What We see and what we say in social work; Rational for using images in practice and research of youth

Being central to human functioning, images contribute to the individual's ability to remain oriented in the world in light of memories of past experiences and envisioning methods of problem-solving based on these images. Arts... [ view full abstract ]

Being central to human functioning, images contribute to the individual's ability to remain oriented in the world in light of memories of past experiences and envisioning methods of problem-solving based on these images. Arts will be shown to be an effective tool for researching non western and marginalized groups as it is based in spatial embodied, but also indirect metaphorical concepts, rather than western abstract conceptualizations of problems and of solutions. Researching and practicing social work with the help of images specifically, or visual information in general, can help to reveal the client’s own hermeneutic understandings of the issue. This has particular relevance to social work populations from diverse cultural backgrounds. This presentation is based on my book called What we see and what we say: Using the Arts in Social Research and Practice published by Rutledge as well as on two articles –one focusing on methods and one on arts as social change, both in the British Journal of Social Work. Examples of arts use in micro and macro research settings will be used to illustrate these points. Images will be discussed in terms of process product, and interpretation, as well as in terms of cultural context; A typology of uses of images within social work research will be presented, explaining how to use images as data, method, subject, or product of the research, and the advantages of each use will be outlined. This abstract connects to the conference theme of
of research methodologies (as social resistance to dominant narratives) and to research of social work participants, cultures and contexts.