The use of self in social work practice

Abstract

Therapeutic social work practice relies on the 'using ourselves' as a resource in direct work with service users. This chapter explores some psychoanalytical answers to these questions, and presents a number of case studies and clinical vignettes that illustrate different aspects of the use of self. Effective therapeutic social work is not primarily about using theory to understand other people or ourselves. The chapter discusses a case study of one-to-one work and a series of reflective commentaries on this unfolding story. It provides a further case study of multi-agency practice with a family where a newborn baby was deemed to be at risk, and some further reflective commentary. The chapter focuses on the immediacy and power of the 'lived experience' of practice encounters, making sense of the, and the meaning of 'using yourself' as a resource in the work.

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