Qualitative Social Work

Involving service users as full partners in qualitative research requires a reappraisal of many aspects of methodology and practice. This article reflects on a research project which explored the impact upon mental health service users of having been compulsorily admitted to hospital. All interviews were conducted by service user researchers who also played a key role in devising research questions and evaluating results. Building on theoretical understandings of standpoint knowledge and power relations, the article reflects on how well partnership was achieved, and on the contribution made by service users at each stage of the research. It concludes that, while the process of collaboration was generally positive for both service user and academic researchers, imbalances of power could skew relationships and impact adversely on the potential value of the research. It is hoped that this will contribute to current debates as to how best to take forward service user involvement in social work and mental health research.

The aim of this study was to explore parents' and therapists' experiences of treatment processes in early childhood interventions. The parents and their therapists reflected on their experiences in joint interviews. The interpretation led to the crystallization of five central themes. The starting point was marked by 'parents' fear versus professional(s') confidence'. This formed the background against which both parties aimed at 'making sense of the situation'. The subsequent therapeutic process was characterized by the parents' and the professionals' 'striving for reciprocal responsiveness' and it led to the 'alteration of inner images'. Finally the two parties made a 'retrospective reflection on the nature of the relation'. Together these themes constitute the co-creation of a therapeutic process by bridging a gap that is created by fear, by power differentials and by differences in familiarity with the context. The parents shoulder responsibility for creating a cooperative relationship, and this is facilitated if they meet a 'normal, friendly and knowledgeable therapist who is capable of admitting that he/she may be wrong'.

The objective of this study is to contribute towards understanding how welfare and justice discourses become apparent in institutional conversations where social workers involved in child protection have dual professional identities: that of helper and of gatekeeper. In this article we analyse a specific conversational practice in a particular child protection context: social workers asking questions about hypothetical situations in interviews with prospective adoptive parents. We show the nature of these questions in face-to-face interactions between social workers and prospective adoptive parents. In addition, we also analyse how the social workers manage to integrate aspects of testing the capabilities of the prospective adoptive parents while, at the same time, also helping them to become even better prepared parents. Using the method of conversation analysis makes it possible to analyse how the social workers are doing being a gatekeeper and/or helper without spelling that out.

This article describes and analyses a piece of participative action research in which the author, working with three projects in a UK children's voluntary organization, inquired into the nature and management of innovation. The research enabled those involved to reflect upon innovation as an incremental process of service and practice development. We learnt that, for it to be effective, such a process requires opportunities for critical reflection by practitioners, working collaboratively within an organizational framework where individual and organizational learning is valued and facilitated. The concept of the learning organization has proved a useful tool in evaluating and critically analysing this research work.

The study examines the features and process of social work supervision in Hong Kong. A successful client outcome is the main objective, but supervisors perceive supervision as a rational and systematic process, whereas supervisees expect emotional support and teamwork. The supervisory relationship is both personal and professional. Tension is reduced by the traditional Chinese cultural values of reciprocity: qing, yuan, and 'face'. The strategy of using supervisory authority is 'consensus by consultation and consent' — which reduces conflict and gains acceptance. The journey of this study charts the interactions among my personal, professional, and academic identities. In order to conduct the research, I have to be more 'academic'. However, without my professional experience, I could not interpret the information in a meaningful manner. When I reviewed the data on the effects of traditional Chinese values, my personal self was reminded that I am also Chinese and that I share these beliefs.

Drawing upon interview data from a study investigating the experiences of 20 non-resident mothers in the UK, this article explores the narratives of two participants, one who volunteered to become the non-resident parent and one who lost residence against her will. The central focus of the article is concerned with participants' discursive management of their atypical situation. Specific attention is paid to the different ways in which these women presented their situations and how they positioned themselves in relation to dominant cultural scripts surrounding motherhood. It is argued that non-resident mothers are at risk of isolation as a consequence of social stigma and this may pose barriers to their taking a full and active part in the lives of their children. Suggestions are made whereby social workers might play a useful role in facilitating and supporting non-resident mothers within their locality. The issues raised have relevance for other western jurisdictions operating within a framework of gender-neutral family policy because, the number of non-resident mothers can be expected to rise in line with high family breakdown and divorce rates.