Recognising Strategy and Tactics in Constructing and Working with Involuntary Social Work Clients

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on the author’s academic work on working with involuntary clients, which began with a knowledge exchange project in Scotland. I reflect back on this work and use it as a way to explore subsequent reflections on the field. These move beyond consideration of the skills required to undertake such work through locating the category of involuntary clients within wider, yet contradictory, governmental discourses on client engagement. These are identified as the strategy that sets the context for such work. But the strategy is enacted through the day-to-day tactics of social workers on the ground; such tactics, enacted in everyday encounters, are constitutive of effective but also ineffective engagement with clients. The discussion goes on to problematise the distinction between voluntary and involuntary clients and to suggest that effective social work practice, whatever the nature of that involvement, requires that clients are recognised at an ethical and relational level.

IMPLICATIONS

• The term involuntary client(s) cannot be taken for granted but is constructed and needs to be understood in particular and often contradictory policy and professional contexts.

• Effective but also ineffective ways of working with involuntary clients go beyond the acquisition or demonstration of particular skills but are embodied in the everyday relational practices of social workers.

• Ethical engagement with involuntary clients proceeds from a sense of mutual recognition.

笔者介绍了自己关于治疗非自觉客户经历的学术工作，该工作始于在苏格兰的知识交流。本文回顾了这个工作，并籍以省察随后对该领域的反思。这些就不仅仅是考虑需要哪些技能来承担这项工作——在更广泛却也更矛盾的政府针对客户参与的话语中去定位非自觉客户的类别。它是一种策略，为这类工作提供了语境。这策略是通过社会工作者日常的实际手段而施展的，在日复一日的接触中促进客户的参与，有生效的一面，也有无功的时候。作者还讨论了将自觉与非自尊客户视为一个问题，指出有效的社会实践，无论参与的性质怎样，客户都需要得到伦理上和人际关系上的承认。

KEYWORDS:

• Involuntary Clients
• Engagement
• User Involvement
• Strategy
• Tactics
• Everyday
• Recognition

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.