Developing agency in the margins of the motherhood myth: A call for social work researchers

The goal of this presentation is to facilitate the creation of an international research group centered on a critical examination of social work practice with mothers. My talk is grounded in lessons learned from studies I... [ view full abstract ]

The goal of this presentation is to facilitate the creation of an international research group centered on a critical examination of social work practice with mothers. My talk is grounded in lessons learned from studies I conducted in the last decade with women in Israel, whose varied experiences as mothers threatened their self-image and social image as good mothers, and from studies on the perceptions of social workers regarding mothers they meet in their practice. One conclusion drawn from the Israeli studies, reinforcing findings from other countries, is that mothers who fail to comply with the dominant, hegemonic social expectations known as "the motherhood myth", often experience great difficulties and challenges which are not met by a good-enough social work response. Though mothers comprise one of the largest client groups served by social workers, the bulk of intervention with them is directed to improve the well-being of their children.
I suggest that social workers' interventions with mothers are constrained, among other things, by the following: (a) an overriding commitment to the "best interest of the child"; (b) the personal, professional and cultural ramifications of the "motherhood myth"; and (c) a conceptualization of the mothers as victims of dire personal, familial and social circumstances. These conceptions lead to responses ranging from the judgmental to the empathic, but often do not lay an adequate, sufficient professional infrastructure for facilitating agency in mothers who are social work clients. Thus, a potential agenda for a research group on mothers as clients of social work may include a critical examination of the theoretical foundations of such practice, research on social work practice with mothers, and the development and evaluation of innovative practice models in this domain.