Journal of Social Work

“Seeds of strength” may be sown following a sexual assault, as survivors begin their recovery within specialized care centers. This empirical qualitative study conceptualizes the psychosocial interventions provided by social workers in Israeli sexual assault referral centers (SARCs), where social workers serve as case managers within multidisciplinary teams, a structure unique to Israel compared to commonly described international models. Guided by a trauma-informed care framework and grounded in Constructivist Grounded Theory, the study applied a Multiple Perspective Interviews approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 16 participants at a northern Israeli SARC, including eight survivors of sexual assault and eight social workers. Data were analyzed using the Constant Comparative Method to develop a conceptual understanding of intervention components from both professional and experiential perspectives.

Four core components of psychosocial intervention were identified: a supportive holding space; restoring a sense of control; information provision; and empowerment. Together, these components describe how care is experienced as emotionally containing, choice-enhancing, informative, and strengthening in the acute postassault context.

The strong alignment between social workers’ professional intentions and survivors’ perceptions highlights the effectiveness of Israeli SARCs in delivering trauma-responsive psychosocial care. Beyond its conceptual contribution, the study informed national quality assessment processes led by the Medical Division of the Israeli Ministry of Health. The findings provide a foundation for developing evaluation tools, training programs, and future research on psychosocial interventions in acute sexual assault care, with potential relevance to SARC models in other settings.

Despite growing acknowledgement of the potential for strengths-based approaches to improve individuals’ well-being and create effective preventative support, their implementation is hindered by a lack of adequate theoretical conceptualization. In response, this article utilizes a series of research projects into second-wave prevention to develop a four-stage model which explains the difference strengths-based prevention makes and enables the evidencing of their outcomes and impacts.

Through capturing the unique characteristics of strengths-based approaches, the model creates a framework for analysis and evaluation. It moves away from deficits-based, linear approaches toward reflecting the cyclical contexts of people's lives and the multiplicity of challenges at individual, community and service system levels which can trigger the need for support. It provides a framework for understanding how tailored support across these three levels can prevent individuals falling through the gaps of existing support and insulate them against future challenges.

The strength-based model provides an innovative framework for understanding and evaluating the impact of strength-based prevention programs. This model has already been piloted in work within a number of local authorities and different types of prevention activity.

From being sexually/criminally exploited by adults in public spaces, to being sexually or physically harmed by peers in their schools, young people are significantly harmed beyond their families. Historically, many of these children have been criminalised rather than protected, and despite mounting concern from governments, and efforts at structural reform, many countries still struggle to offer welfare-orientated responses that effectively target the contexts where such harm occurs. In this paper we use cumulative evidence from four projects within a multiyear research programme to surface cultural factors that hinder or facilitate the development of welfare-orientated and contextual responses to extra-familial harm.

We analyse nine published outputs from these four projects using a synthesis of Schein's theory of organisational culture and the ‘cultural rules’ of Contextual Safeguarding, developed through an application of Bourdieu's social theory. The results of our analysis locate cultural misalignment not solely within the social work and wider child welfare organisations that participated in the project, but in the underlying assumptions of the systems in which those organisations are based. Consequently, we illustrate why seemingly ‘common-sense’ responses to young people in need of protection are complicated to enact.

To resolve such complications, we argue that victim-offender binaries, individualised outcome measures, and the relationship between state and parental responsibility, require reconceptualization in the design of child protection systems and research; and in the interim, offer four questions organisations can ask themselves to test, for the first time, their cultural readiness for adopting a contextual approach to extra-familial harms.

Acquired brain injury is a major cause of death and disability. Due to the impact of acquired brain injury on an individual's and a family's functioning, social workers are likely to encounter individuals and families affected by the condition. This study aimed to (1) identify the existing level of knowledge and skills of social workers in working with individuals with acquired brain injury and their families and (2) examine the training needs of social workers to improve their knowledge and skills in working with those with acquired brain injury. A series of semi-structured interviews with newly qualified social workers (six), brain injury specialist social workers (nine), team leaders (two), and commissioners (three) were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis.

The data highlighted that social workers in England and Wales have no formal training around acquired brain injury but felt there was a need for different levels of training and guidance for social workers. Participants also discussed the need for better integration with health care and a greater focus on relational working to enact positive change for individuals and families.

Social work training should be embedded within prequalification training with additional postqualification training where appropriate. Work and training within social work should take an interdisciplinary approach. The authors have taken the data to develop a freely available online training program for social workers.

An important aspect of palliative care, advance care planning, and end-of-life healthcare is the necessity to ensure that all individuals, including those in the custody of the criminal justice system, receive compassionate and efficient care. While there has been an increase in studies related to inmates’ experiences in prison, a significant gap in the literature is the lack of synthesis gained from qualitative studies. To our knowledge, this is the first qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis of inmates’ experiences who are undergoing palliative care, advance care planning, and end-of-life in prison.

The findings resulted in four overarching themes: (1) Inadequate access to health services, (2) lack of compassion toward the inmates, (3) distrust in the system, and (4) institutional control over inmates’ end-of-life decision making. By conducting a qualitative interpretative meta-synthesis, involving seven studies with 200 incarcerated participants, it was found that dignity, death, and dying experiences of inmates were significantly impeded by the prison settings.

The study indicates absence of adequate sensitive policies around healthcare in prison, especially end-of-life care. Social workers associated with the criminal justice system across the world must therefore be trained to provide psychosocial support to their clients and their families during this difficult time. Social workers must also advocate for their patients’ rights, and train prison staff to provide quality care until more efficient systems are institutionalized.

Social workers face many uncertainties and challenges in providing quality services to clients. The aim of this study is to analyze what uncertainty is from the perspective of social workers, and how social workers reflect on its presence in their (moral) decision-making. Data collected through an online questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Conclusions were drawn regarding the diversity of conceptions and evaluations of uncertainty and its forms at the micro (individual), meso (organizational), and macro (supra-organizational) levels that permeate social workers’ moral decision-making and actions.

We conclude by considering implications for education and practice to prepare students and practitioners for (moral) uncertainty and to develop strategies for coping with it.

This article promotes Koori approaches to counselling and therapy to negate a range of issues inhibiting the efficacy of contemporary approaches to social work in Australia. To do so, it presents Buraalgamayi as a methodologically dynamic Koori approach to social work. Utilizing a Dunghutti social worker's professional reflections, an experiential standpoint is established from which Buraalgamayi can be respectfully deconstructed to allow insight into the underpinnings of its methodological dynamism. Vital deconstructed elements of Buraalgamayi are paired with analysis of current approaches to social work practice to contextualize Buraalgamayi's applicability. Finally, Buraalgamayi practice is reflexively discussed to draw its deconstructed elements and analysis together to provide further insight on the development and application of more effective approaches to social work.

Begin to position methodologically dynamic place-and-space based Koori approaches as desirable alternatives to current standards; and promote new understandings of social work and wellbeing based on Koori conceptual frameworks.

The methodological dynamism promoted within means the potential to apply Koori approaches in social work remains exponential, provided application is undertaken in a responsible and respectful manner.

The policewomen in the US were the forerunners of police social work in the early 1900s. Many policewomen were grappling with the same issues that the profession is still critically examining today. Growth in police social work positions across the U.S. provides an important reason to study the earliest police social workers, despite divided views within the profession. Finding social work's appropriate role in public safety is crucial to address current social, racial, and economic injustices. This historical textual analysis investigates the apertures and barriers for police social workers in helping vulnerable populations. A 1924 Library of Congress bibliography is utilized as a framework for qualitative historical textual analysis. Over 22 primary-source texts were obtained, from early police social workers and cultural sources. Texts were analyzed related to alignment with social work, advocacy, training, and challenges.

Findings revealed that the policewomen's work aligned with social work, involved multisystemic advocacy, was subject to misunderstanding, and lacked standardization and preparation.

With the right training and role clarification, the social work profession has the opportunity to decriminalize social needs. Findings revealed that the policewomen's activities and values were rooted in social work, that schools of social work may need to become more involved in training, and that social work curriculum should emphasize advocacy. The study adds new context and recommendations to the current debate about the next era in public safety.

This article describes and analyses an evaluation of a coaching service that was delivered to social workers in Northern Ireland. It begins with a review of the literature on coaching which reveals the complex, sometimes contradictory definitions and applications that are applied in these forms of professional support. The article then highlights the context for the evaluation and important factors about how Northern Ireland not only shares similarities but also differs in some aspects of social work policy, practice, and education, when compared to other countries of the United Kingdom.

The evaluation used a mixed method approach to ascertain the experiences of coachees (n = 20) who received the service and coaches (n = 2) who delivered the service. The results revealed a range of issues about coachees’ perceptions and experiences of job satisfaction, motivation, goals, and concerns about stress, and the limits of organizational supports. Participants were then asked about their views of the coaching service. Coachees were generally positive about the service, helping them renew their enthusiasm for practice and coaches appeared valued in the way that they delivered the service. These findings were broadly mirrored in responses by coaches.

The article concludes with a recommendation that employees should consider coaching approaches to supplement existing support services and that wider structural contexts are important factors in understanding such professional stressors.

Integrating digital technologies into social work practice has become increasingly significant, with new developments occurring in the artificial intelligence (AI) era, reshaping service delivery and interdisciplinary collaboration. This bibliometric-systematic review examines the scope and evolution of digital technologies in social work. This is a review that examines the body of knowledge as a whole, rather than focusing on the effectiveness of individual interventions. Specifically, the study addresses the following research questions: Which articles, journals, countries, and authors hold the most significant influence in the field? What research trends in this domain have been explored in the past decade? To what extent is digital social work a cohesive body of knowledge? What are the future directions for research in digital social work?

The study employed a bibliometric approach and analysed 767 articles from the Web of Science's Social Work category. It used CiteSpace for network analysis and visualisation.

The findings reveal ten major research clusters, including foundational themes like the social worker–client relationship and emerging areas such as AI and telehealth.

The review highlights the potential for continuity and cohesiveness within the field while also identifying structural hurdles, the need for enhanced theorisation, the strategic importance of innovation, and the value of fostering cross-regional collaborations.

Deinstitutionalization a globally recognized child protection reform, seeks to transition children from residential institutions to family and community-based care models that align with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite its noble intent, implementing deinstitutionalization in Zimbabwe remains in its formative stages, with significant gaps in policy and practice. Guided by the 7Cs Protocol Framework, this study explores the challenges and ambiguities hindering the process.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 practitioners, including social workers and evaluators from the Department of Social Development and private voluntary organizations. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA and 7Cs framework, revealing five significant themes: unstructured and inconsistent transition processes, skill deficiencies among Child Protection Officers, resistance from institutional staff, reluctance to explore alternative care strategies, and insufficient prereintegration preparation and support. The findings indicate that a lack of standardized reintegration guidelines, limited training, and systemic resistance undermines the effectiveness of deinstitutionalization efforts. Institutional caregivers often resist reforms due to fears of job loss and funding reductions, while social workers hesitate to explore alternative care strategies due to high workloads and resource constraints. Prereintegration preparation remains inadequate, leaving children and families vulnerable during transitions.

Recommendations bar for a strengthening-gatekeeping mechanisms, aligning resource allocation with caseload demands, implementing awareness campaigns to shift societal attitudes, fostering partnerships for family support, and developing child-centered care plans. These measures, supported by interdisciplinary collaboration, are critical for refining Zimbabwe's deinstitutionalization efforts and ensuring sustainable reform.

To be recognized as a fully-fledged profession with professional autonomy, social work must meet the criteria of a research-based intellectual activity based on social scientific education. This article demonstrates that research-based nature is a necessary condition for the professional autonomy of social work as part of the field's development into a full profession. Accordingly, the professional interest of social work research should be to produce knowledge that is useful for the development of a structured theoretical foundation corresponding to professional policies and practices.

The concept of research-based social work refers to the use of research to inform and improve social work practices. Research-informed education and practice involve applying and producing research-based knowledge that is relevant to practice activities, as well as developing the capability for scientific questioning, analysis, and argumentation. On the one hand, social work research consists of academic investigations by scholars and students in academia, and on the other, research in working practice performed by practitioners. The research-based orientation covers them both. Accordingly, the article discusses the importance of research-mindedness permeating all aspects of social work, seeing it as an essential element of professional self-determination.

The findings highlight the need to develop social work as a scientific discipline to strengthen professional autonomy. This contributes to the development of social work as a self-defining profession, which in turn strengthens the professional identity of social workers.

This study investigates social workers’ AI-related concerns by examining sociodemographic and professional factors shaping anxiety and testing predefined hypotheses on the predictive roles of ethical sensitivity and attitudes toward innovation. A quantitative approach using descriptive and correlational survey models was employed to gather data from 410 social workers across various regions in Türkiye. Data were collected through the Artificial Intelligence Anxiety Scale, the Ethics Position Questionnaire, and the Innovative Behavior Inventory. Grounded in ethical sensitivity theory and innovation perspectives, the study applied descriptive statistics, correlation, regression, t-tests, and ANOVA to assess patterns and test predictions related to social workers’ AI-related concerns.

A considerable portion of social workers expressed moderate to high levels of AI-related anxiety. Sociodemographic factors such as age, experience, and education influenced these concerns. Ethical idealism, a dimension of ethical sensitivity, was positively correlated with higher anxiety, while a positive attitude toward innovation was linked to lower levels of anxiety, suggesting that openness to technology could mitigate concerns.

The study underscores the need to address ethical considerations and promote positive attitudes toward technological innovation among social workers. It suggests that training programs enhancing ethical sensitivity and encouraging openness to innovation could effectively reduce AI-related anxiety. Additionally, the study recommends developing comprehensive policies with ethical guidelines and clear frameworks to ensure the safe integration of AI into social work practices. Such measures aim to build trust and facilitate the secure adoption of AI technologies in professional roles.

Social workers are frequently exposed to verbal and physical aggression from service users, which can negatively impact their psychological well-being and professional functioning. This study investigated the relationship between aggression exposure, acute stress responses, and perceived competencies among Dutch social workers. An online survey of 431 practitioners assessed experiences with different forms of aggression (e.g., verbal threats, physical violence, anticipation), acute stress reactions, self-perceived competence in managing aggression, and access to relevant training.

Verbal aggression was most commonly reported, followed by physical violence and the fear of potential incidents. These experiences were strongly associated with acute stress responses. Although many respondents felt confident in their ability to manage aggression, stress symptoms often impaired emotional regulation and risk assessment. Notably, many participants had received limited or outdated formal training in aggression management, despite frequent exposure. These findings suggest that confidence alone does not equate to preparedness, and unmanaged stress responses may compromise safety and decision-making.

This study highlights the pressing need to support social workers in managing both the physiological and cognitive aspects of stress during aggressive encounters. Future research should not only evaluate the effectiveness of existing training but also investigate how aggression-related stress arises and affects professional performance. Such insights are crucial for developing more comprehensive training programs that move beyond technical de-escalation skills to include stress regulation, real-world simulations, and reflective practice, better aligning with the complex realities of contemporary social work.