Blogging on Contemporary Social Work Issues
Humpreys et al 1999 (cited in Chand, 2005) state that interpreters are a key resource in child protection for families who are not fluent in English. However, despite being an essential element, this area is not well researched in literature. In a further study carried out by Humphries et al (1999), a woman was tasked... Continue Reading →
It is thought-provoking to note that various definitions of professional supervision do not refer to supervision as being a perceived surveillance tool by management in the quest to shape the practitioner into a more organizationally acceptable means of professional practice. The boundary between reflective practice and clinical supervision turns out to be apparent when bearing... Continue Reading →
Introduction This study examined post-primary principals’ attitudes to mandatory child protection and welfare referrals to The Child and Family Agency, Tusla. My interest in this research topic stemmed from the fact that I am a qualified post-primary school teacher. There was also a strong academic reason for undertaking this research as there are currently no... Continue Reading →
Amanda Casey, Head Medical Social Worker. May 2020. Introduction The changes in work practice required during the Covid 19 pandemic have impacted on the delivery of the social work service in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH). These changes apply to both how we interact with patients and service users and also how we communicate... Continue Reading →
Declan Coogan & Eileen Lauster, 30th April 2020 “It’s a lot worse than it was” Patsy and Mike, the parents of 13 year old Marie (not their real names), rang their social worker in Galway. Their daughter‘s behaviour had got worse since the COVID 19 pandemic closed schools and the places where they worked. Marie... Continue Reading →
The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has profoundly changed how we live our lives, work in our jobs and relate to and communicate with our families, friends, our wider communities and our colleagues. Our collective sense of normality has been shaken and we have no real idea of how long the current situation will last. Equally we... Continue Reading →
In Ireland, as we try our best to settle in to week three of home-working (where possible), work, school and university closures, social distancing strategies and, more recently, the concept of cocooning for those who are vulnerable and/or over 70, it is clear that Covid 19 is having a significant impact on our way of... Continue Reading →
Author: Professor Caroline McGregor, NUI Galway Introduction At the beginning of this third decade of the 21st century, the level of sophistication we have arrived at in relation to social work allows us to dig deep to articulate the relations between social work theories and practices. Many advanced examples of theory-practice relations in social work... Continue Reading →
As a social worker, psychotherapist and researcher, I have heard parents describe their feelings of walking on eggshells around their child and of living in fear of the next explosive outburst leading to threats and acts of harm and/ or violence against parents who feel powerless and alone. Social workers and other health and social care practitioners in voluntary and statutory services talk about the feelings we face when parents and carers tell us about living in fear of their child under the age of 18 years old. We are faced with difficult dilemmas: how can we resist the impulse towards a quick and easy solution that probably will not work in the long run? How can we resolve the dilemmas that this raises for us? How can we anchor ourselves & keep a clear focus on helping the parents and the young person?
