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Social Work Sep 2022This article addresses references to people's natural environments in some of the central declarative statements that shape social work worldwide. Four types of...
This article addresses references to people's natural environments in some of the central declarative statements that shape social work worldwide. Four types of documents were analyzed, including statements associated with the Global Definition of Social Work, the Global Standards for Social Work Education and Training, the Global Social Work Statement of Ethical Principles, and the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative. The analysis was driven by a critical-interpretive approach, seeking explicit and possibly implied references to nature and the environment across documents, with special attention to themes concerning the relationship between micro and macro perspectives, disciplinarity and inter- or transdisciplinarity, and relations between humankind and nature. In general, direct references to social work's possible intersections with issues related to nature and the natural environment were scarce in the materials examined. That having been said, our analysis did find that ecocentered interpretations enable locating prospective "bridges" for the incorporation of deeper ecological perceptions of social work into statements. Such findings constitute a call to action, and the possible implications of continuing to broadly disregard ecological aspects of social work in core materials published by influential professional institutions are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Prospective Studies; Social Work
PubMed: 35856137
DOI: 10.1093/sw/swac027 -
Social Work Apr 2020Empathy has held a vital and enduring standing in the theory and practice of clinical social work. Defining and conceptualizing empathy is a continuing challenge in... (Review)
Review
Empathy has held a vital and enduring standing in the theory and practice of clinical social work. Defining and conceptualizing empathy is a continuing challenge in social work and across the human services. A multitude of definitions of empathy exist in the therapeutic literature, creating confusion relating to research findings and treatment processes. Recent trends emphasize an overarching and expansive way of conceiving empathic understanding in the therapeutic relationship and informing treatment practice. Multiple perspectives of empathy facilitate a broad and wide-ranging engagement of the practitioner and the client in the therapeutic process. With significant implications for clinical social workers, an integral model capitalizes on the engagement of empathy from multiple ways of knowing: subjective, objective, and interpersonal. Numerous clinical examples illustrate applications of the tripartite model in social work practice. The integral empathy model is amenable to research and training across therapeutic contexts in social work and related fields.
Topics: Empathy; Humans; Models, Psychological; Professional-Patient Relations; Psychotherapy; Social Work; Social Workers
PubMed: 32266410
DOI: 10.1093/sw/swaa009 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2023The social work profession has been exploring nonpharmacological interventions for patients with cognitive impairment, but there are few evidence-based research outputs.... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
The social work profession has been exploring nonpharmacological interventions for patients with cognitive impairment, but there are few evidence-based research outputs. Systematically evaluating the effectiveness of social work interventions for people with cognitive impairment can shed light on the matter to further improve similar interventions. Randomized controlled trials of nonpharmacological interventions for patients with cognitive impairment were selected from key literature databases in both English and Chinese from 2010 to 2021. A systematic review and meta-analysis with Revman 5.4 were performed. Seven trials were included, involving 851 patients with cognitive impairment. The meta-analysis showed that, in terms of overall cognitive function, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score (MD = 1.64, 95% CI [0.97, 2.30], < 0.001) of the intervention group was superior to the control group, but there was no significant difference in the Mini-Mental State Examination score between the two groups (MD = 0.33, 95% CI [-0.16, 0.82], = 0.18). Compared with the control group, nonpharmacological intervention can effectively improve the neuropsychiatric condition of patients (SMD = -0.42, 95% CI [-0.64, -0.20], = 0.0002). In summary, the current evidence shows that nonpharmacological social work interventions had a positive effect on the cognitive function and neuropsychiatric status of patients with cognitive impairment. Suggestions for future nonpharmacological intervention practice are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Cognitive Dysfunction; Cognition; Social Work
PubMed: 36767272
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20031906 -
International Journal of Environmental... Sep 2021When graduates of Australian social work courses embark on a career in mental health, the systems they enter are complex, fragmented and evolving. Emerging practitioners...
When graduates of Australian social work courses embark on a career in mental health, the systems they enter are complex, fragmented and evolving. Emerging practitioners will commonly be confronted by the loneliness, social exclusion, poverty and prejudice experienced by people living with mental distress; however, social work practice may not be focused on these factors. Instead, in accordance with the dominant biomedical perspective, symptom and risk management may predominate. Frustration with the limitations evident in this approach has seen the United Nations call for the transformation of mental health service delivery. Recognising paradigmatic influences on mental health social work may lead to a more considered enactment of person centred, recovery and rights-based approaches. This paper compares and contrasts influences of neo-liberalism, critical theory, human rights and post-structuralism on mental health social work practice. In preparing social work practitioners to recognise the influence of, and work more creatively with, intersecting paradigms, social work educators strive to foster a transformative approach to mental health practice that straddles discourses.
Topics: Australia; Humans; Mental Disorders; Mental Health; Mental Health Services; Social Work
PubMed: 34574437
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18189504 -
Internal and Emergency Medicine Sep 2023
Topics: Humans; Delivery of Health Care; European Union; Social Work
PubMed: 37329430
DOI: 10.1007/s11739-023-03342-4 -
British Journal of Nursing (Mark Allen... Mar 2024
Topics: Adult; Humans; Social Support; Social Work; England
PubMed: 38512785
DOI: 10.12968/bjon.2024.33.6.281 -
Social Work Sep 2022The social construction of cannabis has important implications for policy, research, practice, and education in social work. The objective of this article is to chart...
The social construction of cannabis has important implications for policy, research, practice, and education in social work. The objective of this article is to chart the construction of cannabis in articles published in social work journals across the past half century. The author critically reviews empirical articles with references to cannabis published in 15 key social work journals between 1970 and 2018. Systematic searches resulted in a combined set of 510 articles, of which 244 matched the inclusion criteria for this study. A content and thematic analysis of the corpus identified the dominant construction of cannabis in social work research literature as a harmful substance undifferentiated from other drugs. This construction was challenged by a minority of the articles in three ways: (1) by differentiating between use and abuse and between cannabis as a soft drug and a hard drug; (2) by highlighting social inequality as an important component of any consideration of social work policy and practice with regard to cannabis use; and (3) by considering the possible positive effects of cannabis use. This article calls for a revision of the construction of cannabis use in social work.
Topics: Cannabis; Humans; Social Work
PubMed: 35869948
DOI: 10.1093/sw/swac030 -
Journal of Social Work in End-of-life &... 2024
Topics: Humans; Terminal Care; Palliative Care; Social Work
PubMed: 38838266
DOI: 10.1080/15524256.2024.2362049 -
International Journal of Environmental... May 2023Recent research into the role of mental health social work has identified a need for increased critical engagement with accounts of professional role and identity.... (Review)
Review
Recent research into the role of mental health social work has identified a need for increased critical engagement with accounts of professional role and identity. Notably, a number of studies have found that social workers struggle to articulate their role within mental health teams and services. This study aimed to identify the ways in which social workers in mental health settings defined their professional identity and role. An international scoping review utilizing Arksey and O'Malley's method was conducted, identifying 35 papers published between 1997 and 2022. A thematic analysis grouped the findings into three predominant themes: (i) distinct social work approaches to mental health, (ii) organizational negotiations for mental health social workers, and (iii) professional negotiations for mental health social workers. These thematic findings are discussed in relation to existing research and critical perspectives, with particular emphasis on accounts of the bureaucratic and ideological functioning of professionalism in mental health services, as well as the global direction of mental health policy. This review finds that mental health social work embodies a coherent identity that aligns with international mental health policy agendas but faces significant challenges in developing and expressing this identity within mental health services.
Topics: Humans; Social Workers; Mental Health Services; Mental Health; Social Work; Professional Role
PubMed: 37297551
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20115947 -
Social Work Apr 2020The landscape of relationships, gender, and sexuality continues to change rapidly across the world. This includes recognition of relationship styles such as polyamory,... (Review)
Review
The landscape of relationships, gender, and sexuality continues to change rapidly across the world. This includes recognition of relationship styles such as polyamory, in which individuals have multiple romantic relationships with the knowledge and consent of all involved. In the academic literature on polyamory, social work perspectives are noticeably absent. Thus, a scoping review concerning social work, counseling, and polyamory was conducted to assess knowledge from the last decade and to contribute to the field. The themes that arose were the need for clinicians to examine their biases toward monogamy and polyamory, including perceptions of insecure attachment and a lack of commitment in polyamorous relationships. The literature also recognizes that polyamorous individuals often have fluid identities and sexual orientations. Finally, social workers have a duty to create a safe environment for polyamorous clients because of widespread societal stigma. As social work values client self-determination and examination of societal discourses, the field would benefit from further research into polyamory; this article is just the beginning.
Topics: Attitude of Health Personnel; Clinical Competence; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Professional-Patient Relations; Sexual Behavior; Sexuality; Social Stigma; Social Work; Social Workers
PubMed: 32236469
DOI: 10.1093/sw/swaa011