What We Do, What We Know, Who We Are

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Social Work has a long history of struggling with its professional identity. From the establishment of the profession as industrialisation gained pace we have wondered and been challenged that perhaps we aren’t a profession at all.

The challenges are usually built from the assertion that Social Work cannot lay claim to a theory base uniquely its own, therefore the profession is derivative, more para than a ‘true’ profession like medicine, law or psychology. The social work canon reflects these anxieties and often seems to manifest deep collective self-doubts. Social work academics, associations and our literature certainly champion the profession but as we seek to stake a claim for our identity, our thinking often seems to miss the mark and at worst, can seem a touch embarrassing, as if perhaps ‘dame social work doth protest too much’.

In this day workshop Professor Eileen Munro and Dr Andrew Turnell will take direct aim at this issue seeking to draw on their careers and experiences to stake a more robust claim for what social workers do (action), what we think (theory) and who we are (identity).

The day workshop will be grounded in presentations from Eileen and Andrew and both will incorporate exercises to allow participants to engage with each other in small groups. Time will also be made for questions and discussion as a whole group. In this broader discussion, Eileen and Andrew will respond to and engage each other through the day. Fran Crawford will act as convener and will serve as our moderator for a final plenary session that will focus on issues and questions identified by participants during the day.

This training aims to grow social workers’ confidence in their professional identity, judgment and practice in the whole gamut of roles the profession encompasses. It will be particularly beneficial for practitioners operating in high-risk contexts and in multi- disciplinary teams where professional judgment is critical, assisting them to be more confidant, robust and evidence based in their decision-making. The training will also equip team leaders, managers, researchers and academics to elicit and grow greater confidence and strength from the social workers they lead and teach.

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