Developing Mothering Narratives in Child Protection Practice

Davies, Linda; Krane, Julia; Collings, Sara; Wexler, Sharon Stahl

doi:10.1080/02650530601173516

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…In this picture there is little room for ambivalence, hate, and aggression etc., in our understanding of normal maternal emotions. This unrealistic portrait of maternal caring implicitly informs the ideal of caring that relationship workers carry (Davies et al, 2007).…”

Section: Feminist and Object Relations' Conceptions Of Practicementioning

confidence: 96%

Gender, Mothering And Relational Work

Ramvi¹,

Davies²

2010

Journal of Social Work Practice

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GENDER, MOTHERING AND RELATIONAL WORKRelationships are fundamental to the work of teachers, nurses and social workers. Women by and large staff these occupations which are also called 'relationship work'. In this article we compare the feminine ideal (often implicitly derived from a maternal ideal) with the ideal held by female relation workers. We suggest that taken for granted ideals of perfectionism in mothering are carried into relation work by the female relation workers themselves and the society at large. As a consequence, female relationship workers have a constrained portrait of themselves, leaving little opportunity and permission to explore the difficult emotional and situational complexities that they experience in their professional practice. Psychoanalytic and feminist perspectives allow challenging of these constraining implicit ideals. We argue the need for an expanded ideal that allows for negative feelings, creativity and uncertainty in professional relationships.

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Section: Feminist and Object Relations' Conceptions Of Practicementioning

confidence: 96%

Gender, Mothering And Relational Work

Ramvi¹,

Davies²

2010

Journal of Social Work Practice

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“…These shifts have occurred in concert with a call for social workers to think relationally about the mothers and fathers with whom they work, and self-reflexively about their work (Featherstone, 2006;Davies et al, 2007). The difficulty of women judging other women's maternal capabilities has been acknowledged within social work (Featherstone, 1997b;Davies et al, 2003;Tempel, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Maternal Ambivalence in Female Psychotherapy Relationships

Wexler¹

2008

Journal of Social Work Practice

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MATERNAL AMBIVALENCE IN FEMALE PSYCHOTHERAPY RELATIONSHIPSAs social workers often provide various types of clinical interventions to marginalized, distraught mothers, an understanding of how gender issues influence these female clinical relationships is required. This paper draws on one case study from within a larger research project in which the intra-psychic and inter-relational impact of maternal ambivalence in clinical exchanges between the female psychotherapist and five, low-income single mothers was examined over a two year period. The case study presented here highlights the generational, relational, and psychic impact of manageable and unmanageable feelings of maternal ambivalence. A feminist psychoanalytic interpretation of maternal ambivalence and relational theory provided the theoretical framework. The relevance of the findings for social work practice is discussed.

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“…Family support teams need to navigate any resistance by understanding the complexity of each family's individual context and by listening to the stories that mothers tell of their mothering experiences (Davies et al . ). Professionals working in this area need to be aware of the myths and stereotypes that exist in order to help young mothers to ‘re‐story’ negative experiences, reduce stigma and build resilience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Engaging on the ‘front line’: exploring how family support teams construct meaning in their work with young mothers

Leese

2016

Child & Family Social Work

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This paper explores the provision of family support services for young mothers within a Sure Start Children's Centre, drawing on data collected within a larger study. It identifies how the family support team attempted to build supportive relationships with young mothers between the ages of 16 and 19 years. The findings presented here draw on narrative interviews (n = 10) and focus group interviews (n = 2) with the family support team that included early years workers, family support workers and their managers. The findings captured how the participants actively resisted the stigma (Goffman 1963) of teenage motherhood in order to support young mothers in gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to care for their child. Drawing on the findings, this paper argues that the building of a supportive relationship enables a young mother to construct positive counter‐narratives about her parenting experience. This suggests that the family \to offer informal early support to young mothers who are at risk of more formal intervention. However, the complexity of this task should not be underestimated because in doing this, the family support team must at all times ensure the well‐being and safety of the child.

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Developing Mothering Narratives in Child Protection Practice

Cited by 23 publications

References 10 publications

Gender, Mothering And Relational Work

Gender, Mothering And Relational Work

Maternal Ambivalence in Female Psychotherapy Relationships

Engaging on the ‘front line’: exploring how family support teams construct meaning in their work with young mothers

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