Making Sense of Sensemaking: Conceptualising How Child and Family Social Workers Process Assessment Information

Abstract

This article offers a new conceptualisation of sensemaking in social work assessment. During assessment, social workers are required to make sense of a wide range of information. This may include written reports, behavioural cues, verbal, sensory and emotional data. In this article, the term 'sensemaking' is used to refer to the processes through which social workers gather, select and interpret this varied, and often incomplete, information during assessment. Sensemaking is defined as a psychosocial process which precedes and underpins professional judgement and decision-making. While there has been interest in how social workers assess risk to children, the sensemaking process that occurs before a decision is made has received less attention, and sensemaking lacks a clear definition. Drawing on existing research on assessment and theoretical literature from the fields of psychology and organisational studies, this article offers a view of sensemaking through three lenses: sensemaking as intuitive process, sensemaking as social storytelling and sensemaking as an emotionally-informed process. Drawing together key features from these three perspectives, we advance six propositions about sensemaking in child and family assessment: 1) sensemaking is a process of formulation; 2) sensemaking involves movement between conscious and non-conscious processes; 3) sensemaking can be developed through experience and learning through reflection; 4) sensemaking is inseparable from the environment in which it takes place 5) sensemaking is a dialogic process; 6) sensemaking is an emotionally-informed as well as cognitive process. The article concludes with the implications of this conceptualisation of sensemaking for assessment in child and family social work.

Sensemaking unraveled: how teachers process school performance feedback data

“…Klein et al (2007) regarded sensemaking primarily as a cognitive process, and discussed individual judgment, interpretation, and the role of internal mental models or the explanatory frames people use to interpret cues. Other authors, such as Cook and Gregory (2019), focused more on the discursive aspects of sensemaking, stating that sensemaking predominantly manifests itself through conversations and stories. Maitlis (2005) confirmed this social constructivist nature of the sensemaking process.…”

Improving Sensemaking in Social Work: A worked example with Deleuze and Art

“…In practice, the term has connected to an unsurprisingly strong sense of situatedness in child investigation work (Gunilla, 2015), case discussions (Riemann, 2005;Cook and Gregory, 2020) and supervision work (Petrauskien_ e and Raudeli unait_ e, 2014). In this work, there is a desire for "valid knowledge for practice", with an understanding that learning is most often embedded in activity (Gunilla, 2015: 96).…”

“…In this work, there is a desire for “valid knowledge for practice”, with an understanding that learning is most often embedded in activity (Gunilla, 2015: 96). So, the Sensemaking label is applied to “…the everyday, situated ways in which social workers identify, select and attribute meaning to assessment information before arriving at a judgement” (Cook and Gregory, 2020: 183). In the example of Cook and Gregory’s (2020) ethnographic work, Sensemaking activities such as a conversation with a colleague, preparing to meet a client and making a ‘phone call are described.…”

“…So, the Sensemaking label is applied to “…the everyday, situated ways in which social workers identify, select and attribute meaning to assessment information before arriving at a judgement” (Cook and Gregory, 2020: 183). In the example of Cook and Gregory’s (2020) ethnographic work, Sensemaking activities such as a conversation with a colleague, preparing to meet a client and making a ‘phone call are described. In so doing, there is an emphasis on the narrative aspects of Sensemaking through challenging practice boundaries, problem framing and debriefing.…”

Social Workers and Families: An Italian Perspective on the Family-Centered Approach

“…The increasing complexity of family structures and daily life challenges family competence and requires practitioners to update their “relational tools” (Morris et al, 2017). Social practitioners need new expertise to assess family’s strengths, stressors, and priorities (Cook & Gregory, 2020). The strengths approach proposes a new perspective on interventions based on strengths and competence (Saleebey, 2009).…”