowledges that social workers bring particular expertise to the relationship. (Reflective practice student ) Reflection is a state of mind, an ongoing constituent of practice, not a technique, or curriculum element. Is the clientworker relationship associated with better outcomes in mandated child abuse cases? 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. Gray (2010), in her examination of emerging ethical theories, such as feminist ethics of care, in the context of increasingly complex problems in harsh practice environments, suggests this can produce important considerations about the way social work relationships are constructed and distinguished from other types of professional relationships. . Power imbalances and the international development architecture Conceptual Framework Power can be defined as "the ability of human agency to exercise control over its social and physical environment"i. Social work is a profession that involves relationships with individuals, between individuals, with individuals in groups, with individuals and organisations, and between organisations (Arnd-Caddigan and Pozzuto, 2008; Kadushin, 1972; Perlman, 1979; Petr, 1983; Richmond, 1899; Wilson et al., 2011). How to use the Graces as a time-pressed social worker. Whilst practitioners must learn to manage this vicarious traumatization during the course of their professional development (Sexton, 1999), being witness and connected to distress and conditions of social exclusion plays a pivotal role in the development of a better understanding of the lived experience of clients. I am a Social Worker, Practice Educator Mentor, and Best Interests Assessor. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways: Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. Contemporary therapeutic approaches that draw on humanistic, post-structural and critical theoretical paradigms advocate transparency and the deconstruction of power relations (Healy, 2005). With the main mission of social workers being the enhancement of well-being and helping to satisfy fundamental human needs of persons who are poor, vulnerable, and oppressed, they can improve their practice effectiveness significantly by understanding and becoming sensitive to cultural diversity and uniqueness. The Yo-Yo Effect: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Social Workers Experiences with Job Flexibility during the Pandemic, Social Workers Perspectives on Extreme Risk Protection Orders, Am I the Only One Who Feels Like This?: Needs Expressed Online by Abortion Seekers, About the National Association of Social Workers, Subscription prices and ordering for this journal, Purchasing options for books and journals across Oxford Academic, Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic. As a result, the social work relationship has adopted restrictive artificial barriers that are not in keeping with the profession's values and some of the realities of practice. All rights reserved. Keep me logged in (not suitable for shared devices). As someone who is dual-heritage, but cloaked in white privilege due to my light skin tone, I am painfully aware of power differentials in terms of ethnicity; I have, throughout my life, been given different treatment to other family members. However, empirical research has shown little variation in the effectiveness of the array of approaches. These are often referred to as dual relationships, where the community context for social workers requires both a professional relationship as well as social contact (e.g. As the previous paragraph highlights, a distinctive feature of the model is its acknowledgment of the permeable and dynamic nature of professional boundaries. The practice terms, critical reflection and reflection or reflectivity are interrelated in ways that aim to explain reflexivity in the profession which, in turn, can offer an enhanced understanding of reflexivity applied in research. Well, thats simply not true. Naming power differences can invite service users, colleagues or even friends to share the social graces which they feel can hold them back, or even cloud their judgement of others. In this case, it is possible that the client becomes the main actor. Beyond our own shores, global events remind us that equality is but a distant dream. Many of the experts in this canvassing said power dynamics play a key role in technology development and social and civic innovation and have substantial impact in regard to broad societal issues. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more. Collaborating with the client in the setting of professional boundaries is likely to have a positive impact on the quality of the relationships we have with clients, itself an important factor in successful outcomes. The social graces align with the BASW 80:20 campaign, which champions relational practice, with the desire to reverse the ratio of social workers spending 80% of the time at their desks, and just 20% with service users. More recently, social work theorists have become sensitive to the power imbalances and potential for discrimination and disempowerment in social work relationships that develop primarily as a result of trauma or adversity (Fook, 2002). Social work is at the forefront of professions that address the ontological need for relationships and respond to the breakdowns of personal and societal relationships. Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic. For example, the British Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (BASW, 2002, p.6) states that social workers have a duty to set and enforce explicit and appropriate professional boundaries. An anti-oppressive (AOP) framework encourages social workers to critically analyze systematic oppression, individual bias and beliefs, and oppression which occurs between service users and oppressors. Gould (1990) and other scholars have warned of the dangers of Foucauldian approaches to social work that would effectively eliminate any claim of expertise. Think about it for a second. They must limit the personal disclosure, expectations, extent, duration and focus of the relationship; there must be some terminal points to the engagement (Turney, 2010). This paper sets out a framework to structure reflexivity in social work practice. The social graces, however, recognise that we are not isolated beings. This resonated with me on a number of levels; I only began to understand the self-centric nature of Western culture when I lived in Chile, where the first question asked to a stranger was not the typical What do you do for a living?, but Tell me about your family. Anti-oppressive practice is an interdisciplinary approach primarily rooted within the practice of social work that focuses on ending socioeconomic oppression.It requires the practitioner to critically examine the power imbalance inherent in an organizational structure with regards to the larger sociocultural and political context in order to develop strategies for creating an egalitarian . Arnd-Caddigan and Pozzuto (2008) view the use of self as a relational and interactional process. It also assesses the quality of the evidence and its relevance for social work and social care practice in the UK. She is committed to promoting the well-being of practitioners and managers in the interests of those with whom they work. Managing this delicate process has been conceptualised as maintaining professional distance, premised on the belief that a psycho-social separation will encourage rational scientific objectivity. I started social work practice in 1998 to now in 2015, where As Chu et al. Power matters for those who have it and for those who lack it. Whilst the ability to forge good interpersonal relationships is desirable, but often not essential for highly developed professions such as medicine and law, it is an absolute precondition of effective social work practice (Chu and Tsui, 2008; Chu et al., 2009; Proctor, 1982; Ward et al., 2010). Click the account icon in the top right to: Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. Moreover, the model itself requires research to evaluate its effectiveness in order to refine the methods for negotiating relationships in specific contexts. It is the professional responsibility of social workers to take the lead in the formation of an effective and ethical relationship, but the development of boundaries needs to include client participation. 1. At the root of the problem is a system that places the primary responsibility for enforcing anti-discrimination laws on individual workers . 3.1 Explain factors which result in a power imbalance in . There are many seminal texts that are intended to guide practitioners through the ethical quandaries that can arise within the domain of professional practice (Banks, 2006; Loewenberg et al., 2000). Most notably, the quality, consistency and continuity of social work relationships with high-risk families have been cited as critical factors in tragic cases in the UK (Winter, 2009). For example, in Lebanon, young people in Palestinian refugee camps raised a concern about poor lighting with a social worker. Despite its great influence on society, professionals working in human services are often oblivious to their own power and privilege, their impact on the therapeutic relationship, and how the lack of acknowledgment and dialogue contributes to the marginalization of certain individuals and groups. Despite its great influence on society, professionals working in human services are often oblivious to their own power and privilege, their impact on the therapeutic relationship, and how the lack of acknowledgment and dialogue contributes to the marginalization of certain individuals and groups. Patrick J. O'Leary holds professorial appointments at Griffith University, Australia, and the University of Southampton, UK. In contrast, at the collective end of the continuum, the influence of Marxist sociology has led some theorists to maintain that the practice of social work supports capitalism by categorising people and acting as a means of social control (Howe, 1998; Payne, 2005). It is this exclusive and implicit model of boundary setting that we are seeking to reconfigure. Alongside these developments, there has been a proliferation of models of practice, such as cognitive behavioural and solution-focused therapy, associated with the burgeoning What works? and evidence-based agendas (McNeish et al., 2002). The briefing identifies empirical studies that report on the association between the process of supervision and outcomes for service users, workers and organisations. Current research on the social work relationship will help to inform the construction of the boundaries of the social work relationship that are transparent, considered and acceptable. If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institutions website, please contact your librarian or administrator. Where the potential for boundary breaches is heightened, for example, in the case of dual relationships in small communities, the model encourages the social worker and the client to acknowledge the risks and to focus on how they can manage their connections rather than on how they can maintain their distance. At the same time, it recognises, embraces and works with the ethical complexity inherent in social work practice. Because we fear the potential consequences should things go wrong. The emphasis on relational connectedness is in keeping with a range of contemporary theoretical perspectivessocial constructionism (Parton and O'Bryne, 2000), narrative therapy (Epston et al., 2002), critical theory and reflection (Fook and Gardner, 2007; Healy, 2005) relationship-based practice (Ruch, 2010)all of which place importance on the equal but distinctive roles of the key partners in the relationship and the specific expertise they bring to it. Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing. In attempting to reconceptualise the boundaries of professional social work practice, there are clearly tensions operating that need to be thoughtfully responded to. Having feelings of "not coping" can feel, well, pretty disastrous. Those located in the second circle, separated from the central circle by a dashed line to depict the permeable nature of the boundary, hold a less pivotal role in relationship building and boundary setting and, therefore, may, in some instances, be included in boundary-setting discussions, and in other instances not. It emphasises the dynamic nature of boundary setting that reflects changes within the professional relationship over time and acknowledges the interplay of both visible dimensions of the relationship and the less visible, unconscious dynamics that are recognised through the practitioner's reflective processes. Race, power and privilege. This conceptualisation of the social work relationship separates the professional social worker from the client (see Figure1). POWER, OPPRESSION, AND. But just because I might conform to privilege, it doesnt mean Ive had it easy. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide, This PDF is available to Subscribers Only. As well as recognising power issues and imbalances, as the social worker l would also need to undertake a risk assessment. Historically, the professional boundaries created within the field of social work have been influenced by other professions, most notably medicine. View the institutional accounts that are providing access. To complicate matters further, consideration must be given to variables such as gender, class, culture and sexuality that shape the complex dynamic of the social work relationship. Defining the social work relationship: political, therapeutic, participatory or mutual? The term Social Graces, Rowland explained, is a mnemonic to help us remember some of the key features that influence personal and social identity (see figure 1), as developed by John Burhnham, Alison Roper-Hall and colleagues (1992). A definition of the specific nature and boundaries of the social work relationship is absent in social work literature (Chu et al., 2009; Coady, 1993; Petr, 1983; Proctor, 1982). There are personable and intimate aspects to the relationship that share many of the qualities of friendship (Beresford et al., 2008; Doel et al., 2010). in the form of the authority or the office. After establishing exigency for creating an understanding of power, the editors point out that few social workers have been trained to analyze power dynamics, and even fewer have been given the space to struggle with power. In developing a model that focuses on connection, social workers need to develop their expertise in understanding what facilitates connections and what inhibits them. Figure2 illustrates our conceptual model and gives examples of issues that fit within and outside the professional boundary. Hence, the encompassing boundaries, depicted in Figure2 as circles, can expand or contract, depending on how the characteristics of the boundaries are configured in each unique instance. The model offers a process for negotiating the relationship between social work researchers and clients. I was always encouraged to achieve my full potential at school; my dad wasnt, and was bullied and humiliated by teachers. If the tendons in one finger are strained, and it becomes less mobile, there is likely to be an impact on the others. In prioritising connection over separation, the complexity of this relationship-centred approach to professional boundaries cannot be underestimated, nor can its potentially transformative qualities. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, Fall 2017, Vol. Clients often entrust very personal information and feelings in the process of the intervention. Anti-oppressive practice is a concept, a theory, and an approach used in practice in the social work field. People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. Here, the quality of the relationship is shaped by the care and consciousness that the social worker both explicitly and implicitly displays. In our proposed model, we place the social worker and the client at the centre of a set of boundaries that promote connection and the use of self, rather than separation and professional distance. Consider which of the graces mostly influences your relationship with a service user. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Experience - our experience of the world, in a job, or in a particular area of life can give us power over another. 14, No. Social Work: Critical Theory and Practice, Practising Critical Reflection: A Resource Handbook, Teaching culturally competent social work practice through black and white pedagogical partnerships, Political critique of Kantian ethics: A contribution to the debate between Webb and McBeath, and Downie, Moral sources and emergent ethical theories in social work, Social Work Theories in Context: Creating Frameworks for Practice, International Social Work: Professional Action in an Interdependent World, Hong Kong Social Workers Registration Board (HKSWRB), Relationship-based thinking and practice in social work, Dual relationships and professional boundaries, Lessons for social work from the medical model: A viewpoint for practice, Therapists benefits from conducting psychotherapy: The case of social workers'. Clients have no role, or a very minimal role, in the formulation of these professional codes of ethics even though they are the group most affected. In addition, post-structural and feminist theorists have challenged the various epistemological assumptions of social work (Mandell, 2008). Journal of Progressive Human Services, 19, 39-54. Download. In the past decade, the emergence in many Western nations of an increasingly risk-averse political climate, with its concomitant managerialist strategies, has played a significant part in the defensive and distancing configuration of professional relationships (Broadhurst et al., 2010). Whilst some race forward in streamlined running shoes, unaware of the privilege lurching them forward, others are glued firmly to the starting line. Power operates as a dynamic force that leaves no area of life untouched, influencing individuals, families, communities, and institutions. The configuration of social workerclient relationship boundaries has failed to keep pace with the advances of contemporary theory and practice, resulting in calls for radical shifts (Alexander and Charles, 2009) in its conceptualisation. Anti-Oppressive Practice primarily traces its roots back to the realm of social work where it has been applied at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels in order to do things like mitigate power imbalances between social workers and their clients as well as the power imbalance between their clients and society at large. Boundaries, therefore, need to be set to clarify the scope of the relationship and the type of exchange that would promote desired outcomes (Doel, 2010). Social workers often come from the dominant cultural group; therefore, relationship forming with clients from minority groups requires an understanding and critical appraisal of dominant taken for granted views of the world. This toolkit is meant for anyone who feels there is a lack of productive discourse around issues of diversity and the role of identity in social relationships, both on a micro (individual) and macro (communal) level. Ethical codes reiterate that social workers must have professional boundaries in their relationships with clients (BASW, 2002; NASW, 2008; AASW, 2010; HKSWRB, 2009). 3099067 The context for sharing information and the commitment on completing agreed-upon tasks also affects the boundary of the relationship. Developing psycho-dynamic reflective skills that can address the conscious, unconscious and reciprocal aspects of professional relationships is critical for effective, sensitive boundary management and professional well-being (Fook, 2002; Ruch, 2010).

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