Helen Hingley-Jones

An exploration of the issues raised by living with a child with autistic spectrum disorder and a professional’s attempt to move beyond pity and blame.

A case study is introduced tohelp explain why working with disabled children and their families can sometimes seem like a complex and demanding task for professionals. It is suggested that the emotional component of the parent/professional relationship, particularly where autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is concerned, can be highly charged and that those concerned can get caught‐up unwittingly in a cycle of pity and blame. Psychoanalytic ideas are drawn in to help make sense of the pity/blame cycle, including thoughts about projection, guilt and shame. The importance of moving beyond this state is discussed. An understanding of the possible origins of the difficult emotional circumstances of Juliet and her family and a way forward is indicated. The implications for professionals working in this area are considered.

Developing practice-near social work research to explore the emotional worlds of severely learning disabled adolescents in ‘transition’ and their families

This paper aims to make a contribution to the development of practice-near research through discussion of a project which explores the experiences of a socially marginalized group — young people with severe learning disabilities. Psychoanalytically informed infant observation is adapted as a research method for observing these young people in the family home. The paper discusses the rationale for the development and adaption of the research method in the process of observing. The discussion focuses on the key themes of understanding the quality of developing subjectivity and the ways that young people, adults and siblings coped with the often stressful aspects in the home. The article concludes with the implications for policy and practice and proposes that methodologies such as this are needed to capture the complexity of the lives and experiences of these service users and their families.

‘Stumbling through’? Relationship-based social work practice in austere times

In recent times relationship-based practice has become a familiar term in social work practice and education. Despite its widespread adoption, how relationship-based practice is understood varies widely. Drawing on contemporary conceptualisations of the child and family and individuals as psychosocial subjects experiencing social suffering, this paper explores how current social work practice can be understood in the context of neoliberalism and austerity. Setting these ideas in an historical context helps to inform our understanding as to why social work seems to be the focus of sustained political discontent and scrutiny, making it difficult to retain a balanced relationship-based professional stance. Contemporary responses to the current challenges of everyday practice are outlined and the contribution of psychodynamic and systemic ideas to promoting relationship-based practice is explored. The paper concludes by considering how the concept of social systems as defences against anxiety can inform our understanding of the resistance amongst practitioners to relationship-based practice and emphasises the importance of reflective spaces and places for developing and maintaining integrated, mature relational approaches to practice which impact on practice at both the individual casework and social structural level.

Integrating services for disabled children and their families in two English local authorities

Recent critiques challenge the assumption that working in a more integrated way will necessarily improve the quality of services received by children in need and their families. This paper explores the process of service integration for disabled children and their families in two inner city local authorities in England, with particular reference to ways in which history and geography impact. Service users and their carers hold similar ideas about features important in order for integration to be successful – including clear signposts into and through services and reliable and respectful relationships with professionals in the context of inclusive service planning. Professionals concur. They appear to benefit from the establishment of clear processes and boundaries between services, enabling them to build bridges between organizations towards the creation of innovative, integrated services.

‘Back to our Roots?’ Re-visiting psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in the education of student social workers

While there is a well-established literature on psychoanalytically-informed baby and young child observation in social work education, little has been published recently. This paper reviews the rationale for its use, evaluating its impact on students’ learning in the light of contemporary policy and practice contexts facing social work education. Analysis of feedback gained from a recent cohort, identifies three ways in which learning through baby and young child observation contributes: firstly, students encounter and learn about the complexity of child development from the direct experience of observing and secondly, observing facilitates the development of important skills for practice; students’ ‘use of self’. Thirdly, through observing, students describe how they develop the capacity to take-up and sustain a professional role. Well-structured teaching and learning through observation is therefore shown to provide a rigorous, theoretically-grounded contribution to the training of university-based social work students entering this complex and challenging professional field.

An exploration of the use of infant observation methods to research the identities of severely learning-disabled adolescents and to enhance relationship-based practice for professional social work

This paper considers how infant observation methods may be adapted to explore and research the identities of severely learning-disabled adolescents, a group of young people whose experiences are poorly represented in the literature. Through focusing on emotion and relationship, this ‘practice-near’ research method also offers a way for social workers to develop their reflective capacity in relation to the often hidden, uncomfortable emotions aroused by experiencing impairment and difference, but without the defences usually involved in assuming the professional role. The importance of taking time to get on a disabled childs ‘wavelength’ is illustrated through extracts from the research which show how a young persons agency and identity can be appreciated. The method also has the potential to develop social workers’ awareness of the powerful undercurrent of emotions apparent at times within families of severely disabled young people, and tentative suggestions are made about the projective processes and hidden hostilities at work within one of the families observed as part of the research project. Professionals may be able to use this knowledge to become resilient and reflective practitioners and the observation method itself has something to offer by way of a containing experience for families.