Relationship based social work practice: the case for considering the centrality of humour in creating and maintaining relationships

Abstract

Relationship based social work practice has received increasing attention in recent years. The use of humour has infrequently been considered in relation to social work, and humour use is a neglected aspect in examining relationships in social work. As humour conveys humanity, is grounded in our earliest attachments and in the management of emotions, the purpose of this paper is to consider how humour operates in social work relationships. Importantly humour can help facilitate relationships with service users, and become a tool to help service users, social workers and their colleagues establish relationships.

Keywords:

• social work
• humour
• relationship based practice
• psychodynamic research methods

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stephen Jordan

Stephen Jordan is a lecturer in social work and teaches at the University of Essex. He completed his Professional Doctorate in social work at the Tavistock and Portman/UEL in 2015. His research interests include humour, relationship based practice and the needs of carers. [email: [email protected]]