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. This is particularly important in non-Western societies such as the Middle East and Africa, where professional socialisation may create barriers to social work practice (Al-Krenawi and Graham, 2001). Such a stance underestimates the place of inter-subjectivity and unconscious dynamics inherent in all relationships (Ruch, 2010). Social workers must continually reflect on their role, purpose and function in order to achieve a connection with clients and insights into their experience. 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. That there is such a thing as society despite messages to the contrary which have seeped into our national psyche. Illinois Counselors. Nor does such a presumption reflect the importance that social work places on care and concern in relationships (Tsui and Cheung, 2004). Unsurprisingly, boundary issues, in a variety of international contexts, are often difficult to negotiate. 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. It is important to recognise that there are issues and behaviours that are clearly outside the boundaries of the professional relationship (outer circle of Figure2). The concept can helpfully underpin teaching about relationship building and boundary setting. 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. Anti-oppressive practice is a concept, a theory, and an approach used in practice in the social work field. 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. (Reflective practice student ) Reflection is a state of mind, an ongoing constituent of practice, not a technique, or curriculum element. I like this concept, because it removes the urge to pin down the blame on one individual; social work is rife with blame culture. Facilitate a constructive discussion on power conflicts and imbalances in placement settings. About. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, Fall 2017, Vol. ( 2006) 'Understanding Power and Powerlessness: Towards a Framework for Emancipatory Practice in Social Work', Journal of Social Work 6(1): 33-51. This model attempts to capture a more authentic representation of social work relationships. in the form of the authority or the office. 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. If you see Sign in through society site in the sign in pane within a journal: If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society. 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). I cant breathe, he said. Many clients do not voluntarily enter into their relationship with a social worker, but have been legally obliged to participate. Search for other works by this author on: You do not currently have access to this article. Of course, the proposed model represents a starting point: it must be adjusted to fit particular contexts and needs, and to reflect contemporary developments in social work. As a result, the boundaries of social work relationships are homogenised, even though the literature maintains that there is a great heterogeneity in the contexts in which social workers engage with clients (Sudbery, 2002; Anderson and Wiggins-Carter, 2004). He has worked as both a practitioner and a researcher in the areas of gendered violence and child protection for the last twenty years. 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. To avoid falling into such traps, our reconceptualisation of professional boundaries takes into account the broad spectrum of contemporary theoretical influences. No. 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). Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. Shibboleth / Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institutions website and Oxford Academic. Anti-Oppressive Practice in Mental Health. The Social Graces is one of the tools which can help us to achieve this. Ming-sum Tsui's research interests include: social work theory and practice, social work education, supervision and professional development, and substance abuse. This stance challenges the dominant discourse in relation to boundary setting that has been historically defensive and protective in nature. When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. This may feel uncomfortable at first, but keep at it. Coronavirus deaths are doubled in affluent areas compared with the most deprived. In 1990 in the UK the case of 'The Pindown Experience', which occurred in the county of Staffordshire, came to the public and media attention. The default assumption is that these boundaries refer to the traditional model of separation from clients. The briefing identifies empirical studies that report on the association between the process of supervision and outcomes for service users, workers and organisations. Ethnicity, class, disability or gender hinder their progress from the first millisecond of the race. The child is not problematic. At the root of the problem is a system that places the primary responsibility for enforcing anti-discrimination laws on individual workers . 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). Further developments in humanistic psychology and structuralism have led to the introduction of client-centred approaches (Rogers, 1980) and the systems approach to social work represents an attempt to combine these different perspectives (Petr, 1983). One of the key aims of the graces is to name power differentials. Despite the widespread acceptance of the importance of professional boundaries, scant attention has been paid to their construction and the degree to which they reflect the ethos of the social work profession. Here, the quality of the relationship is shaped by the care and consciousness that the social worker both explicitly and implicitly displays. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account. One of the responses to managing these demands has been the construction of professional boundaries. We need tangible tools we can use to fight against prejudice, to acknowledge privilege, and to redistribute power. 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. For the most part, they relied on an assumption of the traditional notion of separation. 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. As the previous paragraph highlights, a distinctive feature of the model is its acknowledgment of the permeable and dynamic nature of professional boundaries. 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). 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. 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. This can be attributed, in part, to the ineffable nature of relationship, despite ongoing efforts to present scientific evidence of its effectiveness (Coady, 1993). 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. However, in a comprehensive study conducted by Doel and his colleagues (2010), a clear majority of social workers relied on their own sense of what is appropriate or not, instead of the complicated code of ethics or formal guidelines, in many cases as big as a book, set by professional bodies. In moving away from personal culpability, we begin to humanise each-other. Inevitably, however, ethical questions arise in the social work relationship when moral and political imperatives are in conflict with the individual client's well-being. To separate challenging or problematic behaviours from the individual (whilst not absolving them of responsibility). No matter what platitudes we learn about equality and diversity at school, or in the workplace, it is clear that not everyone begins the marathon of life on the same footing. 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). As Thompson (2000) highlights, to assess the degree and nature of any risk to which Ms. Evans and her family could be exposed to. 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. Have you ever felt too intimidated to disclose your sexuality to colleagues? Don't already have a personal account? Per the IDFPR: Social Work Continuing Education Sponsors approved by the Division in accordance with the rules for the administration of Clinical Social Work and Social Work Practice Act (225 ILCS 201), 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1470.95; PESI, Inc. is a registered social work . Qualitative research undertaken with twelve social work Tutors in England ( Finch, 2015) revealed challenges of managing placement failure, concerns about Practice Teachers or poor-quality placements and conflicts between protecting service users from dangerous or incompetent practitioners and university systems. . It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide, This PDF is available to Subscribers Only. 14, No. Patrick O'Leary, Ming-Sum Tsui, Gillian Ruch, The Boundaries of the Social Work Relationship Revisited: Towards a Connected, Inclusive and Dynamic Conceptualisation, The British Journal of Social Work, Volume 43, Issue 1, February 2013, Pages 135153, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcr181. 3.1 Explain factors which result in a power imbalance in . George Floyds last words, as he was murdered, will haunt us forever. as part of their professional training (p. xiii). 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. Lundy (2004), basing her views on the work of Moreau (1989), highlights the importance of the worker-client relationship in social work generally and the need to increase client power within this relationship. As a response, advocates of traditional social work relationships assert that boundaries that separate professionals from their clients guard against professional misconduct and prevent unhealthy dependence or close emotional attachment (Reamer, 2003). In addition, post-structural and feminist theorists have challenged the various epistemological assumptions of social work (Mandell, 2008). Figure2 illustrates our conceptual model and gives examples of issues that fit within and outside the professional boundary. It is this exclusive and implicit model of boundary setting that we are seeking to reconfigure. The origins of this didactic and hierarchical construction of the social work relationship can be linked to the influence of the medical model: the doctorpatient relationship placing the doctor at the centre of the power structure, as a representative of rational authority (Kane, 1982). To assist this, social work education needs to embrace the concept of connection as an integral dimension of social work values. Patients may not participate in care because of a perceived subordination to their providers. A power imbalance is an environment, relationship or interaction where one party has far more social power than the other. Its about the interaction between people, not data.. The aspects of relationships identified in the central circle of the model are crucial ingredients of all relationships and will be specifically negotiated in each unique case. In particular, these dynamics are associated with the significance of gender and ethnicity on professional relationships, with female social workers, for example, establishing boundaries with male clients that are informed by their own early and recent experiences of men in their lives and vice versa for male social workers. Over time, social work theorists have developed sophisticated processes to address the power imbalances and instances of exploitation and discrimination that may arise in relationships with clients. Contemporary therapeutic approaches that draw on humanistic, post-structural and critical theoretical paradigms advocate transparency and the deconstruction of power relations (Healy, 2005). Analyze the daily practice or incident and your use of the enactments within the framework of cultural humility: 1) lifelong learning and critical self-reflection, 2) recognizing and mitigating power imbalances, 3) holding institutions accountable. 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. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian. Essay, Pages 18 (4426 words) Views. Cultural and individual preferences, such as ways of greeting and speaking, might be incorporated into the boundaries of the relationship. 1.1 Practise in accordance with the AASW Code of Ethics and manage ethical . These necessities and constraints have led to competing humanistic and ethical constructs of the social work relationship. Most social workers are employees in public or voluntary welfare organisations where the social work relationship is defined within the parameters of organisational objectives: clients' meet the mandate of the agency, no matter what distortion this entails. In Hong Kong, senior citizens in elderly homes often give red envelopes of money to young front line social workers in Chinese New Year because they regard social workers as friends of the younger generation. After teaching English around the world, she obtained her MSc in Social work from the University of Brighton in 2019. Given that social work is both a local and an international profession (Dominelli, 2010; Healy, 2001), the bounds of its relationships need to be reframed to accommodate the wide range of geographical, socio-political, economic and cultural differences it embraces. Power also exists in the form of the client. Uncertainties are likely to arise in social work relationships that will require social workers to reflect on the viability of the boundaries in place. Erin Roark Murphy, LMSW, Understanding Power: An Imperative for Human Services, Social Work, Volume 62, Issue 4, October 2017, Pages 373375, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swx039. Needless to say, such a reconceptualisation does not negate the importance of establishing limits based on clear values and ethical considerations. This paper sets out a framework to structure reflexivity in social work practice. Attempt the above exercise with the grace you feel the least drawn toward. It exists simply because of the structures in which social workers work, e.g. Is the clientworker relationship associated with better outcomes in mandated child abuse cases? It is often the immediacy of boundary-setting decisions that perturbs practitioners, with professional encounters frequently requiring swift reactions. 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. Implications for social work research, education and practice are also examined. This conceptualisation of the social work relationship separates the professional social worker from the client (see Figure1). (Edited publisher abstract) Subject terms: Clients often entrust very personal information and feelings in the process of the intervention. 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). Ethical codes reiterate that social workers must have professional boundaries in their relationships with clients (BASW, 2002; NASW, 2008; AASW, 2010; HKSWRB, 2009). 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'. But in other situations, a younger person may have more power. 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. Whilst successful protocols would ensure transparency in social workers' dealings with clients, their creation does not incorporate client negotiation. 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. 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. Critical Reflection on Self in Practice Social work is an inherently political role; it allows social workers to occupy a position of power and privilege via their access to resources and hierarchical structure of the social service sector.