Editorial

This general issue presents articles on a range of social work issues from authors based in many different countries and regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe. Across many fields of practice, including child protection, mental health, addictions, working with older people and those who are terminally ill, the authors bring a focus to the psychosocial and emotional dimensions of social work practice in its many forms. They address a range of important issues such as the need for dialogue, whether internal or external, reconciliation and kindness and the value of viewing individuals within the context of their wider eco-systems and social contexts.

The question of how social workers use internal conversations with service users and colleagues to make sense of their work is the subject of the first article by Kateřina Glumbíková, Marek Mikulec, Jelena Petrucijová, Ivana Kowaliková, Veronika Zegzulková and Kristina Wilamová. Experienced child protection practitioners in the Czech Republic were interviewed and describe how they used imagined interactions as a form of ‘mental gymnastics’ that enabled them to explore possible ways of handling a situation, managing emotions and imagin ing how service users and colleagues may react. However, they could also take the form of ruminations that are burdensome and unpleasant. The study drew upon the work of G. H. Mead to explore two processes; the first was an intersubjective-creative process focused upon reflection, proactive planning and mutual understanding while the second was a subjective-emancipatory process that enabled practitioners to achieve a critical distance from unhelpful external expectations. This internal dialogue enables practitioners to engage with both cognitive and emotional aspects of their work, creating space for ‘safe playfulness’ and critical distance from external demands and fears of errors.

In the second article by Renhui Lyu and Shuang Lu, the theme of internal and external dialogues is continued with a study of parent-child reconciliation where there has been neglectful or abusive parenting. The intervention is imagery communication group psychotherapy (ICGP), which is an indigenised form of psychotherapy in China that draws upon the work of Freud and Jung to enable clients to understand their psychological states, describe emotions and examine relationships. The article situates the intervention within the context of Chinese family relationships, where child abuse and neglect has received recent media attention and provoked significant debate. The study examined the experience of reconciliation between adult children and their parents following ICGP and found that this process consisted of the following factors: increased differentiation of self, psychological reconciliation with forgiveness and connectedness, and relationship restoration in current family interactions.

The theme of reconciliation is central to the next article by Robert Chigangaidze, which focuses upon the contribution of ubuntu to social work practice. Ubuntu is an African philosophy that is based on humanness, kindness and communality as well as addressing socio-structural issues such as social justice and human rights. It is discussed in the context of the multimodal approach of Arnold Lazarus, and it is argued that ubuntu offers two additional domains; the first is the person-physical environment relationship and includes the green environment, while the second is the spiritual domain as a central part of life and relationality.

The value of theory to social work practice is continued in the fourth article by Abreham Mekonnen and Bonnie Lee, which calls for a move beyond medical and individualistic models of addiction. While social work has a central role to play in the field of addiction, it is rarely prioritised in social work education and suffers from a paucity of theories that are compatible with its person-environment emphasis. The article explores three ecological and system models that offer an understanding of addiction that acknowledges social, historical and familial contexts. The implications for social work education and potential alliances with other disciplines such as couple and family therapy and public health are explored.

The importance of practice skills and knowledge is highlighted in the fifth article in this issue which presents a study from South Africa on the development of community-based psychosocial programmes for people experiencing mental ill-health and their family members. The authors, Thabisa C. Matsea, Elma H. Ryke and Mike L. Weyers, present a detailed framework, derived from their research, which supports effective design and implementation of community-based programmes for this target group. Theoretical perspectives are integrated into this framework including the use of the ecological perspective to situate the individual in their wider eco-system, and social group work theory to devise informational and support services. The experiences and perspectives of service providers as key stakeholders is also incorporated into the development of the framework presented here.

The viewpoints of care providers on how to communicate about death with dying patients in nursing homes is the focus of the sixth article in this issue by Ellen Ramvi, Marta Høyland Lavik and Birgitta Haga Gripsund. Their study uncovered the obstacles which inhibit discussions about death among colleagues and with the nursing home residents. The conditions which normalise the non-discussion of death are identified and the possibilities for helping caregivers to connect with their feelings and experiences are proposed.

The final two articles in this issue explore communication through technology. Adéla Recmanová, Soňa Kalenda and Ivana Kowaliková examines e-communication between social workers and clients and reveals the complexities and challenges that can arise in this context. The need for improved skills by social workers in the use of ICT in their work runs alongside the need for greater understanding of how e-communication affects the worker-client interaction and the need for greater insight on the part of social workers into what works, what is ethical and what is potentially harmful.

In the final article, Sera Harris and Brian Stout emphasise the importance of paying attention to social worker self-care in relation to the use of technology in their work. Drawing on their research in the Australian context, the authors reveal the widespread presence of technology in social work practice and how social workers understand its value in their work. At the same time, the study uncovers the challenges experienced by social workers, including lack of skills, absence of agency policies and the sometimes unclear boundary between the personal and professional self. This article makes a convincing argument for a stronger focus on selfcare for social workers in general, and in a way which takes into account the challenges and pressures of using technologies in service delivery.

We would like to thank all the authors for sharing their work and insights with us and we are very appreciative of their excellent contributions to this issue.