Developing reflective practice Making sense of social work in a world of change Edited by Helen Martyn DEVELOPING REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Making sense of social work in a world of change Edited by Helen Martyn With: Michael Atkinson, Mary Cody, Jane Dutton, Veronique Faure, Rosemary Gordon, Patrick Kidner, Stephen Kitchman, Patrick Lonergan, Michael O’Dempsey, Sigurd Reimers and Kate Wilson The•POLICY P P PRESS First published in Great Britain in June 2000 by The Policy Press University of Bristol 34 Tyndall’s Park Road Bristol BS8 1PY UK Tel +44 (0)117 954 6800 Fax +44 (0)117 973 7308 E-mail [email protected] http://www.bristol.ac.uk/Publications/TPP © The Policy Press, 2000 ISBN 978 186134 238 6 Helen Martyn was formerly Lecturer in Social Work, Goldsmiths College, University of London. The National Institute for Social Work receives support from the Department of Health and aims to promote excellence in social work and social care. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of funding bodies. The right of Helen Martyn to be identified as editor of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with Sections 77 and 78 of the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act. All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers. The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the authors and contributors and not of The University of Bristol or The Policy Press. The University of Bristol and The Policy Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any material published in this publication. The Policy Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age and sexuality. Front cover: Photograph supplied by kind permission of www.johnbirdsall.co.uk Cover design by Qube Design Associates, Bristol Printed in Great Britain by Hobbs the Printers Ltd, Southampton Contents Preface by Daphne Statham CBE v Reflections, partnerships and teams: an acknowledgement vii Notes on contributors and commentators viii Introduction by Helen Martyn xi Part 1: Direct work with children and young people Introduction Helen Martyn 2 Case studies James: Moving on to independent living 10 Patrick Lonergan Eve: From victim to healthy survivor? 21 Mary Cody Amos and Christopher: Working towards care proceedings 31 Michael O’Dempsey Carol: Moving to a permanent placement 45 Stephen Kitchman Sarah: Understanding and containing damage and disturbance? 59 Veronique Faure Commentary from an academic perspective 75 Kate Wilson Commentary from a practitioner perspective 87 Rosemary Gordon Learning points 98 Rosemary Gordon iii Developing reflective practice Part 2: Work with families Introduction Helen Martyn 100 Case studies The Phillips family: An adoption assessment 108 Mary Cody The Drays: Breaking the pattern of reactive behaviour 123 Stephen Kitchman The Reids: Putting boundaries in place 133 Michael Atkinson The Green family: Work with a lone parent and her children 149 Patrick Lonergan Carol, Anna and Khadia: Work with a three generation black family 169 Veronique Faure Commentary from an academic perspective 177 Jane Dutton Commentary from a practitioner perspective 187 Sigurd Reimers Learning points 197 Helen Martyn Part 3: Implications for policy and practice A management perspective Patrick Kidner 200 References and further reading 211 iv Preface Daphne Statham CBE Developing reflective practice challenges a number of stereotypes about social work. Far from not having a knowledge base, the writers demonstrate that expert practitioners use a wide range of existing theories and methodologies. The writers, all students on Goldsmith College’s Advanced Programme, also widened their theoretical base by accessing the expertise of other professionals. Like any experts they know when they do not have the skills to do the work unaided, and to take the initiative in supplementing what they know and can do. As a result their expertise as social workers shines out. Far from being bound by organisational procedures, they were creative in tailoring their work to individual children and young people. The chapters show how social work can make a difference to the way young people face their pasts and live their futures. The book provides a welcome resource for identifying what needs to be in place for social workers to become expert in what they do. This cannot be achieved without support from experienced colleagues and access to other professions. Good practice is essentially interprofessional and crosses organisational boundaries. This recognition has all too often been absent in recent years, when supervision has often concentrated on accountability for budgets and procedures. Important though this is, it is not enough if we are to move from routine to skilled practice tailored to the specific support required by individual children and young people. The opportunity to reflect on practice is essential if social workers are to develop their expertise and provide services that are child and young people centred. A second theme is that good practice cannot be sustained if social workers cannot face the pain of working with young people who have had severe and damaging experiences (DoH, 1988). The fact that without support most workers will not hear what young people are saying has been well established for many years. We ignore this knowledge to the peril of young people’s futures. The Quality Protects initiative has made these futures the core business of organisations working with children and young people. v Developing reflective practice Social workers are important to young people: whether they are good or not matters to them. Both the young people and the social workers Jenny Morris interviewed agreed that neither was satisfied with what was happening. They mentioned lack of time, too many cases and not being listened to as things that blocked young people getting the support they expected from their social workers (Morris, 2000). Young people say that they want a relationship that demonstrates that what happens to them matters. If workers are to achieve this, they must become committed to the young people they work with. There are consequences for social workers as well as for young people as a result of the fragmentation of services or organisational restructuring. Both will experience loss when the relationship ends or changes its basis. Successful outcomes are dependent on providing access to excellent, not indifferent or even mediocre, support for social workers. Lifelong learning is an expectation for the population as a whole. The importance of continuing professional development being built into the careers of social workers is well demonstrated in each chapter of this book. Good intentions are insufficient. The skills secured in qualifying training can easily be degraded into what passes muster in the employing agency. Where standards are high, learning on the job will be a major source for improvement. Equally, organisations that promote excellence will assume that this alone will not be enough. External expertise is a resource that needs to supplement, but not replace, learning from and alongside colleagues. Together these create a critical mass of expertise that can deliver the core business of the organisation: supporting children and young people in overcoming obstacles that have blocked their development, so that they can fulfil their potential and play their part in community life. Finally, each chapter puts a nail in the coffin of the view that social work requires no more from those who practice it than learning how to be a ‘streetwise granny’. Honourable though the role of grandmother is, and much as I love being one, the idea that being streetwise is sufficient is totally misconceived. The work is highly complex. The level of education and training required to do the work must rise not decrease, and post-qualifying and advanced learning has to become routine and not the exception. This is something most social workers know is necessary and want. The students’ work recorded in Developing reflective practice, and the outcomes for the children and young people they worked with, show that the investment of time and resources is well worthwhile. vi Reflections, partnerships and teams: an acknowledgement Helen Martyn A reflection may be either a replica or a distortion of the original (as anyone who has visited Madame Tussaud’s will know). A partnership requires a twosome, but rather than one side being an image or reflection of the other, the two may be quite different and the coming together the result of a common interest or shared commitment. Developing reflective practice has resulted from a partnership, originally growing out of a developing relationship between Goldsmiths College and the National Institute for Social Work (NISW). Were it not for her reluctance, it would be attributed to a joint editorship, for without Margaret Hogan, Publications Manager at NISW, and the resources of NISW, most notably the technical assistance of Gary Parselle, this book would not have progressed from an idea to a reality. In acknowledging and thanking Margaret for her skilled and informed work and her enthusiastic commitment, I also want to say that like other productive partnerships, it has also been enjoyable. Partnerships can extend into team work and this has also happened, most significantly with Patrick Kidner’s involvement in planning the book as well as contributing the final chapter. Yet the bulk is written by six former members of the Goldsmiths Programme and the four commentators. My warmest thanks to each and all of them. And last, but by no means least, to my own partner Roger, whose staunch and tolerant support and willing involvement has helped to compensate for my technological, and other, inadequacies.