Index

assessment: changing modern notion of, risk (see risk assessment); shifting from, to collaborative exploration; of teachers and teaching, in privatized system, traditional, limitations of. See also data

assessment, court-ordered: issues to consider, making family dynamics central to; rendering concurrently with intervention, sharing with family; social constructionism informing

assumptions: about reader; becoming aware of, checking, with others; and critical reflection; practitioner’s need to suspend, questioning, through reflective practice, recognizing inappropriateness of; and social construction, . See also perceptions

at-risk label: as protective cocoon, rejection of

authorship, and process

“battered baby syndrome.” See child abuse

behavior modification, bias toward, in child welfare cases

behavioral approach: description of, parental attempts at

“bounded self,” vs. relational paradigm

burnout: in child welfare workers, project addressing issues of, teachers on verge of

Calgary Family Therapy Centre

case files: postponing reading, to suspend judgment, reading entirety of

child abuse: case for prevention; confidentiality in cases of, and emphasis on high-risk cases; example of social constructionism used in case of; and gender, as parental pathology, politics of; as public health concern, researching and analyzing, seen as medical problem, social stress model of, as socio-legal problem

child abuse, sexual: analyzing in relation to policy, full exploration of; medico-legal and feminist theories of, meeting with victim of; social constructionist approach to, taking sides in

Child Protection: Messages from Research

child sexual offenders: balancing empirical research of, with constructionist philosophy, exploring complexities of; as experts in shame; given space for speaking; group therapy, housed in mental hospital; learning compassion from; mainstream views of, measuring and assessing; public humiliation of, “responsibility” work with

child welfare: crisis approach vs. prevention, current trends in; family approach to, and measures of accountability; risk assessment in; and social constructionism

child welfare system: analyzing and affecting policy; critical analysis of policy, and demands for unanswerable answers; managing institutional challenges and service users’ expectations; placing abuse within need category; policy analysis and discourse, and role of expert witness; as punitive and repressive framework; treatment of nonadmitting parents (see nonadmitting parents). See also child abuse; foster care

children: aggressive behavior of, sexualization of, using letter writing in therapy with; violent, response to; of woman-at-risk; working with, in foster care

Christianity, forced conversions to

clients: court-mandated, encouraging, to do own research; as experts in own lives, marginalized, useful approaches with; and therapist (see therapeutic relationship); teaching constructionist approach to; using social constructionist informed approach with, working with vs. working on. See also therapy; treatment

clinical language cultures: defining problems with; social constructionism and

clinical practice assessment. See assessment

clinical theory, dislike of

Coalinga Mental Hospital

collaborative approach: deconstructive; discovering, language systems, polylingual, shifting from assessment to exploration; strength-based

colonialization, in Ethiopia

community: Aboriginal, hope as responsibility of, Oromo, in Canada; support from, in building new stories; support for, in mother-daughter relationship

community mental health movement

community resistance, in face of persecution

community work, with indigenous populations

companions, co-workers as

complexities: in dealing with child sexual abuse, in defining social construction, exploring, with child sexual offenders; in mother-daughter conflicts; of power. See also reality; social constructionism; Truth

confidentiality, in child abuse cases

consistency, vs. predictability

Constructing Social Problems

construction: See social construction; social constructionism

constructive social work

contextual understanding, emphasis on

continuous dialogue, as transformative action

conventions, questioning

conversation, as metaphor for therapeutic encounter

conversations with clients: collaborative and polyvocal; deconstruction approach; giving child sexual offenders space to speak; philosophical talk; strength-based approach; the Telling; using narrative approach

correspondence theory

“counter documents,”

court system, in child welfare cases

critical approach: to child welfare policy, highlighting social justice through, to research, as theme in social constructionism. See also critical reflection

critical reflection:, group exercise; implications for social constructionist informed practice; moving from insight to action, practicing, in group, on taken-for-granted worlds; use of. See also reflexivity

critical social theory

critique: vs. criticism; as new way of thinking about knowledge

cultural normality, and normalized comparative twin

culture: clinical language; expressed through language practices, “normal,” construction of; Oromo; reality interpreted through. See also indigenous community

data: on child welfare “successes,”; as distinction between “soft” and “hard” science. See also assessment

deconstruction approach: and affirmative postmodernists, definition of; with marginalized teen: with problem-saturated stories; use of, in reflexivity; to recover suppressed meaning, used with critical reflection

deferral, in word definition

definitional ceremonies

diagnoses, implications of social constructionism to

diagnostic classification systems, as instruments of power

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

dialogue: assessment as, continuous, as transformative action, to reach agreed-upon understanding. See also conversations with clients; discourse

discourse: alternative, highlighting of, and analysis of child welfare policy, centrality of, as postmodernist theme, family therapy, Foucaultian views of; not taken seriously, between mothers and daughters; and positioning theory; in social constructionist framework

“disease model,”

documents, use of, as literary approach to therapy

education: “dream,”; journey in, marketization and privatization of, in Hong Kong; perception of “legitimate,”; resurrecting marginalized version of

emotion, acknowledging place of, and reflexivity

ethics, professional, environmental barriers to

Ethiopia: colonialization in; cultural discrimination in; grand narrative of, vs. colonialization of, revolution in, running from

evidence-based practice: and behavioral practitioners; and social constructionist perspective. See also data

experience, shaping, with positive or negative connotations

expert witness: clear understanding of role as, operating from social construction perspective, reframing as technique for; responsibility of, for reading all documents in file, role of, in child welfare cases. See also assessment, court-ordered

expertise, in knowing and not-knowing

exploratory approaches

externalization, to deconstruct stories; and re-authoring problem; of teachers’ work-related problems, as way of relating to violence

fact, vs. opinion. See also knowledge; Truth

Failure Conversation Map

families: “broken” and “unbroken,”; and child welfare; dynamics of, as central to child welfare assessment; governing; understanding different view of. See also parents

family therapy: addressing larger social problems along with; addressing violence and domination in; dealing with violent children, early models of, and gender imbalance, language practices surrounding, and mother-daughter conflict; and social constructionism, systemic, training in

feminist theory: and child sexual abuse; critique of gender neutrality in science. See also gender imbalance

Fifth Province Associates

foster care: and child’s constructed reality; and child’s subjective distress; number of placements, and measure of success

Foucauldian analysis

futures framework, for thinking about trauma and violence

gender, child abuse and

gender imbalance, and family therapy, among socialists, and women supporting women

gender neutrality, questioned in science

goals, mutually accepted, process of co-creating

Governing the Family

grand narrative: challenging, education reform as, of Ethiopia, and loss of foundations, as postmodernist theme

grief counseling, using narrative therapy

group therapy, with child sexual abusers

guardians, in child welfare cases

Haiti, tragedy of, as social construction

Hall, J. Christopher

Hampton Institute, and “The Armstrong Triptych,”

Heal and Connect (HAC) program

home visit protocol, Louisville Twin Study

Hong Kong: being raised in; educational landscape of; social construction-informed practice in

hopelessness, in wake of trauma and violence

identity: challenging fixed idea of; fragmented, as postmodernist theme

incest, Fifth Province approach to

indigenous community: and social injustice (see Stolen Generations); using reflexivity in work with, value of social constructionist perspective in working with. See also Oromos

individualism, in social work

interpersonal interaction, and discourse

intervention, concurrent with written assessment

judges, in child welfare system

knowing and not–knowing, distinguishing between. See also reality

knowledge: authoritative, questioned by relational psychologists; challenging; critiques of, and postmodernism, social construction as new way of looking at, subjugated. See also assumptions; reality; Truth

Landscape of Action and Landscape of Identity

language: and challenge of writing about social construction; crucial role of, emphasized in postmodern and constructionist perspectives; fashioning future through; importance of; interpreting, in social work practice context, marketized, in education, and meaning, negotiation of; meaning controlled by; and narrative therapy, new, to construct vision of education, official, in Ethiopia, to open up possibilities, between mothers and daughters; power of, shaped by conventions and expressions, and social constructionism, in solution-focused therapy; understanding of, and postmodernism. See also conversations with clients; discourse; meaning; narrative approach; word choice

“language game” (Wittgenstein)

legal system: in child welfare cases; reliance on, in child protection practice. See also expert witness

letter writing: in child therapy; in couple therapy; as narrative strategy

licensure, for social workers, advent of

life-story work, as beginning, when working with child sexual offenders

literary critique, of science writing

logocentrism, practitioners’ rejection of

Louisville Twin Study

malignant positioning

managed care, advent of

marginalization, social construction as way of avoiding

marketization and managerialism: as social construction, in teaching

Marxism, embracing of

meaning: controlled by language; and language, negotiation of; to object, event, or relationship

medical experts, in child abuse case

medications, psychotropic, development of effective

mental health care, changes in

mental hospital, for housing child sexual abusers

Milan School of Systemic Therapy

missionaries in Ethiopia, American

Mo On Shan St. Joseph’s Secondary School (MOSSJSS), project at

modernity, characterization of

mother, deciding what kind to be

mother-daughter conflict: and community support, handling, with philosophical talk; repositioning power struggles

multivocality, emphasis on

“name and shame” campaign

narrative approach: client and professional, exploring, to externalize problem, in postmodern and constructionist perspectives; narrative practice maps

narrative supervision, objectives and content

Narrative Supervision and Professional Development project, new school values created from, objectives of, objectives and content of; structure and organization of; teachers as companions, Telling and Re-telling in

narrative therapy, applied to teachers’ supervision and professional development; challenges and future directions; comparisons with psychodynamic perspective; connections between, and social constructionism, decisions about stories to tell, discovering, externalizing and re-authoring problem; hallmarks of; idiosyncratic approach to; integrating, with psychodynamic approach; introduction to; letter writing as; overview; tools for, usual practice of. See also conversations with clients

nation building, in Ethiopia

nation-states: caring, and youth-at-risk; discursive practices of, as social construction. See also Ethiopia

national standards, for assessing state’s performance with child welfare

naturalistic accounts

neutrality, systemic calling to

New Public Management movement

“non-accidental injury.” See child abuse

nonadmitting parents: case resolution without confession, encouraging participation in research; evaluating treatment of; reaching mutually accepted goals with; signs of progress with; social constructionist approach with

nonviolent resistance: adapted for families, as moral and effective position; optimism emanating from; and parents’ ability to rediscover selves, to violent teen

normality, construction of, and First Nation culture

normalized comparative twin, creation of

objectification: rejection of; in twin experience

objective conditions

objectivity: perils of; relational game of

open dialogue treatment

oppression: in Ethiopia; finding tendency in self. See also child abuse; gender imbalance; social injustice; violence

organizations: language inscribed within; working in, value of social constructionist perspective in

Oromo Coalition against Youth Alienation (OCAYA)

Oromos: in Ethiopia; status as refugees, violence in Canadian community; and youth-at-risk

Other: child sexual offenders as, experience of being, giving self over to experience of, nations as; place of, in postmodern thinking, relational processes in nation-states, and self, and “us/them” distinctions

outsider witness practice map

paradigm changes, and science

parent-child conflict: and constructed interactions, escalating, nonviolent response to; typical parental responses; violence and domination in. See also mother-daughter conflict

parenting: focusing on strengths; nonviolent, reclaiming hopes for, working on, with nonadmitting parents

parents: establishing dependable “presence,” sharing court-ordered assessment with. See also mother-daughter conflict

parents in child welfare cases: nonadmitting (see nonadmitting parents); overcoming assumptions of; rehabilitative services

pedophiles. See child sexual offenders

perceptions, and reflexivity

performance indicators, in education

persecution. See oppression

personal sense of failure: addressing, among child sexual offenders; among teachers

perspective: social constructionist; understanding one’s own. See also assumptions; self-perception

philosophical talk, in mother-daughter therapy

“A Place for Paedophiles,”

policy, child welfare. See child welfare system

The Politics of Child Abuse

polylingual collaborative approach

positivism, and child sexual offenders, and social work’s aspiration as natural science

postmodernism, and constructionist approaches to social work; five themes of; as position of challenge; and social construction, acquaintance with; social theory, and social work

postmodernists, affirmative and skeptical

poverty, linked to social inequality and child abuse

power: analysis of, and relation to knowledge and discourse, complexities of, and creation of knowledge; limited view of; modern, omnipresence of; redefining; and repositioning

power-knowledge connection, as postmodernist theme

power struggles, between mothers and daughters

practice: evidence-based; implications for using reflexivity in; reflective, social constructionist (see social constructionist informed practice). See also therapy; treatment

practice assessment. See assessment

prisoners: using social constructionist approach with, work with

privatization, of educational landscape in Hong Kong

problems: construction of, defined by clinical language cultures; externalizing, re-authoring; social, as objective conditions vs. subjective definitions

process: and authorship, importance of, in affirmative postmodernism

product-process dimension

professional development project, teachers’. See Narrative Supervision and Professional Development project

progress, noticing signs of

protocol, Louisville Twin Study

psychoanalytic theory

psychodynamic approach, comparisons between, and narrative therapy; integrating, with narrative therapy; to learning, conflicts with

psychological theory, vs. sociological theory, as approach to family violence

public health concern, child abuse as

public humiliation. See shaming strategies

public sector, privatization of, in Hong Kong

qualitative findings, marginalization of

racism. See oppression; Stolen Generations

reality: agreed-upon; child’s construction of, in foster care; created by social construction; representation through language; taken-for-granted, critical reflection on. See also knowledge; meaning; Truth

reciprocal causality

reconstruction, and affirmative postmodernists

reflection, client’s increased use of

reflexivity, and acknowledging place of emotion, implications for, in practice; interactional aspects of; need for, on part of therapist; and perceptions; relational, shocking discovery through, in teaching and supervision; value of. See also critical reflection

reframing: assignment as expert witness, child welfare dynamic, and solution-focused therapy

refugees: becoming, Oromos in Canada; rejecting label of

rehabilitation, of child sexual offenders; in child welfare cases

relational consequences, of objective research

relational process: between community and wider social structures, vs. “bounded self,”; objectivity as game of; reflexivity, of self and other

relational psychologists, and questioning authoritative knowledge

relationships: between client and practitioner (see therapeutic relationship); exploring problems with, using narrative approach; negotiated interactional, world understanding as outcome of. See also family therapy

religion: turning away from, forced conversions to

repeated patterns, unsuccessful, in mother-daughter conflict

report. See assessment

research: on child sexual offenders; effects of, on study subjects; encouraging client to do own; questioning culture of

research teams, for Heal and Connect program

“responsibility” work, with child sexual offenders

revolution, in Ethiopia

risk, in child welfare case

risk assessment: in child welfare; significance of, monitoring, and management

Roman Catholic clergy, and work with child sexual abusers

schools. See education; teachers

science: attitude toward, in social work vs. social construction; feminist critiques of, in measuring and assessing child sexual offenders; questioning conventional view of, social work’s aspiration to status of, “soft” vs. “hard,”

scientists, psychology of

secrets, exposing: and asking for support; therapeutic value to

Seen But Not Heard: Coordinating Child Health and Social Services for Children in Need

self-esteem work, as alternative to shame

self-perception: challenging fixed idea of; effect of relationships on; as failure; of men who commit child sexual offenses, positive change in, shaken, by constructionist views; social worker’s, and reflexivity

sexism. See gender imbalance

sexuality, adult and child, societal understanding of

shame, and child sexual offenders

shaming strategies: futility of, as social violence

sit-in, countering family violence with

skeptical postmodernists

“social,” use and meaning of word

social categories, as historical and culturally specific

social construction: adaptability and applicability of, and clinical language cultures; commonalities among descriptions of, complexity of defining, and critical reflection, defining; ethos to offer new possibilities for action, finding oppressor within self, introduction to; narrative informed by, narrative therapy rooted in; nation-states as, non-prescriptive nature of; and postmodernism, acquaintance with; seeing reality dismantled by; and sense of self; and Truth; as way to integrate critique, woman-at-risk as, writing about; writing as; youth-at-risk as

social constructionism: and affirmative postmodernists, being raised with ideals of, core assumptions of; core ideas and spheres of influence; definition of, embracing some characteristics of, implications of, on diagnoses, inherent in children in foster care; at odds with data-based accountability; personal introduction to; and postmodernism, approaches to social work; reflexivity at core of; and social utility; and solution-focused therapy, bridge between; used in child abuse case; wavering, in light of violence, as way to view reality; and work with child sexual offenders

social constructionist approach: to child sexual abuse; and child sexual offenders, connections with narrative therapy, discourse in, with nonadmitting parents; vs. other approaches, with prisoners, in role of expert witness, teaching to clients; themes in; vs. totalizing theory. See also critical approach; critical reflection; deconstruction approach; narrative therapy; polylingual collaborative approach; reflexivity; solution-focused therapy; strength-based approach

social constructionist approach used with other traditions: critical reflection, family therapy, in nonhierarchical manner, psychodynamic tradition, social work

social constructionist informed practice: in child welfare work; in Hong Kong; illustrated by two-year narrative journey, types of; and use of critical reflection; as way-of-being

“The Social Constructionist Movement in Modern Psychology,”

social constructionist perspective: implications of; shared by psychoanalytic community

social constructionists, rejection of ideals, with child sexual abuse

The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge

social injustice: choosing social work to combat, linked to poverty and child abuse

socialism, embracing of

social isolation: countering, with community support; as risk factor in child abuse

social justice: and critical social theory, highlighting, through critical approach, and social constructionism; therapeutic work that promotes

social order, more humane, creating

social phenomenon, discursive constitution of

social relations, as central to understanding social life

social science, viewed as “soft,”

social theory, postmodernism, and social work

social utility, constructions gaining significance from

social violence, shaming strategies as

social work: child protection, and law; constructive; and gender imbalances, in hospital settings; in 1950s, postmodern and constructionist approaches to; postmodernism, and social theory; and social construction; supervision, implications for reflexivity in; as technical-rational model of practice

social worker: advent of licensure for, and client, shared responsibility of, desire for methods and techniques; expertise in knowing and not-knowing, perceived failures of, relationship between, and client (see therapeutic relationship); role of, with officers of the court. See also therapist

solution-focused therapy: and constructive social work, emphasis on future, language and, and social constructionism, bridge between; and solution oriented approach

Start from Our Hearts: Narrative Supervision—the Miracle Journey of MOSSJSS

stigmatization, of men who commit child sexual offenses

story: telling one’s own (see narrative therapy); troubling, about teaching; unique, against grand narrative

strength-based approach, and constructive social work, nonpathologizing, positioning

stress: recognizing and addressing, teachers’

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

study subjects, effects of research on

subjective definitions

subjectivity, as complex notion

subjugated knowledge

supervision: implications for reflexivity in; narrative, use of critical reflection in

support: community, of extended family, with violent teen

teachers: and different ideas of education; narrative supervision and professional development for; and non-teaching responsibilities, in privatized and marketized education system; in professional development project, group leaders and participants; on verge of burnout, as victims of social structure vs. agents exercising power

teaching: implications for reflexivity in; nontraditional professional development program in; marketization and managerialism in

teen, useful approaches with

teen suicide, and introduction to social construction

teen violence, parents’ response to

Telling, as narrative device

theory: clinical; correspondence, critical reflection as, and process, critical social; feminist; of normality, positioning; psychoanalytic; psychodynamic, psychological, vs. sociological, as approach to family aggression; reflexivity, social; totalizing

therapeutic encounter, conversation as metaphor for

therapeutic relationship: that gives space to child sexual offenders; inviting community support into, in narrative model, with nonadmitting parents; shared responsibility in, in social constructionist context

therapist: and client (see therapeutic relationship); need for reflective thinking on part of; refraining from “shoulds,” when working with child sexual offenders, self-perception and reflexivity, sense of relief in, in making progress with violent families. See also social worker

therapy: with child in foster care; with child sexual offender, as collaborative exploration, couples, and letter-writing; deconstruction, exploratory, family, mandated, managed care and, mother-daughter; narrative, with nonadmitting parents; parent-child, in violent conflict; polylingual collaborative, social constructionist (see narrative therapy; social constructionist informed practice); strength-based, solution-focused. See also treatment

totalizing theory: identity descriptions, narrative therapy as counter to, of normality; taking stance against

Transforming Social Work Conference, using reflexivity and deconstruction at

treatment: evaluating; goals, bringing clients into decision on; signs of progress in

Truth: in human sciences, subjectivity of, as interpretive, and narrative therapy, viewed through culture and community. See also knowledge; reality

twin, experience of. See Louisville Twin Study

uncertainty, and postmodern social work practice

understandings, negotiated

values, importance of, to social work

victim: and abuser, binary nature of, children in need as, unwelcomed consequences of label, identification as, people totalized as. See also child abuse; woman-at-risk; youth-at-risk

vigilantism, and shaming strategies

violence: in Canadian Oromo community; escalating, in families, futures framework for thinking about, parents’ response to, social, shaming strategies as; teen’s. See also child abuse