Some people suggest that previous adverse life experiences often spur people into becoming social workers. Do those experiences give them a better understanding of where service users are coming from? Or can they be unhelpful, if there are issues from the past which they haven't yet dealt with? I'd be interested in your thoughts.
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simeon2: Or can they be unhelpful, if there are issues from the past which they haven't yet dealt with? I'd be interested in your thoughts.
Or can they be unhelpful, if there are issues from the past which they haven't yet dealt with? I'd be interested in your thoughts.
I know of a teacher who participated to a high level in a CP case. She subsequently became pregnant. Her involvement in the CP case caused difficulties during the pregnancy and subsequently.
My advice therefore to managers and Social Workers is to incorporate into the "risk assessment" for pregnant staff in CP an analysis of whether the work they are doing carries a "risk"
I'd say they can be both, depending on whether the individual has dealt with them adequately and has a certain distance between the events and themselves, time-wise too. On the other hand however, any incident within one's social work career can throw up emotions and memories that were previously forgotten that can temporarily cause one problems, so I'm not sure if it's ever possible to make sure one is completely and utterly 'ready' in that sense.
Adverse life events can be a powerful motivator for a social work career, especially for those with experience of the other side of services, either positive or negative. Possibly the most useful aspect of adverse life events might be the role they play in individuals developing resilience- which is an essential characteristic for an emotionally stressful social work career.
I'm sure adverse life experiences are a huge motivating factor in many people's decisions to enter social work. I know they were, for me. However, I have never mentioned my personal experiences at work.. I am at an early stage in my career, but this strategy seems to be working well for me. I generally feel that the less shared, the better...
I don't think adverse life experience make people better Social Workers than people that did not encounter adversity. I think it it is more important for a person to make sense of their own experience, be them good or bad, to develop a non-judgemental attitude to their service users and to have the positive outlook on life to inspire trust in others than to have "been there". If people that have met adversity have not dealt with their own traumas they cannot contain their service users' anxiety, they might become dismissive, over protective or colluding. Yes, it might make more sense to a service user to relate to somebody that has been through their own experiences, but that does not necessarily mean they will get a better service.
It's a big debate, and I don't know. However, what I do know, is that there are significant proportions of us who have had adverse life experiences.
I was a child protection trainer in the early '90's, and stumbled across some illuminating research. I seem to recall that someone had done a confidential postal survey via the professional publications for nurses, police officers, social workers. It turned out that quite high proportions (I think it was in the realms of 15%, way above the norm - whatever that is) of them had suffered physical or sexual abuse in their childhoods. I'll leave you to ponder what the connections are, but it certainly made me change my practice when delivering multi-agency courses on particularly sensitive subjects.
Some very sound advice above. One does not have to go throgh an adverse life experience to empathises with someone who has. Knowledge, sensitivity and skills are what is needed.
My second son was stillborn - and when I went back to work in CP I found myself getting so cross at clients who abused their children when we had lost our precious baby. How could they not value their kids? It took some good management and a lot of soul searching to get me back to non judgemental work. But I never told any client about my experiences - one has always to be professional. And anyway - who wants to hear about their social worker's troubles.
Patient: "Doctor, Doctor... I've got a bad back".....Doctor: "You think you've got a bad back, mine is just terrible."
Stephen V
I feel this category of social workers can be split in to two groups:
Those who have 'been there' but quietly learn from this and go about their job with both great professionalism and great empathy (i love you!). Sometimes , after careful consideration, this worker may reveal their own experiences to the service user.
Then there are those who have 'been there' and don't half want you to know about it! I recall some DV training a couple of years back and two participants seemingly having a competition as to who had experienced the worst abuse at the hand of partners - whatever they had both been through they clearly hadn't made any sense of it and i would question what use their obviously still raw experiences would be to service users.
I also recall once accommodating a child and within 10 min of getting the lass through the front door the resi worker was giving us his life story about how he had been in care for years and how he's now forgiven his parents and moved on blah blah. Completely inappropriate and the poor kid just looked bewildered.
I feel quite strongly about this issue as although i wouldn't call my experiences adverse experiences, my family have always had social work support (disbility) and i have in my last job, very selectively revealed details of this to my clients. I found it to be a powerful bonding tool and can help a client to feel that you truly understand them but generally i kept my mouth shut. You dont have to go around talking about yourself for these experiences to be useful, i remember one family giving feedback to an IRO about how they were amazed by the assessment i had done of their family as after 16 years of social work support mine was the first that really captured what life was like for their family and how i seemed to instinctively understand what kind of support they were after. Well it wasnt instinct at all, it was because i had 'been there' and was bringing my experiences to the table but to openly discuss myself with that family? Its rarely necassary or appropriate.
Without wishing to pry into your previous life experiences, I think that you may have a duty to your employer to share these with your manager as these may have an impact on the type of work you may be ready to undertake. That way you wont put your employment at risk; your manager can assess where you are up to within yourself and your caseload and what cases you are happy to undertake; assess any further support you may need; discuss your willingness to share with your team your experiences and how you would feel about that. It may also be that your experiences may enhance the level and type of service on offer and make a real difference.
I would speak to your Manager if I were you.
In responding to Stephen V's post; I would say that "knowledge, sensitivity and skills" are more empathically delivered to service users if the social worker's practice is based on previous life experience. However, I entirely agree with you Stephen that you have to remain professional - if you have issues surrounding a case you are dealing with - it is up to you to share that with your Manager so that both you and the service user can be supported.
I'm with ThinkPink on this issue, in terms of timing and content etc., and with Steven V on recognising that you're struggling.
My personal bag (or is that red rag ?) was always those service users who were ground down by structural poverty (my childhood and all that). I used to ferociously pitch into scraps with the Gas Board/ Elec Board/ Water Board/ Housing Office (in the days before we had any agreements on debt management etc) . At one level it was positive because it worked, and I could avoid them getting cut off. However, a wise Team Leader put a steadying hand on my shoulder one day, and invited me to reflect on whether I was blurring the family's issues behind my 'injustice warrior 'mentality. Wise words indeed - I recognised I was in danger of doing that.
Stating the obvious, this job obliges you to think through uncomfortable personal issues, and sort them to a level that you can do your job professionally. Not that they go away (whatever the loss/ ability/ anger is) but to get them in their rightful place because our service users don't need anymore crap in their lives.
Well said, Think Pink in response to your post timed at 6.25pm on 6.7.10.
On reflection to Think Pink's post which I agreed with, with the exception that I do not think that it is good practice to share with a service user your own experience of a subject. I think it should definitely be shared within your employment and your manager. It is then up to the individual whether they wish to share with the team or not, dependent on how the individual feels. However, I would maintain the boundaries to service users because this has the potential for other boundaries not to be maintained, not just within that given subject, but with regard to other subjects as well. This has the potential to backfire in some circumstances.
I would speak to your Manager if I were you. "
Was this aimed at me eddison? If so at what point did i ask for your advice?
Just to put your mind at ease my expereince is that my younger sibling has a profound disability and we have had social workers in our lives since the 80s - as i said not an 'adverse' experience but certainly a useful one! I shared these experiences with my employer both in my application form and at interview - in fact i've no doubt this is the reason why i got the job i certainly had no prior experience of working in a children with disabilities team and i was fresh out of uni up against candidates much more experienced than i was! My manager was fully aware of my situation and the fact that after careful consideration i had discussed limited aspects of it with a couple of my more understanding clients (as in those who understand boundaries and wouldnt go on to ask a million and one questions).
Hi Thinkpink,
Sorry - I thought this was an open post forum, which it is, so that by electing to put up your opinions on anything that you want to have an opinion about, then means that others will respond, either invited or not. You have posted your opinions and so have others.
I am glad that you decided to share your situation with your manager and that it had a positive effect on your being employed - it certainly seems to have made a difference to you.
If your comment "as in those who understand boundaries and wouldnt go on to ask a million and one questions" - if that was aimed at me, I would like you to look at my two posts in response to your two posts within this open forum - you will not find one question mark!
"If your comment "as in those who understand boundaries and wouldnt go on to ask a million and one questions" - if that was aimed at me.."
It wasn't, it was a genuine comment about the two clients who i discussed my experiences with. They were sensible, respectful mothers who took comfort in the fact that i understood their anxieties but didn't want to go into "so whats your brothers name.. and what school did he go to.. how did you manage x, y and z aspect of this situation?' That would have been too much.
Sorry for the hostility in my previous post, I just got a strong sense of teaching your granny to suck eggs.
Lemn Sissay, poet in residence at the Southbank Centre, playwright and former care leaver, says: “ When I was growing up in care people always used to say 'you should be a social worker' and I thought 'why?'. Just because I’ve been in care means I would be a good social worker? Why? Children in care should aspire to be storm chasers, doctors, lawyers, writers, builders, plumbers, not social workers." Do others agree?
I'm not sure what it is exactly that Lemn is trying to say?! I agree that not all people who have been through the care system would make good social workers, but that is true of any grouping of people toward a particular vocation and i'm sure there are plenty of care leavers that make exemplary social workers.
I must say i took offence at the suggestion that young people should not aspire to be social workers, that the above mentioned professions are somehow superior to social work. Maybe i'm just beeing defensive but i aspire to be a social worker, and when i qualify next year i will be proud to be a social worker.
Hi Kirsty,
Obviously Lemn did not aspire to becoming a social worker then. That is his choice. He certainly would have known alot about the system; in what way it excels itself; where their is need for development; how he saw himself within it and his role. Lemn says what children in care should aspire to, listing a number of differing professions but not saying what he feels about social workers, and, in my opinion, that is down to each person who has been in care - I dont think there is a right or wrong answer, it is personal choice. The fact that he doesnt refer to himself within that profession but mentions all the other professions says alot.
Hi Frank,
I wonder what proportion of careleavers have gone on to become social workers?
I suppose Lemn is implying that careleavers should not go on to become social workers. I suppose Lemn's statement is open to interpretation, but I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your course and that you will be wearing your social work badge with pride!
Hello eddison.j,
It would be interesting to know how many service users do go on to become social workers, i'm sure there are quite a few, i'm one myself (once i qualify that is!). Maybe i just took the quote the wrong way but i just read some negativity into what Lemn had said. That said, he might not feel like social work was the right avenue for him but it's a dismissive to say, if this is what he is saying, that careleavers shouldn'e become social workers.
Let Lemn be poet in residence at wherever, and let Frank be a social worker.
Good on you both, and best of luck.
Like any open question like this, yes and no. Some service users may find a social worker has insight based upon life experience. Some service users may benefit from a worker who understand what it is like to face economic and social adversity. IE: unemployment, worklessness, poor housing, discrimination, abuse, neglect etc. Being professional requires on to be aware of what influences one's own decision making and perceptions. But this question made me curious to posit the issue of:
Does working in adverse/poor/incompetent/ social work service make you a better or worse social worker?
Worse - unless you have some leadership skills and use them to begin to turn things around. However, if you do have such skills, you will probably move on to something else quite quickly!
In Birmingham a C&F social worker can have 50 allocated cases, with the average being about 30 to 40. How does the 'leader' sort this out? I seem to remember research saying the average social worker lasted 5 years in children's frontline statutory social work. Like teaching it seems to me that many professions are just becoming revolving doors, churning out newly qualified to keep plugging the endless cycle of workers leaving.
I think this raises a couple of questions. Is it you Mac that works in Birmingham C & F or, if not, then how do you know this? If so, then how are you managing your caseload? What or who do you mean by the leader?
It seems to me, like with any experience in life, and dependent on the severity, acknowledgement and capacity to face and move-on, will be how you have dealt with it, or not, as is the case. In other words, resolution.
Are you saying that all of the social workers in Birmingham are leaving? What proportion are leaving? Are they staying in social work or moving to other professions? Are they the newly qualified who are leaving? Or those retiring? I would be interested to know yours and other people's views.
Hi Surfer,
I just wondered why you feel that leadership skills would make someone move on to something else quickly or otherwise? In what way do you think that leadership skills could turn things around?
Hi Mac,
Are you saying that you are working in an adverse, poor and incompetent service?
Adverse life experiences are life's way of making us better people - helping us to learn and grow as people - surely these are positive qualities for a social worker to have?! Life is all about experiences, what we lern from them and how we can use what we have learnt to be better people (including social workers) and use it to support others. It opens our eyes to what is out there, people's suffering, emotions and develops one's empathy - all good social work skills. Why would we want social workers who have never 'been through life experiences'? I can;t actually believe this question has even been asked!
I am more concerned about the general lack of life experience with many newly qualified workers. While the professionalisation of social work may have had benefits it has also attracted many people who have just graduated with little or no experience of life in between their education experience. I have often wondered how I would feel if a person turned up at my door who had no children and limited life experience who then went on to assess my parenting skills and use their value based judgements to basically impact on me and my family. I know I would not be happy. I have known many newly qualified and , dare I say it, young social workers who have no idea what it is like to survive in the real world. They can be extremely judgemental, unable to use authority in a way that demonstrates respect for others and are out of their depth with child protection issues. I know the same can be said of anyone any age but I think it is more apparent in newly qualified post grad workers. I would not suggest that social workers who have experienced adverse life experiences are ideal people for the job as this very much depends on the individual and how they have processed and dealt with the issues effecting them. I would strongly advocate for a lower age limit of 25/26 before anyone should practice as a social worker.
eddison.j: Hi Surfer, I just wondered why you feel that leadership skills would make someone move on to something else quickly or otherwise? In what way do you think that leadership skills could turn things around?
Leadership skills are usually one of the crucial elements in turning round a poor situation; people who are able and willing to say "we could do this differently" and to demonstrate how in their day to day practice.
History seems to show that those with such skills, and the drive to use them, move on to "better" jobs before very long.
Rose,
I fully support your idea that social worker should not be allowed to quailfy until at least 25/26, however I do not support your view that social workers without children should not be allowed to do child protection work. I will be 28 when I quailfy next year and believe that although I do not have children I have plenty of life and placement experience to be able to assess parenting abilties and work in child protection. I also beleive that having your own children could work against you when working in child protection, as you may give more chances etc when faced with removing children as you know the pain this would cause. I am not saying that everyone does this but I think there is a chance it could. I also wonder why you would allow your service users to know you have children, surely this personal information should be kept to yourself to ensure you do not overstep boundaries. I think that this is something that should be assessed on a individual bases as having your own children does not make you a better social worker!
''Those who imprison themselves within the confines of one model only have the perspective of the keyhole''
Hello somewhereovertherainbow (great name),
I would never advocate giving any information about yourself to service users unless you as the individual worker think it is appropriate and are willing to take full responsibility for whatever consequences this may have. This is down to individual judgement. I agree with you that work experience with children and parents (particularly children) contributes towards social work learning. I also agree that some people may take a 'softer' approach with child protection for fear of causing pain to parents. However, I don't think it is harmful, probably helpful, if workers do understand the pain it causes but not let it get in the way of the job. A little compassion can go a long way in building and maintaining relationships with children and parents in sometimes very difficult situations that may also include the removal of children.
Some adverse life experiences could possibly have "adverse" side effects IF you have to deal with a case very similar to the one you were involved in as a child.
For example, If you had been the victim of abuse as a child, but had suppressed and "bottled up" that experience, but then had to deal with a similar event as a SW, It could seriously affect your health if it made you remember your own experience.
If this happens to you or a colleague, You MUST ask for help immediately.