‘Through no fault of their own’: Social work students’ use of language to construct ‘service user’ identities

Abstract

The way social workers discursively construct ‘service user’ identities in everyday interactions (interviews, conversations and text) can affect quality of relationships and practice outcomes. Even though research has focused on the construction of ‘service user’ identities by professionals and service users, little has been done to explore such discursive formulations by pre-qualifying social work students. This is especially relevant, given the strengthening of the ‘expert by experience’ identity in social work education. This paper seeks to make visible mechanisms of student identity constructions as to ‘who a service user is’, and implications for practice through the examination of student written work pre- and post- a module focussing on lived experience. A critical discursive psychology approach was followed, recognising the interplay between localised professional encounters and wider contexts of power relations. The findings show a shift in the ‘service user’ identities employed by the students mainly based on individualistic discourses and deserving/undeserving themes (substance misuse the result of vulnerability, rather than selfishness, domestic abuse narratives denoting resilience rather than victimhood). The effect to practice showed shifts between the reflective, expert, person-centred and critical/radical practitioner, mainly stressing the need for professional growth at an individual level, with less emphasis on addressing social inequality. The paper argues that predominantly individualistic discourses can perpetuate de-politicised or oppressive categorisations of ‘service users’ and calls for further critical engagement with the discursive micro-practises enacted and developed in the social work classroom, if we are to unveil and challenge narrow, or stigmatising categorisations early on.

Fragilising clients: A positioning analysis of identity construction during clinical psychology trainees' supervision

“…16 Therapists can only understand themselves and their roles in relation to their clients. 11,13 The provision of therapy is primarily focussed on making sense of the other: assessing, formulating, diagnosing and treating. Therapists-including clinical psychologists-have consequently been critiqued for inadequately examining their own professional identities, 17,18 which suggests an under appreciation that any conceptualisation of 'the other' (the client) is inherently intertwined with an understanding of the self (the therapist).…”

“…By continuing to lack insight into the complexities of clinical psychologists' professional identities and how this relates to their sense-making about clients, their readiness to implement health service reforms suffers. 13,19 A nuanced understanding of reciprocal professional-client identities is critical so that clinical psychologists better understand themselves and their clients in ways that support the provision of person-centred care.…”

“…30 More recently, research is examining how trainees across healthcare professions discursively construct identities for the patients they see and the implications this has for professional identity formation. 11,13 Such research makes visible the consequential interactions between educators and trainees: trainees are exposed to, take up and reproduce taken for granted ways of understanding patients or clients in a profession through repeated interactions with educators. Indeed, the cultural worlds of specific healthcare professions anchor and constrain the identities of educators and trainees in specialty-specific ways of knowing and being, 10,31 highlighting the merits of specialty-specific research into how this process unfolds.…”

“…Clinical psychologists are highly specialised mental healthcare clinicians within healthcare settings 14 and provide therapy as their primary professional activity 16 . Therapists can only understand themselves and their roles in relation to their clients 11,13 . The provision of therapy is primarily focussed on making sense of the other : assessing, formulating, diagnosing and treating.…”

“…clinical psychology) have unique discourses and cultures that shape this process and therefore need to be understood independently. Although research exploring professional identities is expanding within medical education and health services, [11][12][13] there is an absence of research examining how key educational interactions such as supervision influence this process. Furthermore, it remains unclear both what professional identities mental healthcare professionals and clinical psychology trainees can claim for themselves that align or depart from reform priorities and how these develop.…”