Coercion in the Community: A Situated Approach to the Examination of Ethical Challenges for Mental Health Social Workers

Increasingly, mental health social workers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world are employing coercive interventions with clients. This paper explores this trend in the context of community-based settings, using national and international research literature on this subject. It begins with a discussion about the complex, contested nature of ideas on coercion. The authors then explore debates about how coercion is perceived and applied in practice. They choose two forms of coercion*/informal types of leverage, and the legally mandated use of Community Treatment Orders*/to highlight the range of ethical problems and dilemmas that confront practitioners in this field. The authors conclude by developing a tentative, explanatory model to explain how and why mental health social workers should consider a more holistic, situated approach to help deal with ethical concerns about the use of coercion.

Decision making by senior social workers at point of first referral

In the United Kingdom there has been difficulty in implementing the family support provisions contained in the 1989 Children Act, largely because of continued emphasis on child protection activity by local authorities. There is an observable international tendency for child-care referrals to receive investigative response, resulting in families being traumatized and children's needs left unmet. There has been a lack of research into how child-care referrals are initially categorized by senior social workers. This paper reports on research undertaken in two Health and Social Services Trusts within Northern Ireland to ascertain if it might be possible to treat more initial referrals as 'child-care problem enquiries' as opposed to 'child protection investigations'. Results demonstrate that, while such potential may exist, a preoccupation with the management of risk could lead to the development of child-care problems receiving quasi-child protection responses. Consequently, changes in initial decision making may not have the full intended effects in terms of the organizational release of resources for family support or a lessening of the traumatic impact upon families.

Bereavement Assessment Practice in Hospice Settings: Challenges for Palliative Care Social Workers

The management and delivery of bereavement support services in palliative care settings presents practical and ethical challenges. A national survey, conducted in 2007, examined bereavement practice in ten Marie Curie hospices across the United Kingdom. This qualitative study was undertaken using semi-structured telephone interviews with Bereavement Service Leaders located in each hospice. Although findings revealed that bereavement services were in operation and had been reviewed in response to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence Guidance (2004), and all bereaved families were offered support, there was no standardisation of service delivery across sites. Multi-disciplinary team meetings facilitated shared decision-making for bereavement follow-up, and expanded and clarified documentation completed by nursing staff around the time of the patient’s death. However, there was ambiguity regarding professional ‘duty of care’ and agency responses to bereaved individuals who were suicidal. Questions were raised around clinical effectiveness, reliability and professional accountability. The study highlighted ethical issues centred on documentation, user participation and consent, and found staff training was variable across the 10 hospices. The findings have informed the development of a post-bereavement service model which has been subsequently implemented across Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The UNCRC and social workers' relationships with young children

In the UK, The Munro Review of Child Protection (2010, 2011a, 2011b) has recently highlighted that among the failings in safeguarding children known to social services is the lack of meaningful relationships between social workers and children. In her final report, Munro (2011b) has made recommendations for a more child-centred system anchored on two themes – the child's journey and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This article illustrates by way of practical examples how the UNCRC, together with the detailed advice and guidance contained in the UNCRC general comments numbers 5, 7 and 12, provides the best framework for developing effective social work relationships with, and safeguarding, young children.

UNCRC and social workers' relationships with young children

This paper considers the provisions of the UNCRC and applies them to the field of child protection suggesting new ways of working that are rights compliant.

Exploring communication between social workers, children and young people

A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicative encounters with children and families. This article introduces some findings from a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that took place across the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2015, which explored how social workers communicate with children in their everyday practice. The Talking and Listening to Children (TLC) project had three phases: the first was ethnographic, involving observations of social workers in their workplace and during visits; the second used video-stimulated recall with a small number of children and their social workers; and the third developed online materials to support social workers. This paper discusses findings from the first phase. It highlights a diverse picture regarding the context and content of communicative processes; it is argued that attention to contextual issues is as important as focusing on individual practitioners’ behaviours and outlines a model for so doing.

Does Inappropriate Quality Control Demotivate Workers

The construction industry requires quality control and regulation of its contingent,unpredictable environment. However, taking too much control from workers candisempower and demotivate. In the 1970s Deci and Ryan developed selfdeterminationtheory which states that in order to be intrinsically motivated, threecomponents are necessary - competence, autonomy and relatedness. This study aimsto examine the way in which the three ‘nutriments’ for intrinsic motivation may beundermined by heavy-handed quality control. A critical literature review analysesconstruction, psychological and management research regarding the control andmotivation of workers, using self-determination theory as a framework. Initialfindings show that quality management systems do not always work as designed.Workers perceive that unnecessary, wasteful and tedious counter checking of theirwork implies that they are not fully trusted by management to work without oversight.Control of workers and pressure for continual improvement may lead to resistanceand deception. Controlling mechanisms can break the link between performance andsatisfaction, reducing motivation and paradoxically reducing the likelihood of thequality they intend to promote. This study will lead to a greater understanding ofcontrol and motivation, facilitating further research into improvements in theapplication of quality control to maintain employee motivation.