With the questioning of the neutral objective researcher, reflexivity has jumped to the forefront of qualitative research, thus positioning the embodied researcher within the research process. In its power to reveal tacit embodied social structures, reflexivity is touted as the hallmark of methodological validation while also being described as a messy process, particularly in participatory research. In this article, we use illustrative examples from our participatory research exploring the healing practices of racialized minority youth in Canada to highlight the limits of reflexivity and participation. We examine the messy processes in the preliminary phase of our research project and the invaluable insights we took into developing a creative methodology.

Recognising the Other, understanding the Other is an essential question in social work but it is an entangled one. I have chosen to highlight the multi-layered nature of the question of Othering in social work from a historical point of view and discuss current understandings and alternatives for social work's implication in this question. From the beginnings of social work and the 'social question,' to categorical knowledge of groups and professional competencies that rest on a Self/Other division, contextualised structural knowledge and positions of social citizenship, an ethics of the encounter, and an understanding of particularities stemming from simultaneous multiplicity views that transform the landscape of the Self and the Other.

This study examines and compares three international mental health self-help organizations: Recovery, Inc., Emotions Anonymous, and GROW International. The authors investigated membership characteristics, ideologies, meeting procedures, and the organizational characteristics of degree of centralization and formalization, roles of professionals, and sources of funding. The findings suggest differences in what types of clients benefit from participation in each of the three organizations, and counter criticisms of self-help groups.

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A survey of 120 mental health social workers inquired about their interactions with four mental health mutual-aid groups in Chicago. Fifty-six percent of the sample referred to one or more of the four groups but only 26% performed linking activities other than referral. The results indicated that, while theoretically positive about mutual-help groups in general, many of the social workers did not refer clients to the mental health groups, particularly those that were more therapeutically focused. The linking roles they recommended were directive, rather than egalitarian. Recommendations for practice are offered.