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Critical Approaches to Clinical Social Work Practice: Considerations from Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Theory

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Critical Approaches to Clinical Social Work Practice: Considerations from Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Theory Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2008 Critical Approaches to Clinical Social Work Practice: Considerations from Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Theory Christopher Trevelyan Wilfrid Laurier University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Trevelyan, Christopher, "Critical Approaches to Clinical Social Work Practice: Considerations from Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Theory" (2008). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 901. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/901 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46142-6 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-46142-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada CRITICAL APPROACHES TO CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE: CONSIDERATIONS FROM CONTEMPORARY RELATIONAL PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY by Christopher Trevelyan Bachelors of Arts (Honours), University of King's College: Dalhousie University, 1999 THESIS Submitted to the Faculty of Social Work in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Master's of Social Work Wilfrid Laurier University 2008 Christopher Trevelyan 2008© i Abstract Critical social workers now contend that an individual's everyday living both shapes and is shaped by overarching social structures and discourses. As such, the subjectivity of the individual is considered an axis on which the existing social order can be either perpetuated or transformed. Transformations on the level of the individual are therefore argued to contribute to transformations on the levels of larger societal arrangements. For this reason, many critical social work theorists today argue that clinical social work practice with individuals is an essential component of effecting egalitarian forms of social change. Yet, critical social workers also widely acknowledge that clinical social work theory is currently a relatively underdeveloped area within critical social work literature. Contemporary relational psychoanalytic theory offers highly textured accounts of the interdependence of sociopolitical arrangements and cultural discourses, on the one hand, and the subjectivity of the individual, on the other, and has much to contribute to critical social workers' current efforts to overcome oppressive relations on personal, interpersonal, and ultimately, societal levels. ii Acknowledgments My efforts to think about and to write this thesis have been supported and furthered by a number of people. First, I am enormously indebted to Judith Levene, PhD, my thesis advisor. To begin, she generously agreed to work with me on this project knowing that most of her efforts in this regard would occur over the first full-year of her retirement from the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. Throughout the process of writing this thesis, Judith has both challenged and encouraged me in my thinking, and has been extraordinarily generous in responding to my many queries, confusions and concerns. If I have succeeded in presenting the nuances of critical social work and contemporary relational psychoanalytic theory in ways that are accessible and clear, it is in large part due to Judith's steadfast guidance. I have also greatly benefitted from conversations with the other members of my thesis committee, Deena Mandell, PhD, and Cheryl-Anne Cait, PhD. Deena provided me with very helpful advice and insights about critical social work theory, and Cheryl-Anne offered me an important ear in the development of my arguments. More generally, I am very grateful to the members of my committee for the invaluable role they each played as interlocutors in my writing process, shaping the end result in important ways that they cannot be aware. The interest many of my friends, family members and colleagues expressed in my research gave me ample opportunities to succinctly share my ideas and goals; these numerous conversations considerably assisted my struggles to refine both my focus and my understanding. I am especially appreciative of conversations I have had with Rory Crath, Florence Loh, Thayer Case, Henny DeLange, Adrienne Chambon, Dennis iii Costello, Marshall Fine and Nick Coady, all of whom, in different ways, have contributed to the ways I handled various aspects of this thesis. Rory additionally read an earlier draft of the first chapter and gave me important feedback, helping to clarify my thinking about the tensions between critical social workers' different theoretical allegiances. I would also like to thank the many clients I have had the good fortune to work with over the past few years. In their willingness to share some of their struggles and their achievements with me, my clients provided much of the inspiration for this project, and taught me in ways that no set of readings could ever do, however exhaustive. Above all, I owe the most to my wife, Kirsten Ainsworth-Vincze. Through countless conversations, Kirsten was a sounding board for my ongoing efforts to conceive and articulate this thesis. At every stage of the process, she provided insightful comments and suggestions, enormously contributing to the form and content of the final product. I am deeply grateful for her patience and support, without which I could never have learned as much as I have. IV Table of Contents Introduction Chapter One: Critical Social Work Approaches to Clinical Practice 7 • Critical Social Work: From Modern to Present-Day 7 • Critical Social Work Theory for the Personal and Interpersonal Levels 11 • Critical Social Work Practice on the Personal and Interpersonal Levels 23 • Non-Oppressive Clinical Practices 26 • Critical Self-Reflexivity 29 • Michael White's Narrative Therapy 32 • Discussion: Critical Approaches to Clinical Social Work Practice 34 Chapter Two: Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Theory for 43 Critical Social Work Practice • Two Psychoanalytic Traditions: Drive and Relational Models 43 • Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Development 49 • The Relational Matrix 51 • Conflict in Relatedness 57 • The Relational Unconscious 60 • Politicizing the Relational Matrix 68 • Politicizing the Unconscious 72 • Intersubjective Recognition and Overcoming Relations of Domination 80 • Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Perspectives on 83 Clinical Processes • Mutuality and Constructivism 85 • Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Perspectives 89 on Countertransference • Enactment 92 • Enactments of Dominant Discourse 99 V Table of Contents (Continued) • Discussion: What Can Contemporary Relational Psychoanalytic Theory 101 Contribute to Critical Social Work Theory? •Conclusion 117 References 119 1 Introduction Many proponents of "critical" social work see a fundamental division between "critical" and "traditional" approaches to social work and trace the historical origins of this division back to the earliest beginnings of the profession (e.g. Mullaly, 2007; Pozzuto, Angell & Dezendorf, 2005).1 In these accounts, the two most significant progenitors of social work, the Charitable Organization Society (COS) and the Settlement House Movement, (SHM) are characterized as having had diametrically opposed approaches to the social problems they sought to address in Europe and North American in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The COS is seen as mostly having assisted impoverished individuals to become more productive and self-sufficient members of society; this is considered the early template for what
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