The role of social work in an interdisciplinary pain clinic team treating rheumatologic/musculoskeletal conditions

Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout compared with other healthcare professionals. The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions efficiently, frequently in complex care settings, is central to the role of social workers. This article highlights the complexity of emotions in social work research and practice by exploring the perspective of emotional intelligence. The article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s. The analysis contains an exploration of the researcher position that illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects that took place within this interview process. Three overall themes emerged – first: Recognising emotional complexity; second: Reflecting on emotional themes; and third: Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need to understand emotions as a central part of critical reflection and reflexivity. The argument is that emotions have the potential to expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions, related to normative societal views. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and paying attention to one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers.

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From converts to cooperation: Protestant internationalism, US missionaries and Indian Christians and ‘Professional’ social work between Boston and Bombay (c. 1920–1950)

Journal of Global History ◽

10.1017/s1740022821000103 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Michael Phillipp Brunner

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

North America ◽

Social Gospel ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Historical Approach ◽

The Social ◽

Social Concerns ◽

High Phase

Abstract The 1920s and 30s were a high phase of liberal missionary internationalism driven especially by American-led visions of the Social Gospel. As the missionary consensus shifted from proselytization to social concerns, the indigenization of missions and the role of the ‘younger churches’ outside of Europe and North America was brought into focus. This article shows how Protestant internationalism pursued a ‘Christian Sociology’ in dialogue with the field’s academic and professional form. Through the case study of settlement sociology and social work schemes by the American Marathi Mission (AMM) in Bombay, the article highlights the intricacies of applying internationalist visions in the field and asks how they were contested and shaped by local conditions and processes. Challenging a simplistic ‘secularization’ narrative, the article then argues that it was the liberal, anti-imperialist drive of the missionary discourse that eventually facilitated an American ‘professional imperialism’ in the development of secular social work in India. Adding local dynamics to the analysis of an internationalist discourse benefits the understanding of both Protestant internationalism and the genesis of Indian social work and shows the value of an integrated global micro-historical approach.

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Does the Interaction between Local and Systemic Inflammation Provide a Link from Psychology and Lifestyle to Tissue Health in Musculoskeletal Conditions?

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22147299 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (14) ◽

pp. 7299

Author(s):

David M. Klyne ◽

Mary F. Barbe ◽

Greg James ◽

Paul W. Hodges

Keyword(s):

Connective Tissue ◽

Systemic Inflammation ◽

Molecular Basis ◽

Tissue Level ◽

Lifestyle Factors ◽

Local Inflammation ◽

Musculoskeletal Conditions ◽

Tissue Biology ◽

Mind And Body

Musculoskeletal conditions are known to involve biological, psychological, social and, often, lifestyle elements. However, these domains are generally considered in isolation from each other. This siloed approach is unlikely to be adequate to understand the complexity of these conditions and likely explains a major component of the disappointing effects of treatment. This paper presents a hypothesis that aims to provide a foundation to understand the interaction and integration between these domains. We propose a hypothesis that provides a plausible link between psychology and lifestyle factors with tissue level effects (such as connective tissue dysregulation/accumulation) in musculoskeletal conditions that is founded on understanding the molecular basis for interaction between systemic and local inflammation. The hypothesis provides plausible and testable links between mind and body, for which empirical evidence can be found for many aspects. We present this hypothesis from the perspective of connective tissue biology and pathology (fibrosis), the role of inflammation locally (tissue level), and how this inflammation is shaped by systemic inflammation through bidirectional pathways, and various psychological and lifestyle factors via their influence on systemic inflammation. This hypothesis provides a foundation for new consideration of the development and refinement of personalized multidimensional treatments for individuals with musculoskeletal conditions.

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Secondary Traumatization Among Social Work Students—The Contribution of Personal, Professional, and Environmental Factors

The British Journal of Social Work ◽

10.1093/bjsw/bcaa056 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Anat Ben-Porat ◽

Shahar Shemesh ◽

Ronit Reuven Even Zahav ◽

Shelly Gottlieb ◽

Tehila Refaeli

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Social Work Students ◽

Positive Contribution ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Raising Awareness ◽

The Mean ◽

Explained Variance ◽

Second Year ◽

Self Differentiation

Abstract This study examined the rate of secondary traumatic stress (STS) among social work students and the contribution of background variables, personal resources (mastery and self-differentiation) and environmental resources (supervision satisfaction and peer support) to STS. The sample consisted of 259 social work students at three social work schools in Israel. The findings indicated that the mean level of STS was mild. Of the students, 36 per cent suffered STS to a mild extent, 19 per cent to a moderate extent and 18 per cent reported a ‘high to extreme extent’. A significant contribution was made by the student’s year of study, students in their second year of social work school suffered more severely from STS than did students in their first or third years. A positive contribution was made by the student’s level of exposure and a unique contribution was made by mastery and supervision satisfaction to the explained variance of STS. The findings highlight the importance of raising awareness of STS and its implications for social work students, as well as the necessity of helping students cope with this phenomenon. In addition, the study emphasises the significant role of supervisors in the training agencies and the importance of increasing students’ sense of mastery.

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Opportunities to “Make Macro Matter” through the Grand Challenges for Social Work

Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services ◽

10.1177/1044389420972488 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104438942097248

Author(s):

Samantha Teixeira ◽

Astraea Augsberger ◽

Katie Richards-Schuster ◽

Linda Sprague Martinez ◽

Kerri Evans

Keyword(s):

Social Work ◽

Work Practice ◽

Social Work Practice ◽

Grand Challenges ◽

Macro Practice ◽

Societal Challenges ◽

The Social ◽

Macro Social Work ◽

Instrumental Role

The Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative, led by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW), aims to organize the social work profession around 12 entrenched societal challenges. Addressing the root causes of the Grand Challenges will take a coordinated effort across all of social work practice, but given their scale, macro social work will be essential. We use Santiago and colleagues’ Frameworks for Advancing Macro Practice to showcase how macro practices have contributed to local progress on two Grand Challenges. We offer recommendations and a call for the profession to invest in and heed the instrumental role of macro social work practice to address the Grand Challenges.

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