Discourse and narrative approaches to social work research

The essence of social work remains face-to-face engagement with clients, however research which explores what actually happens in such encounters is limited. A large body of research examining institutional talk and... [ view full abstract ]

The essence of social work remains face-to-face engagement with clients, however research which explores what actually happens in such encounters is limited. A large body of research examining institutional talk and interaction has been developed in ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, socio-linguistics and narrative, with studies of doctor-patient consultation, family therapy and classroom interaction, but surprisingly little on social work. Furthermore, there is increasing interest in how discourse and narrative approaches can enable professionals to examine their own interaction.

DANASWAC is an international group of researchers who are exploring what can be gained by detailed study of social work interaction. We have developed a collaborative approach in which data (video or audio) of actual social work encounters (home visits, case conferences, group work etc.) are examined. In particular, we aim to make links between analytical concepts from applied discourse studies (like boundary work or delicacy) with concepts in social work (like boundaries or empathy), thereby facilitating a dialogue between discourse analysis and social work theory.

The paper will examine an extract from a meeting between a mother and a family supervisor in Holland and concerns the placement of a young man in care.

The key analytic concepts are categorisation, accountability, affiliation and resistance. By increasing the awareness of such subtleties, social workers can become more sensitive to client responses.

THIS SESSION WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED AS A WORKSHOP BUT WITH THE REDUCTION OF TIME AVAILABLE THERE WILL NO LONGER BE AN OPPORTUNTY FOR PARTICIPANTS TO EXAMINE THE DATA.