Fabricating the motivated client: problematising the market of social work in Sweden

Härnbro, Simon

doi:10.1332/204986019x15544728070396

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The construction of the other makes the rest of society appear as a norm, as a community of insiders characterized by purity, homogeneity and safety (Tesfahuney 2001), embodying responsibility, idleness and obedience, all virtues that are part of a seemingly obvious truth concerning citizenship in the present, not least in social work policies and practices (Lauri 2019). Social work interventions are formed in accord with conceptions of desirable and undesirable conduct, in terms of us and them (Härnbro 2019). Such production of hierarchical dichotomies between us and them, insiders and outsiders seem to be quite stable over time.…”

Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The problem of poor people’s mobility – a genealogical inquiry

Dahlstedt

Härnbro

Vesterberg

2019

Nordic Social Work Research

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In recent years, an increasingly visible poverty has been widely debated in Sweden, not least in terms of 'vulnerable EU citizens'. Issues of EU-internal mobility have gained renewed interest as EU citizens have the legal right to move freely within the EU. The focus in this debate has been on poor EU citizens categorized as 'Roma'. In many respects, 'the Roma' have become a symbol for the mobility of poor people as a problem. The purpose of this article is to investigate contemporary discourses on poor people's mobility as a social problem, in the light of similar descriptions in the past. Starting with the 2010s, we analyse governmental reports from the 1950s and 1920s in which the mobility of poor people has been subjected to political debate. We draw upon a genealogical approach informed by Michel Foucault, focusing on the categorization of mobile poor people as problematic and deviant, in relation to what is conceptualized as the norm. In line with this approach, we analyse historical formations of particular 'regimes of truth' concerning the mobility of poor people. Our results show that the mobility of poor people is a recurring problem, even though in different ways at different times. The political responses to the problems caused by poor people's mobility range from disciplinary and excluding to assimilating interventions directed at the mobility of poor peoplein the 2010s represented by 'the vulnerable EU citizens', in the 1950s by 'the gypsies' and in the 1920s by 'the travellers'.

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Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The problem of poor people’s mobility – a genealogical inquiry

Dahlstedt

Härnbro

Vesterberg

2019

Nordic Social Work Research

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“…Slutligen problematiseras hur MI lägger över ansvaret för förändring på den enskilde klienten. Den ideala klienten är motiverad att ta itu med sina egna problem, något som understöds av nyliberala förändringar mot ökad individualisering (Härnbro 2019). Herz (2016) hävdar att MI är ett exempel på individualisering i socialt arbete.…”

Section: Vad äR Mi?unclassified

Dunderhonung för socialt arbete?

Denvall

Nordesjö

Ulmestig

2021

SVT

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MI, motivational interviewing, is a counselling method for increasing a person’s motivation for behaviour change that is prevalent in social work. MI emphasizes building trusting social worker-client relationships and is presented as concrete and simple to follow. The benefit of MI is limited by actual opportunities for change through poverty, the labour market and health. The article aims to critically examine the usefulness of MI in connection with the handling of social assistance. It is based on a study of the use of an assessment instrument and of individual action plans (contracts) in a municipality where MI is a central tool. The study is based on analyses of documents, individual interviews and group interviews with staff as well as observations of meetings and training.The results show that MI has been integrated into a comprehensive implementation of other elements to standardize initiatives within income support. The client’s obligations are emphasized through a strong individual focus, although extensive efforts may be needed from surrounding actors. The action plans have inherent problems in terms of clarity and legal certainty. The authors argue that it is paradoxical to use a method based on alliances and collaboration in connection with conditional decisions. The use of MI becomes a commitment that lacks reciprocity and whose activation of self-technologies can be questioned.

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“…Since the 1990s, different therapeutic models, inspired by CBT, has spread within a range of areas, such as psychiatry, treatment of offenders, social work (cf. Härnbro, 2019;Hörnqvist, 2010), and not least schools. The spreading of "therapeutic education" (Ecclestone & Hayes, 2009) has been noted in Sweden (Axelsson & Qvarsebo, 2014;Fejes & Dahlstedt, 2013;Irisdotter Aldenmyr & Olson, 2016;Löf, 2011), as well as in a number of other countries (Brunila & Siivonen, 2016;Gundersen & Svartdal, 2006).…”

Section: Schooling and Crime Prevention -Continuity And Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Fostering Agents of Change: Governing, Crime Prevention and Teaching for Security

Dahlstedt

Foultier

2020

Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

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The article scrutinises a specific intervention for crime prevention through education, launched in one municipality of Sweden, in regard to how such education is set-up, the motives for initiating such education, and the kind of subject that such education is about to produce. Influenced by Michel Foucault's thought on governing, the article is based on interviews with actors involved in establishing principles for security and carrying out specific interventions at school. The analysis illustrates what could be characterised as a will to activate in the intervention in focus, that is, a particular form of governing mobilising the student's motivation and will to make active choices and active standpointsin the name of freedom, responsibility, and security.

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Fabricating the motivated client: problematising the market of social work in Sweden

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

The problem of poor people’s mobility – a genealogical inquiry

The problem of poor people’s mobility – a genealogical inquiry

Dunderhonung för socialt arbete?

Fostering Agents of Change: Governing, Crime Prevention and Teaching for Security

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