Multifaceted personas in context: mental health social worker perspectives on the intersection of mental health, social work and professional identity in England and Wales

TY - JOUR

T1 - Multifaceted personas in context

T2 - mental health social worker perspectives on the intersection of mental health, social work and professional identity in England and Wales

AU - Tucker, Laura

AU - Jobling, Hannah Joy Louise

AU - Webber, Martin Paul

N1 - © Authors 2024

PY - 2024/8/16

Y1 - 2024/8/16

N2 - Mental health provision in England and Wales has fluctuated between promoting social work as a valued, distinct contributor and viewing it as an adjunct to a generic workforce. Perspectives are divided on whether the profession should emphasise social work, mental health work or a cross-disciplinary blend, and definitional attempts have proved challenging, with wide variation in practice. This article explores how mental health social workers view their professional identity across practice contexts. Using a mixed-methods approach, 248 mental health social workers completed an online survey, and 30 undertook a subsequent semi-structured interview. Survey data were statistically analysed using Kruskal–Wallis H-tests to explore differences across settings. Qualitative interview data were analysed using a framework thematic approach. Participants demonstrated a strong but flexible professional identity, adopting a multifaceted, fluid sense of self that prioritised the aspect of identity most relevant to the context. Contrary to narratives of poor articulation, this was framed within a specialist knowledge- and values-based perspective that influenced practice approaches and accommodated context without requiring external validation. This fluidity suggests a need to move away from restrictive task-based definitions of social work in order to actively engage the workforce in developing professional roles that embrace this flexibility to offer holistic services.

AB - Mental health provision in England and Wales has fluctuated between promoting social work as a valued, distinct contributor and viewing it as an adjunct to a generic workforce. Perspectives are divided on whether the profession should emphasise social work, mental health work or a cross-disciplinary blend, and definitional attempts have proved challenging, with wide variation in practice. This article explores how mental health social workers view their professional identity across practice contexts. Using a mixed-methods approach, 248 mental health social workers completed an online survey, and 30 undertook a subsequent semi-structured interview. Survey data were statistically analysed using Kruskal–Wallis H-tests to explore differences across settings. Qualitative interview data were analysed using a framework thematic approach. Participants demonstrated a strong but flexible professional identity, adopting a multifaceted, fluid sense of self that prioritised the aspect of identity most relevant to the context. Contrary to narratives of poor articulation, this was framed within a specialist knowledge- and values-based perspective that influenced practice approaches and accommodated context without requiring external validation. This fluidity suggests a need to move away from restrictive task-based definitions of social work in order to actively engage the workforce in developing professional roles that embrace this flexibility to offer holistic services.

U2 - 10.1332/27551768Y2024D000000019

DO - 10.1332/27551768Y2024D000000019

M3 - Article

SN - 1369-1457

JO - European Journal of Social Work

JF - European Journal of Social Work

ER -