The establishment (and disestablishment) of social work in Britain

Abstract

This paper presents a brief history of the development of social work in Britain, exploring some of the tensions that derive from gaining public acceptance and social establishment. This is analysed using the psychoanalytic concepts of ambivalence and displacement. The locus that social work enjoys as part of the establishment is shown to be ambivalent. The establishment of social work as an accepted public face of welfare is critiqued, showing both the benefits of acceptance and problems that arise from seeking social approval. The positioning of contemporary social work as sacrifice will also be considered.
 It is in the role of ‘sacrifice’ that social work maintains its public face – carrying away the transgressions of society and being loaded with guilt by society (displacement) – but sacrifice also offers a way forward to maintain professional integrity by walking alongside the marginalised, disadvantaged, stigmatised and social work, offering itself as an expiation on behalf of the people with whom social workers practise

Structural discrimination and abuse: COVID-19 and people in care homes in England and Wales

“…Dominant and unspoken assumptions influence the ways in which care policies are developed, delivered and the eligibility criteria are used to apportion care. However, the effects are wider still and there is an associative element in which those working in care, with older people, in care homes and people with dementia are also viewed as subordinate and less worthy and, therefore, likely to receive less resource and support (Parker, 2007, 2020). This is substantiated in respect of the isolation experienced by care home residents and lack of attention to human rights for dignity and the rights to life (Argyle et al , 2017; United Nations, 2020)…”

From ovid to COVID: the metamorphosis of advanced decisions to refuse treatment into a safeguarding issue

“…COVID-19 has drawn our attention to domestic abuse under lockdown but has perhaps occluded our focus on wider abusive structural factors that may have a significant impact on risk and well-being. Most current social and health policy and practice development in the UK draws upon normative assumptions; a hidden, taken-for-granted-ness (Parker, 2020). However, policy developments often have unintended and “hidden” consequences (Merton, 1936).…”

“…The ramifications of such a battlefield triage mentality were recognised, and media reports were circulated concerning the active discrimination underpinning this while recognising that choice through advance directives might have much to offer in this situation. The unspoken discourses underpinning these fears reveal a safeguarding issue that permeates society and health and social care services and constructs taken-for-granted assumptions of best practice and best interests (Bourdieu, 1977; Parker, 2020). As well as misunderstandings, the lack of take-up of ADRTs reflects anxieties about power being wrested from the self by others within families or by over-stretched clinicians.…”