The emergence of post-structural approaches to social work has led to a more critical appraisal of the complex nature of relationships with people who are oppressed or marginalised and has contributed to a concerted effort to challenge reductionist understandings of professional relationships to better cope with the diversity and uniqueness of people's individual circumstances (Ruch, 2005). The most glaring example of the latter in Danish memory is the Strandvnget case of 2007 (Kirkebk 2017)3. Have you ever been rejected from a job application solely based on your surname? 3099067 Social workers often grapple with difficult professional and systemic power dynamics with both service users and the other professionals they encounter in multi-agency working. 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). Practice Matters is provided for general information. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide, This PDF is available to Subscribers Only. Power differentials can never be obliterated but making positions explicit and exploring their effects enables people to make better choices in their future actions. 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. The Author 2012. She is committed to promoting the well-being of practitioners and managers in the interests of those with whom they work. Cultural and individual preferences, such as ways of greeting and speaking, might be incorporated into the boundaries of the relationship. Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics, Fall 2017, Vol. In addressing ethical dilemmas in court-mandated social work practice, the authors consider several threats to informed consent, including the difficulty in accurately predicting the risks and benefits of social work intervention, the power imbalance between the worker But there is something inherently problematic about labelling and stigmatising. Copyright 2023 British Association of Social Workers. Keywords co-operative power emancipatory practice empowerment oppression power Over recent years, a dening feature of social work has been a concern with issues of power, particularly in relation to processes of oppression and empowerment (Adams, 1996; Karban and Trotter, 2000). The concept can helpfully underpin teaching about relationship building and boundary setting. View your signed in personal account and access account management features. All rights reserved. Traditionally, the bounds of the relationship were set by professional bodies as a way of separating social workers from their clients. While the medical model has been heavily criticised by social work theorists (Tower, 1994; Warshaw, 1989), this approach remains influential in the formulation of boundaries in the social work relationship (Ramsay, 2003). There are numerous contested terms (client, service user, consumer) used to describe the people with whom social workers work. 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. See below. Summary: This paper reviews the existing literature that seeks to conceptualize the operation of power, from modernist ideas of power as a 'thing' that may be possessed, to a range of critical alternatives, including structuralist, Foucauldian and feminist psychological perspectives.
Mary Ryerson Bauman, Richard Elliot Illness, Johnston County Mugshots Last 7 Days, Saint And Sofia Finsbury Pant, Katie Kampenfelt Found, Articles P