Adi Barak

Configurations of Time in Bereaved Parents’ Narratives:

In this study, we examined the configurations of time within narratives of bereaved Israeli parents, employing Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy as the research methodology. Our results reveal that following a sudden violent loss, parents experienced a change in their sense of time. Three nonexclusive time possibilities were evident in the participants’ narratives: time stopped, time moved forward, and time moved backward. Although most of the social science literature highlights the importance of linear temporal configuration to enhance the coherence of text, based on our study we call for other forms of temporal ordering, as varied time configurations were used by the bereaved and were perceived to have beneficial outcomes. Finally, we outline implications for mental health professionals.

Service Users and Personal Social Services in Israel: Are We Ready to Hear What Clients Want to Tell Us?

Abstract This article presents both the perspectives of social service clients (participants) living in poverty and dependent on Israels personal social services and the participatory research method used in this study. Discussion topics were determined by the participants, who described their experiences with personal social services providers, their perceptions and attitudes towards personal social services, and their recommendations for improvements in service concept and delivery. The participants referred to the social services as institutional bodies, and defined inadequate versus “good enough” treatment. They discussed issues such as bureaucracy, procedures relating to material assistance and the combination of material and emotional assistance. This paper discusses the implications of the participatory research method and of the findings regarding social work with people living in poverty.

Playback theatre and narrative therapy: introducing a new model

This article explores a new synthesis between Playback Theatre and Michael Whites narrative therapy. Through an exploration of the two methods the article elaborates how such integration can be achieved and how it can contribute to the process of narrative re-authoring. The discussion also includes the limitations and possible drawbacks of such integration, for both playback theatre and narrative therapy. Finally, a structured therapeutic model integrating Whites approach to narrative change with Playback Theatre techniques is detailed.

Inclusion and its implementation: Youth workers' perspectives on an experimental social–business initiative for ‘at-risk’ youth in Israeli community centres

Abstract This paper presents the perspectives of youth workers on an experimental social-business initiative programme designed to bring about the inclusion of ‘at-risk’ youth in community centres. The programme was implemented in three community centres that are part of a nationwide organization of community centres which provide social–educational–cultural activities for the general population within the community. The uniqueness of the programme lies in its effort to integrate ‘at-risk’ youth into universal and unstigmatized, structured leisure activities. The sample included all the youth counsellors implementing the programme. The paper describes the inclusion of the youth from their selection and recruitment to the programme, through their introduction into the community centres, and during the processes associated with the implementation of the programme. The findings indicate the challenges and difficulties that arise in implementing an inclusive programme, the importance of the counsellors in implementing the programme and the relationship between the youth and the centres staff members. Finally, operational conclusions are presented and discussed.

Re-entry as performance: Reflections from Institution X:

This qualitative research study explores prisoner and rehabilitation staff perspectives (N=26) on the phenomenon of ‘change’ as a mode of enforced performance in a work release programme in Illinois. Research questions were developed on the basis of a prolonged encounter with re-entering ex-offenders during a project that combined theatre and research. Bringing together two distinct disciplines – Performance Studies and Critical Social Policy – we explore the extent to which re-entering prisoners and rehabilitation staff conceive of their work release programme as enforcing a performance of change into a rehabilitated self. Our results show that all participants feel that the programme enforces such a performance. However, some saw this performance as truly transformative, while others considered it politically oppressive and instrumental. Language performance in particular was considered a strictly imposed demand on prisoners, mostly black, who were advised not to use Ebonics outside of the facility. Implications for policy are outlined.

Bodies as means for continuing post-death relationships

Secondary analysis of data from 30 people in three interview studies shows that bereaved people use their own and the deceased’s body in their continuing efforts to maintain a relationship with the departed. Following the continuing bond perspective, the study reveals three body-associated strategies for maintaining post-death relationships: (a) the presence of the deceased in the bereaved’s body, (b) body-associated actions and activities, and (c) sensing and caring for the deceased’s body. The conceptual dimension of embodiment is used to interpret results. Attention is also given to the bereaved’s sense of disembodiment due to social rejection of these strategies for maintaining post-death relationships. Implications for health psychologists are offered.