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Always present
Get PDFIn this taster feature for her keynote speech at the BACP Universities & Colleges Conference 2014, Dr Maggie Turp considers clients’ relationship with time: the then, the now and the yet to be
'So you want to be a manager?' To what extent does the recognition and understanding of unconscious processes play a useful part in the management of frontline social work practice. An in-depth study of a children and families resource centre
No full textThis is an in-depth singlecase study of a frontline social
work team based in the third sector.
The Bromyard Team provided comprehensive parenting assessments in care proceedings and safeguarding matters.
This research is partly derived from the author's
own experience and makes use of ethnographic
and psychoanalytically informed
observations of ordinary day to day work processes
in the professional team. The study aims to identify, understand and conceptualize the variety of emotional
forces and relationship dynamics that impact
on first line managers in social work and social
care settings in order to deepen and
extend understanding of these demands,and the
stresses and conflicts managed by professionals in these roles.
The author undertook Management Consultative Interviews (MCIs) with the managers of this service,in which they
were afforded space to think about their roles and
detailed field logs of researcher/observer experiences were used to gather data.
The emergent data identified four emergent episodes, these
were analyzed using aspects of
thematic analysis informed by psychoanalytic theory.
The overall findings of the study are that the first
line manager often finds themselves assailed from all sides: task related anxieties that filter through the front line workers, organisational anxieties
and projections that trickle down from above, wider
environmental anxieties that rock the stability of services and also impact on more senior staff, personal anxieties and projections that invade the professional space and
organisational/systemic anxieties arising from inter-group,
cross-boundary roll tensions. The author recommends that
rather than being left to cope with such experiences,
front line managers need effective and robust support, which would promote further understanding of the emotional and unconscious forces affecting their role
Who would be a residential child care worker?
No full textResidential child care is most often seen as a placement of last resort and not a placement of choice. The only time one hears of it is when something has gone wrong therefore, workers are seen in a poor light. The terms and conditions are poor and the work is challenging, both physically and emotionally. This being said there are dedicated, well qualified people entering then remaining in this field of work. This study sets out to understand not only how people got into the work but more importantly once they were in it why they decided to stay. This is an in-depth study based primarily on the life-story narratives of a small sample of participants plus the responses to a web-based questionnaire to add a second dimension. The work of Pierre Bourdieu and aspects of psychoanalytical theory have been used to examine both the sociological and psychological backgrounds of the participants giving a truly psycho-social account of their journeys. The study identified that the routes into the work were often complex and varied and that they played little part in the reasons people chose to remain in the work. Being disappointed with initial work choices, due to familial and social pressure, played a significant part in why the participants were looking for something in their lives. However, once in the work the participants not only enjoyed the work but were also able to meet familial and societal expectations by gaining qualifications, and for some status. More importantly, the work offered opportunities to be creative and feel of value as there was a ‘fit’ between the individual and the home. Significantly, the work allowed the participants to make reparation for real or imagined harm that they may have caused or had been done to them in early childhood. It is this combination of opportunity to meet familial and societal pressure whilst feeling good about oneself that has meant that for this sample they have remained working within the secto
Clinging, gripping, holding, containment: Reflections on a survival reflex and the development of a capacity to separate
No full textThis paper attempts to describe how, in the very first months of extra-uterine life, personality structures are formed around notions of personal space, separateness, attachment and individuation. The contribution of a forgotten Hungarian analyst, Imre Hermann, who wrote about the 'clinging reflex', will be explored in relation to the origin of Bowlby's concept of attachment and Rey's theoretical understanding of personal space. Particular attention will be given to transitions, transitional experiences and the development of a sense of internal space. Vignettes from infant observations will be used to illustrate the theoretical frame of reference. Clinical material from the analysis of a child and an adult patient will be provided to postulate how a distorted perception of personal space and separateness in the first few months of life may affect the capacity to attach and to individuate
The experience of gender dysphoria for pre-pubescent children and their families. A review of the literature
No full textIn recent years, the experience of gender dysphoria has gained public prominence through an explosion of sensationalized interest in the popular media. However, childhood gender dysphoria remains poorly understood and both parents and children often find themselves having to educate professionals around them. This not only creates a sense of disconnect between family and professionals, but also means that social workers can often be unaware of the myriad of competing perspectives that seek to explain gender variance. This review of the literature seeks to provide interested social workers with an overview of gender dysphoria, current research in the field and theoretical paradigms, with a view to promoting understanding and better practice with families in this little understood field
Multi-modal consultation with families: Concepts and techniques
No full textThe Family Consultancy Team is a group of professionals from a range of applied psychology backgrounds including educational, counselling and clinical psychology, plus systemic family psychotherapy. Our work aims to support, empower and work alongside children, young people, parents and families who present with emotional and or behavioural difficulties relating to school and/or home. We offer a consultation approach that is informed by the strategic integration of various models and theories, for example: cognitive behavioural, behavioural, solution focused narrative, structural family therapy and ecological systems.
Our innovative consultancy model has proven successful with supporting families to bring about change from a single consultation and the work that happens around it. We assume that clients have the capacity to solve their own problems and encourage them to focus on what they can take from a consultation session and what will be most helpful. The psychological climax of each consultation is intended to be a carefully and well considered interview that is focussed on problem and solution mapping, exploring the families attempted solutions, looking at blocks to these solutions, identifying resources available to the family and supporting them with developing a new approach.
In this workshop we will introduce our approach and use video to bring the methodology of single session work to life and encourage reflection on the psychological models that are being drawn upon. Participants will also be invited to share their thoughts on our practice and consider the implications of working in this way
