What Social Workers Need to Know: A Psychoanalytic Approach

Social work deals with the heavy end of human difficulties such as cruelty, self-destructiveness, and severe and enduring mental health problems. How do social workers make sense of the emotional difficulties which come with the realities of practice? Understanding our clients is the best way of dealing with complex situations and avoiding burnout and stress. The contributors to this book argue that psychoanalysis provides a theory of development and behaviour capable of formulating a realistic model for understanding emotional difficulties and disturbances in both clients and ourselves.

The chapters demonstrate a way of thinking for the practitioner that can be used in all situations. The book examines in detail some of the difficult and disturbing conversations that social workers have with clients of all ages. It provides a psychoanalytic framework for understanding circumstances which may be puzzling, stressful or frightening, and a theory whose value for many social work problems is well underpinned by research evidence.

Written by senior practitioners who are all still working in the front line, this book puts complex real life experiences into words, to help the social worker become a more effective practitioner.

Marion Bower is a freelance social worker and adult psychotherapist. She has worked in child and family mental health services for 34 years including 14 years at the Tavistock Clinic. She co-edited The Emotional Needs of Young Children and Their Families and edited Psychoanalytic Theory for Social Work Practice, both published by Routledge, and Addictive States of Mind.

Robin Solomon worked as a consultant social worker at the Tavistock Clinic where she held senior roles in both clinical work and teaching. She is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Acadamy and is a trustee of the Centre for Social Work Practice. Robin is currently working as an independent consultant and visiting lecturer.